Changes

2.20. na jAyate mriyate va kadacit ! nAyam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ! ajo nityah sasvato yam purano ! na hanyate  hanyamAne sarire ! "For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He was not born at the time of kalpa, does not disappear at the end of kalpa. He is unborn, eternal, unchanging and very ancient. He is not slain when the body is slain." The soul never takes birth or dies. The soul is unborn , beyond destruction , without any changes in their intrinsic state and remains FRESH even after being many ages old. It is not formed at the beginning of creation and it is not destroyed at the end of this world. The soul remains even as the body perishes. Soul is -> "ajah:" (unborn), "Nitya:"(eternal), "Sasvatah:"(not subject to modification), "Puranah" (pura-apinavah: -> always fresh;-) ), forever(kadacit). The word purana means ancient. Etymologically it stems from purapi navah meaning old yet new illustrating that the eternal soul although ancient is experienced with every birth as ever new. Thus it has been clarified that the physical body only perishes but never can the eternal soul perish. The 17th sloka dealt with the reasoning that since there is not a smaller entity than the atman, it is indestructible. In the 18th sloka, since the body was a composite of the five elements and since it was growing and waning, it is destroyable. In the 19th sloka, it was told that he, who does not understand this true nature of atman and body, is not a wise man. Having stated so, now in the 20th sloka, Sri Krishna establishes that atman does not undergo any changes whatsoever. In this slokam, Krishna says that Soul is not only eternal and indestructible, but it is not subject to any change, at ANY time. This is to address the doubt Arjuna had on whether the Soul was "indestructible and not subject to change", just now or in last 1000 years and probably it has a "manufacturing and expiry" date?. Krishna says emphatically that soul is "ALWAYS" eternal, unborn, without death and unchanging. Now, we will have a doubt. In shastras, it is mentioned that the lifespan of a human is less than Devas , which is less than Brahma etc.. (eg: 1 human year is equal to 1 day for deva). 4 Yugas = 4,320,000 years * 1000 is the span of Brahma for one kalpa, when Shrusti and Pralayam takes place. Krishna says here, that Soul is never born or dead during any of this times, whether it is Shrusthi, Pralayam, Kalpa or a human life span!! Now, another question arises, since the souls are eternal, are we Paramatma?? No, Jeevatmas are separate from Paramatma. Due to ignorance and material contact, we have lost this true knowledge. Based on our karmas, the soul takes bodies accordingly. In an inanimate object, also soul exists, but it has no way to increase it's understanding. Beyond, inanimate objects is trees, then animals, then human, then devas etc. When it acheives true knowledge, it reaches "paramapadam" to live eternally with Paramatma. Each of this body, gives the soul a potential to gain the true nature of itself. Soul is not subject to the six types of change, like body! But, intrestingly, even though Soul is eternal, it appears to be changing as per the body it takes.It's similar to we wearing different types and colors of dresses every day! Even though we are the same person, our external appearance seems to change as per the dress we wear! This Self (Atman) is destitute of the six types of transformation or Bhava-Vikaras such as birth, existence, growth, transformation, decline and death. As It is indivisible (Akhanda). It does not diminish in size. It neither grows nor does It decline. It is ever the same. Birth and death are for the physical body only. Birth and death cannot touch the immortal, all-pervading Self. The understanding that the eternal soul is never slain is being confirmed by its freedom from the six changes of material existence being: birth, existence, growth, modification, decay and death which are controlling all living entities high and low in the material existence. The Supreme Lord by declaring the eternal soul is not born confirms the absence of any birth and by declaring the eternal soul does not die confirms the absence of any destruction. The word va occurring twice is used in the sense of and as in and the immortal soul does not come into existence by birth. The immortal soul is already by nature itself eternal. So existence by conception is proven false due to the fact the eternal soul is birthless. That which is conceived attains existence after birth; but that which already eternally exists by its own nature cannot be conceived again. This is the purport of this verse. Constant means not subject to modification. This confirms the absence of growth. Eternal confirms the absence of decay. Ancient confirms the absence of ageing ever beyond time the eternal soul is ageless. Thus there is never a repetition regarding the existence of the eternal soul and the six changes of the physical of birth, existence, growth, modification, decay and death mentioned by Yaksa and other expounders of the Vedic scriptures as to the nature of things in this world never is applicable to the eternal soul which factually every living entity born from a womb possesses. The imperishable nature of the soul and the fact that the six changes of the physical body have no influence on it which is the topic presently under discussion has now been satisfactorily concluded and so it is confirmed that the eternal soul does not perish when the body perishes. In the Katha Upanisad also we find a similar passage which reads: na jayate mriyate va vipascin nayam kutascin na vibhuva kascit ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire (Katha 1.2.18) The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the Bhagavad-gita, but here in this verse there is one special word, vipascit, which means learned or with knowledge. The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Krsna. The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Krsna. The great deluge [pralayam] is called kalpa. At the start of the kalpa, Brahma creates everything in this Universe. At that time also the atman is not created. Nor the atmans perish at the end of a kalpa. When a child is born, at that time an atman chooses that body and is born. Atman is there in everything. It is in this plant and in that pillar. One may wonder how atman can be in those inanimate objects. But if we examine closely, even our body is inanimate and we know atman is there. So, there is atman in all materials also. The only difference is that the atman in our body can develop his knowledge while, the atman in the pillar has no scope for wisdom. The atman in that pillar is there to expend the karma he had acquired and the moment that is over, that atman will depart that pillar and reside in another body. The magnitude of the wisdom of the atman in any body is determined by its past karma. If the wisdom is, let us say, 0%, it resides in an inanimate body like pillar. A slightly higher intellectual makes the soul to take a bird s body or animal s body. More wisdom makes the soul to take    bodies of human beings or devas or even a Brahma. So the ranking of the knowledge decides the body that soul will be residing. The up and down in gyana or wisdom is only found in atmans. Once, the soul has taken a body, he tries to develop his wisdom and seek a higher level and ultimately, resides in the Sri Vaikuntam or His abode from where there is no more return for the atman to lower planes like this earth. Thus atman is eternal and never undergoes any change. Sri Krishna calls atman as purana. Pura api navaha puranaha is the Sanskrit meaning for the word purana. It means to say that it is very ancient and at the same time fresh or novel. Atman also is ancient but appears fresh everyday. It is common knowledge that we seek changes so as to avoid monotonous, which can be boring and dull. We rearrange our surroundings. We change our dress. So Arjuna feels that an unchanging and static atman might cause boredom. Sri Krishna allays such thoughts and says that atman is fresh everyday with more and better knowledge. This is a greatness of atman that though he is changeless, he appears afresh every time. Like Sri Aravamudan of Thirukkudanthai [Kumbakonam], Alwar says, every time he visits Him, he finds Him revealing Himself differently. We listen to Sri Ramayana. But every time we listen it refreshes our knowledge. So He now tells Arjuna that by killing Bheeshma, he will not kill the atman of Bheeshma.  

2.20. na jAyate mriyate va kadacit ! nAyam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ! ajo nityah sasvato yam purano ! na hanyate  hanyamAne sarire ! "For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He was not born at the time of kalpa, does not disappear at the end of kalpa. He is unborn, eternal, unchanging and very ancient. He is not slain when the body is slain." The soul never takes birth or dies. The soul is unborn , beyond destruction , without any changes in their intrinsic state and remains FRESH even after being many ages old. It is not formed at the beginning of creation and it is not destroyed at the end of this world. The soul remains even as the body perishes. Soul is -> "ajah:" (unborn), "Nitya:"(eternal), "Sasvatah:"(not subject to modification), "Puranah" (pura-apinavah: -> always fresh;-) ), forever(kadacit). The word purana means ancient. Etymologically it stems from purapi navah meaning old yet new illustrating that the eternal soul although ancient is experienced with every birth as ever new. Thus it has been clarified that the physical body only perishes but never can the eternal soul perish. The 17th sloka dealt with the reasoning that since there is not a smaller entity than the atman, it is indestructible. In the 18th sloka, since the body was a composite of the five elements and since it was growing and waning, it is destroyable. In the 19th sloka, it was told that he, who does not understand this true nature of atman and body, is not a wise man. Having stated so, now in the 20th sloka, Sri Krishna establishes that atman does not undergo any changes whatsoever. In this slokam, Krishna says that Soul is not only eternal and indestructible, but it is not subject to any change, at ANY time. This is to address the doubt Arjuna had on whether the Soul was "indestructible and not subject to change", just now or in last 1000 years and probably it has a "manufacturing and expiry" date?. Krishna says emphatically that soul is "ALWAYS" eternal, unborn, without death and unchanging. Now, we will have a doubt. In shastras, it is mentioned that the lifespan of a human is less than Devas , which is less than Brahma etc.. (eg: 1 human year is equal to 1 day for deva). 4 Yugas = 4,320,000 years * 1000 is the span of Brahma for one kalpa, when Shrusti and Pralayam takes place. Krishna says here, that Soul is never born or dead during any of this times, whether it is Shrusthi, Pralayam, Kalpa or a human life span!! Now, another question arises, since the souls are eternal, are we Paramatma?? No, Jeevatmas are separate from Paramatma. Due to ignorance and material contact, we have lost this true knowledge. Based on our karmas, the soul takes bodies accordingly. In an inanimate object, also soul exists, but it has no way to increase it's understanding. Beyond, inanimate objects is trees, then animals, then human, then devas etc. When it acheives true knowledge, it reaches "paramapadam" to live eternally with Paramatma. Each of this body, gives the soul a potential to gain the true nature of itself. Soul is not subject to the six types of change, like body! But, intrestingly, even though Soul is eternal, it appears to be changing as per the body it takes.It's similar to we wearing different types and colors of dresses every day! Even though we are the same person, our external appearance seems to change as per the dress we wear! This Self (Atman) is destitute of the six types of transformation or Bhava-Vikaras such as birth, existence, growth, transformation, decline and death. As It is indivisible (Akhanda). It does not diminish in size. It neither grows nor does It decline. It is ever the same. Birth and death are for the physical body only. Birth and death cannot touch the immortal, all-pervading Self. The understanding that the eternal soul is never slain is being confirmed by its freedom from the six changes of material existence being: birth, existence, growth, modification, decay and death which are controlling all living entities high and low in the material existence. The Supreme Lord by declaring the eternal soul is not born confirms the absence of any birth and by declaring the eternal soul does not die confirms the absence of any destruction. The word va occurring twice is used in the sense of and as in and the immortal soul does not come into existence by birth. The immortal soul is already by nature itself eternal. So existence by conception is proven false due to the fact the eternal soul is birthless. That which is conceived attains existence after birth; but that which already eternally exists by its own nature cannot be conceived again. This is the purport of this verse. Constant means not subject to modification. This confirms the absence of growth. Eternal confirms the absence of decay. Ancient confirms the absence of ageing ever beyond time the eternal soul is ageless. Thus there is never a repetition regarding the existence of the eternal soul and the six changes of the physical of birth, existence, growth, modification, decay and death mentioned by Yaksa and other expounders of the Vedic scriptures as to the nature of things in this world never is applicable to the eternal soul which factually every living entity born from a womb possesses. The imperishable nature of the soul and the fact that the six changes of the physical body have no influence on it which is the topic presently under discussion has now been satisfactorily concluded and so it is confirmed that the eternal soul does not perish when the body perishes. In the Katha Upanisad also we find a similar passage which reads: na jayate mriyate va vipascin nayam kutascin na vibhuva kascit ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire (Katha 1.2.18) The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the Bhagavad-gita, but here in this verse there is one special word, vipascit, which means learned or with knowledge. The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Krsna. The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Krsna. The great deluge [pralayam] is called kalpa. At the start of the kalpa, Brahma creates everything in this Universe. At that time also the atman is not created. Nor the atmans perish at the end of a kalpa. When a child is born, at that time an atman chooses that body and is born. Atman is there in everything. It is in this plant and in that pillar. One may wonder how atman can be in those inanimate objects. But if we examine closely, even our body is inanimate and we know atman is there. So, there is atman in all materials also. The only difference is that the atman in our body can develop his knowledge while, the atman in the pillar has no scope for wisdom. The atman in that pillar is there to expend the karma he had acquired and the moment that is over, that atman will depart that pillar and reside in another body. The magnitude of the wisdom of the atman in any body is determined by its past karma. If the wisdom is, let us say, 0%, it resides in an inanimate body like pillar. A slightly higher intellectual makes the soul to take a bird s body or animal s body. More wisdom makes the soul to take    bodies of human beings or devas or even a Brahma. So the ranking of the knowledge decides the body that soul will be residing. The up and down in gyana or wisdom is only found in atmans. Once, the soul has taken a body, he tries to develop his wisdom and seek a higher level and ultimately, resides in the Sri Vaikuntam or His abode from where there is no more return for the atman to lower planes like this earth. Thus atman is eternal and never undergoes any change. Sri Krishna calls atman as purana. Pura api navaha puranaha is the Sanskrit meaning for the word purana. It means to say that it is very ancient and at the same time fresh or novel. Atman also is ancient but appears fresh everyday. It is common knowledge that we seek changes so as to avoid monotonous, which can be boring and dull. We rearrange our surroundings. We change our dress. So Arjuna feels that an unchanging and static atman might cause boredom. Sri Krishna allays such thoughts and says that atman is fresh everyday with more and better knowledge. This is a greatness of atman that though he is changeless, he appears afresh every time. Like Sri Aravamudan of Thirukkudanthai [Kumbakonam], Alwar says, every time he visits Him, he finds Him revealing Himself differently. We listen to Sri Ramayana. But every time we listen it refreshes our knowledge. So He now tells Arjuna that by killing Bheeshma, he will not kill the atman of Bheeshma.  

2-21:

2-21: vedA-avinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam katham sa purushah pArtha kam-ghAtayati hanti kam "O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or encourage anyone to kill?" Tirumangai Azhwar says in Thirunedundantakam - Munuru(Achit), Pinuru(Jeevatma,Chit), Ponuru (Paramatma). " .. Irrapaturuku enathu!". Paramatma is embedded inside every Jeevatma and Jeevatma is in every material body. One who knows the true nature of soul is eternal understands that he cannot destroy or kill anybody, nor will be make an attempt to kill. Krishna says this to Arjuna to ensure that if he knows this truth, he will understand that he cannot kill Bhishma, Drona etc. Atma is inside Shareeram, temporarily. Soul is "AJAM" (unborn, unchanging)., NITYAM(eternal), AVINASINAM (indestructible), "AVYAYAM" (unchangeable). Whoever realises this gnaanam (i.e a soul is unborn, eternal, indestructible), CANNOT kill anybody and neither will he even attempt to kill i.e "Katam cha purushah paartha!". There are two types of Tattvam - ParaaDarsham, PratyaDarsham. Achit (Lamp, Stone etc) are all Paraaa Darsham. Whereas, human, animal etc is all "PratyaDarsham", because we all have the feeling of "I" (self), which is "Self-illuminating". So possessing spiritual intelligence, knowing the soul to be eternal, understanding it to be birthless and deathless being of an inexhaustible nature how is it possible for anyone to commit any act of destruction against the immortal soul which dwells in trillions of various and diverse living entities among the 8 million 400 thousand species of life throughout the billions of material universes. Whom can anyone destroy? How can anyone destroy anyone? Who can cause anyone to be destroyed? No one can! Thus it can be seen that ignorance of the eternal nature of the soul is the cause of all grief by not understanding that the soul is immortal and thinking that the eternal soul perishes when the physical body perishes. Comprehending that what happens to the immortal soul when the physical body ceases to function is factually the withdrawal from an old physical body to enter into a new physical body. So it can be understood that those who have deep regret for the loss of the physical body, serving as it does as the facility for securing and enjoying material pleasures; these living entities should reflect on the futility and temporal nature of material existence rather than trying to eternally exploit their senses. Yaksha poses this question to DharmaPutram in Mahabharat - "What is the most wonderful-AAshcharyam thing in this world" ?? Yudishtra replies that "even though this body has 9 holes, the Jeevatma doesn't fly away and still resides in this body!.. that is the most amazing thing in this world" . Body is "NavaDwara Pura patnam". Yaksha poses another question : "What is even more amazing"? Yudishtra replies that "Seeing so many people die also, a person still thinks he is going to live forever. For eg: Even the pallbearers plan to make a living by carrying dead!". So it is very difficult to come to that realization that the atman is everlasting and the body only perishes.  

vedA-avinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam

 

katham sa purushah pArtha kam-ghAtayati hanti kam

2-22: vAsamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro  parani tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyAti navani dehi "As a person puts on new garments, giving up used up ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones." Arjuna has a doubt now, after hearing Krishna mentioning that Atma is Nityam, Indestructible etc , body is temporary and will fall and that one has to bear the pain to achieve the goal. But, human has an attachment by nature with his body, due to the association of being in it. It's natural! So, isn't it normal to show attachment to a body which has given us company throughout the life and not show any dukham to it's demise or destruction?? In response Krishna mentions that Slokam. He says that rather than showing Dukham at the demise of the body, one should express joy! He says, just like a man wears new garments and throws off worn out garments, similarly the Jeevatma casts off one body and takes another. So, isn't it a cause for joy rather than sorrow? So, rather than feeling sorrow of casting away old body and taking new, it should be joyous occasion. In Taittraya Upanishad " Yuvasya .. athisthio... Maanusha Anandah", it says that Youth is the ultimate fountainhead of happiness for human life and when this body has overlasted it's usefulness, so isn't it a joy to shed it? Now, Arjuna had another doubt - If at the end of this life, one gets a worst body e.g. animal etc due to past karmas, isn't it a scary thought? i.e if one gets to wear rags, it would be preferable to wear an old shirt, rather than shedding it and wearing a rag. Krishna says that, Arjuna need not fear, since he is fighting a battle doing his Kshatriya duty and even if he perishes in the battle, he is assured of swargam. So, he need not worry about the next life. Transference of the atomic individual soul to another body is made possible by the grace of the Supersoul. The Supersoul fulfills the desire of the atomic soul as one friend fulfills the desire of another. The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanisad, as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krsna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two birds--although they are the same in quality-- one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend. Krsna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird. Although they are friends, one is still the master and the other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the atomic soul is the

"O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal,

cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another or from one body to another. The jiva soul is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body, but as soon as he agrees to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual master--as Arjuna agreed to do by voluntary surrender unto Krsna for instruction-- the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations. Both the Katha Upanisad and Svetasvatara Upanisad confirm this: samane vrkse puruso nimagno 'nisaya socati muhyamanah justam yada pasyaty anyam isam asya mahimanam iti vita-sokah "Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories--at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties." Arjuna has now turned his face towards his eternal friend, Krsna, and is understanding the Bhagavad-gita from Him. And thus, hearing from Krsna, he can understand the supreme glories of the Lord and be free from lamentation.  

unborn and immutable kill anyone or encourage anyone to kill?"

 

Tirumangai Azhwar says in Thirunedundantakam - Munuru(Achit),

2-23 & 2-24: na-enam chindanti shastrani na-enam dahati pavakah: na ca-enam kledayanty-apah: na sosayati marutah "The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor dried by the wind." acchEdyo yam adAhyo yam aklEdyo    asosya eva ca nityah: sarva-gatah: sthanuh: acalo  yam puratanah "This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same." The concept of indestructibility of the soul that was already spoken from 11 to 17 is being reiterated here for the sake of emphasis. Soul cannot be cleaved, burnt, wetted or dryed by weapons, fire, water and air respectively. It is not capable of being pervaded by them and cleaving, burning, wetting and drying are actions which can take place only by pervading a substance. Krishna says the same thing in both verses 23 and 24, only with a different wording. Why?? Because, this is important and he wants to reemphasize the truth of such import, by repeating and stressing on it. No Weapons can cut this soul! Fire cannot burn this soul! Water cannot drown or destroy this soul! Air cannot dry or destroy this soul! Why? Because soul is pervaded inside everything! Now a question will arise - Isn't this pervasion, omnipresence a characterisitic of only Paramatma?? Not really. Paramatma is indeed omnipresent, but Jeevatma also has pervasion(sarvagatah). The significant difference is that, numerous jeevatmas pervaded throughout the substances of this world and at any single time, single place, a jeevatma can only pervade only one place, unlike Paramatma who pervades across space, time and place. Now, Arjuna has another doubt. Ok, a soul cannot be cut, burnt or destroyed in any way. But, will a soul will subject to perishment over course of time? Will it change its nature, svabhavam over time?? Krishna says NO. Self is eternal. It is Stable, Immovable (achalah) and primeval (Puratanah). Another important point here is that Krishna says Self is always having knowledge(achalah) and it doesn't change or get any new knowledge. What makes humans and other beings behave differently is due to this knowledge being hidden or covered due to karmas, just like a Sun gets temporarily obscured by clouds. Though the two slokas appear to be repetitive, the 23rd sloka talks of implements, if any, to destroy atman and the next sloka says the atman is indestructible. It is our experience in our schools also that important points are reiterated by teachers so that they are remembered always. Here, Sri Krishna also a Teacher par excellence, wants Arjuna to remember these noble qualities of atman, and so reiterates. This will clear any doubts Arjuna has. In the first place, He says that no weapons are there to cut the atman. Fire cannot burn it. Water cannot wet it. Here it should be understood that the atman couldn t be  dissolved by water. Air cannot dry it. In the next sloka Sri Krishna says about the everlasting nature of atman, which we had seen earlier. But, in addition He makes another statement that atman is pervading or permeating all over. We have heard that only Paramatma or God only is all pervading and omni present. How, then, atman can have this quality? The interpretation by elders is that when an atman is in a body, by its power of wisdom or knowledge it is pervading in the entire body without a gap. Same atman when takes another body as its residence, pervades that body fully. Like this many bodies are fully pervaded by the atman, at different times. This is a major difference between the Paramatma and the Jeevatma. While, the former permeates all bodies always and simultaneously, the latter occupies different bodies at different times. It is said that certain yogis have that power to have their atman present in more than one body at the same time. Normally, atman is present in one body only. Arjuna accepts that it is all right the atman cannot be dissolved by water or burnt by fire and so on, but it is possible, he doubts, that the atman might fade on its own and disappear. Sri Krishna says that the eternalness is natural to atman. Still not convinced, Arjuna feels that the atman may change its characters with time. He wants to know whether atman s swabhavam or characteristics undergo change. Sri Krishna says that the swabhavam of atman is gyana or intellect. In other words it is gyana swaroopy, a personification of wisdom. This never changes. A fresh doubt comes in the mind of Arjuna. We find knowledge is neither uniform nor complete and we take efforts to develop. So how it is justified to say that the knowledge of soul is not changing? Our elders have explained this. All atman have total wisdom but when in a body, the knowledge exhibited is limited by the past karmas. So the brightness is reduced by the karmas. We dig the earth at a place for water. Water gushes out. Water was already present there and by digging at the right place the water sprang up. Similarly, the gyana or knowledge is already in the soul and by our efforts we try to bring out and become more knowledgeable. Like Sunshine being reduced by the clouds or the umbrella. So, the atman s gyana is also permanent.  

Pinuru(Jeevatma,Chit), Ponuru (Paramatma).

 

" .. Irrapaturuku enathu!". Paramatma is embedded inside every Jeevatma and

2-25: avyakto  ayam! acintyo  ayam! avikAryo  ayam! ucyate tasmad evam viditva-enam na-anusocitum arhasi Krishna continues to emphasize the nature of soul - Avayaktoyam, Achintyoyam, Avikaaroyam. In this verse Lord Krishna gives additional reasons why one should never grieve for the soul. Because the soul is unmanifest it is not able to be cut or burned like objects which are manifest in this world and being unmanifest it is inconceivable as it is not possible to equate it with the form or nature of anything that one could imagine in the material existence. Being unable to imagine the constitution of the soul indicates it is immutable because it is devoid of any process of modification for example milk transforming to youghurt. Therfore comprehending the nature and quality of the soul as enunciated above one should not be under the delusion of lamentation. There are three sources of knowledge - Pratyaksham (Perception), Anumaanam (inference), Shabdham(thru other sources e.g. Vedas). So, whatever thing you take in this world, the three sources of knowledge will tell that it is perishable. But, for Atma(soul), there is nothing which tells it is perishable - Avyakta-Ayam. Krishna says soul is Achintyoyam - i.e it cannot even be conceived. Krishna says soul is Avikaaroyam - AviKaaryaam i.e it is unchanging. e.g take an example. Body can be felt, perceived , while soul cannot be felt through Senses. And neither cannot it be infered i.e by looking at something and then saying soul can be perished. Another example is, even though a Lamp is seen through pratyaksham as one light which is glowing, by inference we can see that it consists of wick, oil which is getting exhausted. But, for soul neither through pratyaksham, nor through inference can we say that soul is temporary. The word avyaktah means invisible or imperceivable this is because the eternal soul being totally transcendental to the material existence cannot be practically examined as can objects which possess qualities of a physical nature. The word acintyah means inconceivable because the eternal soul is impossible to perceive by the mind and the senses being in every way transcendental to the material substratum which is what the consciousness of the living entities base their understanding on. The eternal soul differs from all other existences and levels of existence is in transcendence. Therefore it is avikaryah unchangeable and immutable. The Supreme Lord Krishna instructs that by knowing the eternal soul to be immortal there is no cause for grief.  

Jeevatma is in every material body.

 

One who knows the true nature of soul is eternal understands that he cannot

2-26: atha-ca-enam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mrtam tathapi tvam maha-baho na-enam socitum arhasi "If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed." In the previous slokas, Krishna emphasized the body is different from Soul and says to Arjuna not to worry about this temporary body and fight in the war. . But in this sloka and the next two slokas, Krishna indulges in "Adbhukgamavadam" , where he changes tact , In this you argue your point agreeing with the point what your opponent is imagining. So, Sri Krishna argues assuming that the body and soul are same, as thought by Arjuna. If both are same also Arjuna should not mourn at the killing of Bheeshma or Drona. Because, as the body falls, the soul also dies according to the assumption of Arjuna. He should not now worry where the soul is going, to hell or heaven, as the soul is no longer there after the body is slain. So, here he says, Arjuna .. Ok, even if you consider Atma is identical with body and is "NityaJatam"(constantly born) and "NityamMurtam" (Constantly dying), even then (tatah pi), you should not feel grief. Why? The only constant in this body is CHANGE! We don't always remain a kid, a boy,a youth or so on. Even things around us, change constantly! Now, Arjuna says, he is not worried about change, but death. Krishna says, why worry about death? Arjuna says, he is worried to be separated from everybody or others separating and the unknown stage after death. Krishna laughs and says, if Arjuna is considering body and soul as one and the same, what is there to worry about death, because once the body perishes, it's the end of body and soul! This is a good example of how ignorance can cloud us with fear. For e.g. when we get hurt etc, we are scared, but the expert Medics are calm and repair us without any fear. A surgeon is not scared to operate or seeing blood etc, but we are scared. Why? Because the surgeon is an expert. This shows that ignorance is the root of this fear. Another reason is "experience".. Lack of awareness is also another reason for fear. For eg. if we are familiar with a misery or a disease etc, it is no longer a reason for fear. So, if Arjuna thinks body and soul are one and the same, change is inevitable and there is no reason to worry. Similarly, the question of Swargam, Narakam doesn't arise, because if Arjuna considers body and soul are one and the same, there is no swargam, Narakam. Arjuna now has another doubt - "We" know the change in One body i.e from infant to old age, but when we shed one body and take another body, we are not aware of the old body and that is a reason for fear, since the past and future are unknown. Krishna responds that, if we remember every past life, then we will end up being inundated with past memories and past relationships, which will end us drowned in samasaram, without any chance of redemption. Only great yogis and gnaanis have this power of rememberance, since it doesn't disturb them. So, Krishna says that birth and death are inevitable for the body, whose nature is modification and there is no need to feel grief. Krsna sarcastically addressed Arjuna as maha-bahu, mighty-armed, because He, at least, did not accept the theory of the Vaibhasikas (a school of philosophy which does not accept soul), which leaves aside the Vedic wisdom. As a ksatriya, Arjuna belonged to the Vedic culture, and it behooved him to continue to follow its principles.  

destroy or kill anybody, nor will be make an attempt

 

to kill. Krishna says this to Arjuna to ensure that if he knows this truth, he

2-27: jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca tasmad aparihArye rthe na  tvam socitum arhasi "One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament." Krishna says that whatever is originating, it's destruction is certain and whatever is perishable, it will inevitably originate. Arjuna now has a doubt. If he wins the war and whatever is born is going to perish, it means the win will also be temporary. So, why even battle?? Similarly, shouldn't a person who has recuperated from disease is happy, should he be, because his recuperation is ultimately temporary? Krishna responds saying that, this efforts are required for clearing of the trouble for that period, which is natural and there is no confusion or wrong about it. Similarly, it's Arjuna's responsibility to fight his way from the current situation, rather than running away. Now another doubt comes up - Is something coming up from nothing or is it coming up from something ; This two types of arguments are called - Sat-kaarya Vaadham and Asat-kaarya Vaadham. e.g. To take an analogy, it's the difference between Discovery and Invention. Discovery is something which is already there and been identified for use (eg> country, columbus discovering America). Invention is creating something which was not there previously (eg> Telephone). But, really speaking, the components of telephone was always there and it's only been arranged in a new way. e.g Wool.Thread strung together becomes a Cloth. Similarly, something can come out of something and nothing (this is Satkaarya Vaadham) and when it perishes, it doesn't go away. but is transformed. eg. when a pot is broken, even though the Pot is destroyed, it creates the clay (broken into clay pieces). Similarly, when a body perishes, it takes a different form. It is evident that death of the physical body is inevitable to whatever is born and that there is no way to escape from this physical termination of the body. Similarly rebirth is unavoidable once one's physical body has died. How can something which has been lost become again? It is conceivable that something which has already been to become again; but it is inconceivable for that which has never been to become. Therefore there is nothing that can come that has not been. What is known as birth and death is but just different modifications of an ever existing condition. Yarn and other materials exist but when they are woven into a fabric that is a particular arrangement of the yarn itself, it receives the name cloth in its modified state. Even the asat-karya-vadis who follow the fallacious hypothesis that existence comes from non-existence should admit the ever existing state, for what we know as cloth to them is a new creation but is factually the same old yarn only in a new form which has been created. It is not sagacious or well thought out to assume that a new substance has come into being simply because of a modified condition. Thus coming into existence and disappearing from existence are modified states of an ever existing reality. One of the conditions of this modified state is its appearance called birth and another condition being its diametric opposite is known as death which by disappearing this ever existing reality passes into. For a substance which is intrinsically metamorphic the process of modification is essential. As in the case of a clod of earth, transformed into clay, transformed into a pot, transformed into dust and transformed back to earth again. The manifestation of a subsequent condition is but a modification of a previous condition and that same subsequent condition becomes a prior condition of another subsequent condition. Reasoning in this way it can be understood that it is natural that successive modifications take place in regards to creation and destruction of physical bodies which cannot be avoided and there is no reason to lament due to this. If there is some slight grief which may be apparent by the passing from a prior modified state to a subsequent modified state even this grief need not arise in the case of living entities such as human beings because... and the next verse 28 clarifies why.

will understand that he cannot kill Bhishma, Drona etc.

 

Atma is inside Shareeram, temporarily. Soul is "AJAM" (unborn, unchanging).,

NITYAM(eternal), AVINASINAM (indestructible), "AVYAYAM" (unchangeable). Whoever

realises this gnaanam (i.e a soul is unborn, eternal, indestructible), CANNOT

kill anybody and neither will he even attempt to kill i.e

"Katam cha purushah paartha!".

There are two types of Tattvam - ParaaDarsham, PratyaDarsham. Achit (Lamp, Stone

etc) are all Paraaa Darsham. Whereas,

human, animal etc is all "PratyaDarsham", because we all have the feeling of "I"

(self), which is "Self-illuminating".

So possessing spiritual intelligence, knowing the soul to be eternal,

understanding it to be birthless and deathless being of an inexhaustible nature

how is it possible for anyone to commit any act of destruction against the

immortal soul which dwells in trillions of various and diverse living entities

among the 8 million 400 thousand species of life throughout the billions of

material universes. Whom can anyone destroy? How can anyone destroy anyone? Who

can cause anyone to be destroyed? No one can! Thus it can be seen that ignorance

of the eternal nature of the soul is the cause of all grief by not understanding

that the soul is immortal and thinking that the eternal soul perishes when the

physical body perishes. Comprehending that what happens to the immortal soul when

the physical body ceases to function is factually the withdrawal from an old

physical body to enter into a new physical body. So it can be understood that

those who have deep regret for the loss of the physical body, serving as it does

as the facility for securing and enjoying material pleasures; these living

entities should reflect on the futility and temporal nature of material existence

rather than trying to eternally exploit their senses.

Yaksha poses this question to DharmaPutram in Mahabharat - "What is the most

wonderful-AAshcharyam thing in this world" ??

Yudishtra replies that "even though this body has 9 holes, the Jeevatma doesn't

fly away and still resides in this body!.. that is the

most amazing thing in this world" . Body is "NavaDwara Pura patnam". Yaksha

poses another question : "What is even more amazing"?

Yudishtra replies that "Seeing so many people die also, a person still thinks he

is going to live forever. For eg: Even the pallbearers

plan to make a living by carrying dead!". So it is very difficult to come to that

realization that the atman is everlasting and the body only perishes.

2-22:

vAsamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro  parani

tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyAti navani dehi

"As a person puts on new garments, giving up used up ones, the soul similarly

accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

Arjuna has a doubt now, after hearing Krishna mentioning that Atma is Nityam,

Indestructible etc , body is temporary and will

fall and that one has to bear the pain to achieve the goal. But, human has an

attachment by nature with his body, due to the

association of being in it. It's natural! So, isn't it normal to show attachment

to a body which has given us company throughout the life

and not show any dukham to it's demise or destruction?? In response Krishna

mentions that Slokam. He says that rather than

showing Dukham at the demise of the body, one should express joy! He says, just

like a man wears new garments and throws

off worn out garments, similarly the Jeevatma casts off one body and takes

another. So, isn't it a cause for joy rather than sorrow?

So, rather than feeling sorrow of casting away old body and taking new, it should

be joyous occasion.

In Taittraya Upanishad " Yuvasya .. athisthio... Maanusha Anandah", it says that

Youth is the ultimate fountainhead of happiness for

human life and when this body has overlasted it's usefulness, so isn't it a joy to

shed it?

Now, Arjuna had another doubt - If at the end of this life, one gets a worst body

e.g. animal etc due to past karmas, isn't it a scary thought?

i.e if one gets to wear rags, it would be preferable to wear an old shirt, rather

than shedding it and wearing a rag. Krishna says that,

Arjuna need not fear, since he is fighting a battle doing his Kshatriya duty and

even if he perishes in the battle, he is assured of swargam.

So, he need not worry about the next life.

Transference of the atomic individual soul to another body is made possible by the

grace of the Supersoul. The Supersoul fulfills the desire of the atomic soul as

one friend fulfills the desire of another. The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanisad,

as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two

friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic

soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krsna) is simply

watching His friend. Of these two birds--although they are the same in quality--

one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply

witnessing the activities of His friend. Krsna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna

is the eating bird. Although they are friends, one is still the master and the

other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the atomic soul is the

cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another or from one body to

another. The jiva soul is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body,

but as soon as he agrees to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual

master--as Arjuna agreed to do by voluntary surrender unto Krsna for instruction--

the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations. Both the

Katha Upanisad and Svetasvatara Upanisad confirm this:

samane vrkse puruso nimagno

'nisaya socati muhyamanah

justam yada pasyaty anyam isam asya

mahimanam iti vita-sokah

"Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed

with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in

some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His

glories--at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties." Arjuna has

now turned his face towards his eternal friend, Krsna, and is understanding the

Bhagavad-gita from Him. And thus, hearing from Krsna, he can understand the

supreme glories of the Lord and be free from lamentation.

2-23 & 2-24:

na-enam chindanti shastrani na-enam dahati pavakah:

na ca-enam kledayanty-apah: na sosayati marutah

"The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor

moistened by water, nor dried by the wind."

acchEdyo yam adAhyo yam aklEdyo    asosya eva ca

nityah: sarva-gatah: sthanuh: acalo  yam puratanah

"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor

dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and

eternally the same."

The concept of indestructibility of the soul that was already spoken from 11 to 17

is being reiterated here for the sake of emphasis.

Soul cannot be cleaved, burnt, wetted or dryed by weapons, fire, water and air

respectively. It is not capable of being

pervaded by them and cleaving, burning, wetting and drying are actions which can

take place only by pervading a substance.

Krishna says the same thing in both verses 23 and 24, only with a different

wording. Why?? Because, this is important and he

wants to reemphasize the truth of such import, by repeating and stressing on it.

No Weapons can cut this soul! Fire cannot burn this soul! Water cannot drown or

destroy this soul! Air cannot dry or destroy this soul!

Why? Because soul is pervaded inside everything! Now a question will arise -

Isn't this pervasion, omnipresence a characterisitic of

only Paramatma?? Not really. Paramatma is indeed omnipresent, but Jeevatma also

has pervasion(sarvagatah). The significant

difference is that, numerous jeevatmas pervaded throughout the substances of this

world and at any single time, single place, a jeevatma can only pervade only one

place, unlike Paramatma who pervades across space, time and place. Now, Arjuna

has another doubt. Ok, a soul

cannot be cut, burnt or destroyed in any way. But, will a soul will subject to

perishment over course of time? Will it change its nature,

svabhavam over time?? Krishna says NO. Self is eternal. It is Stable,

Immovable (achalah) and primeval (Puratanah).

Another important point here is that Krishna says Self is always having

knowledge(achalah) and it doesn't change or get any new knowledge.

What makes humans and other beings behave differently is due to this knowledge

being hidden or covered due to karmas, just like

a Sun gets temporarily obscured by clouds.

Though the two slokas appear to be repetitive, the 23rd sloka talks of implements,

if any, to destroy atman and the next sloka says the atman is indestructible. It

is our experience in our schools also that important points are reiterated by

teachers so that they are remembered always. Here, Sri Krishna also a Teacher par

excellence, wants Arjuna to remember these noble qualities of atman, and so

reiterates. This will clear any doubts Arjuna has. In the first place, He says

that no weapons are there to cut the atman. Fire cannot burn it. Water cannot wet

it. Here it should be understood that the atman couldn t be  dissolved by water.

Air cannot dry it.

In the next sloka Sri Krishna says about the everlasting nature of atman, which we

had seen earlier. But, in addition He makes another statement that atman is

pervading or permeating all over. We have heard that only Paramatma or God only is

all pervading and omni present. How, then, atman can have this quality? The

interpretation by elders is that when an atman is in a body, by its power of

wisdom or knowledge it is pervading in the entire body without a gap. Same atman

when takes another body as its residence, pervades that body fully. Like this many

bodies are fully pervaded by the atman, at different times. This is a major

difference between the Paramatma and the Jeevatma. While, the former permeates all

bodies always and simultaneously, the latter occupies different bodies at

different times. It is said that certain yogis have that power to have their atman

present in more than one body at the same time. Normally, atman is present in one

body only. Arjuna accepts that it is all right the atman cannot be dissolved by

water or burnt by fire and so on, but it is possible, he doubts, that the atman

might fade on its own and disappear. Sri Krishna says that the eternalness is

natural to atman. Still not convinced, Arjuna feels that the atman may change its

characters with time. He wants to know whether atman s swabhavam or

characteristics undergo change. Sri Krishna says that the swabhavam of atman is

gyana or intellect. In other words it is gyana swaroopy, a personification of

wisdom. This never changes. A fresh doubt comes in the mind of Arjuna. We find

knowledge is neither uniform nor complete and we take efforts to develop. So how

it is justified to say that the knowledge of soul is not changing? Our elders have

explained this. All atman have total wisdom but when in a body, the knowledge

exhibited is limited by the past karmas. So the brightness is reduced by the

karmas. We dig the earth at a place for water. Water gushes out. Water was already

present there and by digging at the right place the water sprang up. Similarly,

the gyana or knowledge is already in the soul and by our efforts we try to bring

out and become more knowledgeable. Like Sunshine being reduced by the clouds or

the umbrella. So, the atman s gyana is also permanent.

2-25:

avyakto  ayam! acintyo  ayam! avikAryo  ayam! ucyate

tasmad evam viditva-enam na-anusocitum arhasi

Krishna continues to emphasize the nature of soul - Avayaktoyam, Achintyoyam,

Avikaaroyam.

In this verse Lord Krishna gives additional reasons why one should never grieve

for the soul. Because the soul is unmanifest it is not able to be cut or burned

like objects which are manifest in this world and being unmanifest it is

inconceivable as it is not possible to equate it with the form or nature of

anything that one could imagine in the material existence. Being unable to imagine

the constitution of the soul indicates it is immutable because it is devoid of any

process of modification for example milk transforming to youghurt. Therfore

comprehending the nature and quality of the soul as enunciated above one should

not be under the delusion of lamentation.

There are three sources of knowledge - Pratyaksham (Perception), Anumaanam

(inference), Shabdham(thru other sources e.g. Vedas).

So, whatever thing you take in this world, the three sources of knowledge will

tell that it is perishable. But, for Atma(soul), there is nothing which tells it

is

perishable - Avyakta-Ayam.

Krishna says soul is Achintyoyam - i.e it cannot even be conceived.

Krishna says soul is Avikaaroyam - AviKaaryaam i.e it is unchanging.

e.g take an example. Body can be felt, perceived , while soul cannot be felt

through Senses. And neither cannot it be infered i.e by looking

at something and then saying soul can be perished. Another example is, even

though a Lamp is seen through pratyaksham as one

light which is glowing, by inference we can see that it consists of wick, oil

which is getting exhausted. But, for soul neither through

pratyaksham, nor through inference can we say that soul is temporary.

The word avyaktah means invisible or imperceivable this is because the eternal

soul being totally transcendental to the material existence cannot be practically

examined as can objects which possess qualities of a physical nature.

The word acintyah means inconceivable because the eternal soul is impossible to

perceive by the mind and the senses being in every way transcendental to the

material substratum which is what the consciousness of the living entities base

their understanding on. The eternal soul differs from all other existences and

levels of existence is in transcendence. Therefore it is avikaryah unchangeable

and immutable. The Supreme Lord Krishna instructs that by knowing the eternal soul

to be immortal there is no cause for grief.

2-26:

atha-ca-enam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mrtam

tathapi tvam maha-baho na-enam socitum arhasi

"If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and

dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed."

In the previous slokas, Krishna emphasized the body is different from Soul and

says to Arjuna not to worry about this temporary

body and fight in the war. . But in this sloka and the next two slokas,

Krishna indulges in "Adbhukgamavadam" , where he changes tact ,

In this you argue your point agreeing with the point what your opponent is

imagining. So, Sri Krishna argues assuming that the body and soul are same, as

thought by Arjuna.

If both are same also Arjuna should not mourn at the killing of Bheeshma or

Drona. Because, as the body falls, the soul also dies according to the assumption

of Arjuna.

He should not now worry where the soul is going, to hell or heaven, as the soul is

no longer there after the body is slain. So, here he says,

Arjuna .. Ok, even if you consider Atma is identical with body and is

"NityaJatam"(constantly born) and "NityamMurtam" (Constantly dying),

even then (tatah pi), you should not feel grief. Why? The only constant in

this body is CHANGE! We don't always remain a kid, a boy,

a youth or so on. Even things around us, change constantly! Now, Arjuna says,

he is not worried about change, but death.

Krishna says, why worry about death? Arjuna says, he is worried to be separated

from everybody or others separating and the

unknown stage after death. Krishna laughs and says, if Arjuna is considering body

and soul as one and the same, what is there to

worry about death, because once the body perishes, it's the end of body and soul!

This is a good example of how ignorance can cloud

us with fear. For e.g. when we get hurt etc, we are scared, but the expert

Medics are calm and repair us without any fear. A surgeon

is not scared to operate or seeing blood etc, but we are scared. Why? Because the

surgeon is an expert. This shows that ignorance

is the root of this fear. Another reason is "experience".. Lack of awareness is

also another reason for fear. For eg. if we are familiar

with a misery or a disease etc, it is no longer a reason for fear. So, if Arjuna

thinks body and soul are one and the same, change

is inevitable and there is no reason to worry. Similarly, the question of

Swargam, Narakam doesn't arise, because if Arjuna considers

body and soul are one and the same, there is no swargam, Narakam. Arjuna now has

another doubt - "We" know the change in One

body i.e from infant to old age, but when we shed one body and take another body,

we are not aware of the old body and that is a reason

for fear, since the past and future are unknown. Krishna responds that, if we

remember every past life, then we will end up being

inundated with past memories and past relationships, which will end us drowned in

samasaram, without any chance of redemption.

Only great yogis and gnaanis have this power of rememberance, since it doesn't

disturb them. So, Krishna says that birth and death

are inevitable for the body, whose nature is modification and there is no need to

feel grief.

Krsna sarcastically addressed Arjuna as maha-bahu, mighty-armed, because He, at

least, did not accept the theory of the Vaibhasikas (a school of philosophy which

does

not accept soul), which leaves aside the Vedic wisdom. As a ksatriya, Arjuna

belonged to the Vedic culture, and it behooved him to continue to follow its

principles.

2-27:

jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca

tasmad aparihArye rthe na  tvam socitum arhasi

"One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take

birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not

lament."

Krishna says that whatever is originating, it's destruction is certain and

whatever is perishable, it will inevitably originate.

Arjuna now has a doubt. If he wins the war and whatever is born is going to

perish, it means the win will also be temporary. So, why even

battle?? Similarly, shouldn't a person who has recuperated from disease is happy,

should he be, because his recuperation is ultimately

temporary? Krishna responds saying that, this efforts are required for clearing

of the trouble for that period, which is natural and there

is no confusion or wrong about it. Similarly, it's Arjuna's responsibility to

fight his way from the current situation, rather than running away.

Now another doubt comes up - Is something coming up from nothing or is it coming

up from something ; This two types of

arguments are called - Sat-kaarya Vaadham and Asat-kaarya Vaadham. e.g. To take

an analogy, it's the difference between Discovery

and Invention. Discovery is something which is already there and been identified

for use (eg> country, columbus discovering America).

Invention is creating something which was not there previously (eg> Telephone).

But, really speaking, the components of telephone

was always there and it's only been arranged in a new way. e.g Wool.Thread

strung together becomes a Cloth. Similarly, something can

come out of something and nothing (this is Satkaarya Vaadham) and when it

perishes, it doesn't go away. but is transformed. eg. when

a pot is broken, even though the Pot is destroyed, it creates the clay (broken

into clay pieces). Similarly, when a body perishes, it takes

a different form.

It is evident that death of the physical body is inevitable to whatever is born

and that there is no way to escape from this physical termination of the body.

Similarly rebirth is unavoidable once one's physical body has died. How can

something which has been lost become again? It is conceivable that something which

has already been to become again; but it is inconceivable for that which has never

been to become. Therefore there is nothing that can come that has not been. What

is known as birth and death is but just different modifications of an ever

existing condition. Yarn and other materials exist but when they are woven into a

fabric that is a particular arrangement of the yarn itself, it receives the name

cloth in its modified state. Even the asat-karya-vadis who follow the fallacious

hypothesis that existence comes from non-existence should admit the ever existing

state, for what we know as cloth to them is a new creation but is factually the

same old yarn only in a new form which has been created. It is not sagacious or

well thought out to assume that a new substance has come into being simply because

of a modified condition.

Thus coming into existence and disappearing from existence are modified states of

an ever existing reality. One of the conditions of this modified state is its

appearance called birth and another condition being its diametric opposite is

known as death which by disappearing this ever existing reality passes into. For a

substance which is intrinsically metamorphic the process of modification is

essential. As in the case of a clod of earth, transformed into clay, transformed

into a pot, transformed into dust and transformed back to earth again. The

manifestation of a subsequent condition is but a modification of a previous

condition and that same subsequent condition becomes a prior condition of another

subsequent condition. Reasoning in this way it can be understood that it is

natural that successive modifications take place in regards to creation and

destruction of physical bodies which cannot be avoided and there is no reason to

lament due to this. If there is some slight grief which may be apparent by the

passing from a prior modified state to a subsequent modified state even this grief

need not arise in the case of living entities such as human beings because... and

the next verse 28 clarifies why.

2-28:

2-28:

avyaktadi-ni bhutani ! vyakta-madhyani bharata!

avyaktadi-ni bhutani ! vyakta-madhyani bharata!