nānubhūtaṁ kva cānena
nānubhūtaṁ kva cānena dehenādṛṣṭam aśrutam |
kadācid upalabhyeta yad rūpaṁ yādṛg ātmani ||
tenāsya tādṛśaṁ rājan liṅgino deha-sambhavam |
śraddhatsvānanubhūto’rtho na manaḥ spraṣṭum arhati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.64–65)
“Sometimes a form which is of such nature that it has never been perceived with this body [i.e., perceived with the external senses in the physical environment during one’s present lifetime], and is [otherwise] unseen and unheard of, is perceived in the mind [i.e., it is perceived in a dream, in one’s imagination, or elsewhere]. O King! Because of this, be confident that such [i.e., such an object of perception, which is apparently unprecedented,] is a product of a body of this bearer of the liṅga [i.e., that it is a product of an experience in a prior body borne by the jīva, that is, the ātmā enveloped in a subtle body (liṅga) that transmigrates through a series of gross bodies], since an unperceived object is unable to touch the mind [i.e., no object which has not been previously perceived by the mind can manifest within the mind].”