As in a dream, whether dead or alive, it is not stained.

Duṣyati: it becomes stained, contaminated, corrupted. In a dream, dying implies no moral or ontological corruption; nor does living imply any special purity. The dream is amala, immaculate, because it is pratibhāsa—a mere appearance. So it is with the waking world: duṣ (impurity) and śuddha (purity) are categories that apply to the upādhi (the limiting adjunct), not to the ātman. The Ātman is not stained by action, just as the sky is not stained by the smoke that passes through it. The Bhagavad Gītā (V.15) says the same: na prakāśaṃ na saṃkāraṃ sūryo yaṇe na gacchati — the sun does not enter into light or darkness; likewise, the Ātman does not enter into purity or impurity. The sādhaka who fears “becoming stained” by worldly action—a common fear in certain spiritual circles—finds liberation here. Action does not touch the actor. Karma is a citta-vṛtti (a modification of the mind), not an ātma-dharma (an attribute of the Self). The Ātman is not the kartṛ (agent); it is the sākṣī (witness). Just as a spectator is not stained by the crime they see on screen, so the Ātman is not stained by the saṃsāra it witnesses.