Verse 23
Nainam
cchindanti shastraani
nainam dahati
paavakah;
Na chainam
kledayantyaapo
na shoshayati maarutah.
(Weapons cut it
not, fire burns it not, water wets it not, wind dries it not.)
It could be
interjected that just as in a burning house the occupants of the house are
burned along with it, so also in the case of the soul if the physical body is
burnt or cut might not the soul be burnt or cut as well.
To annihilate this
misconception the Supreme Lord Krishna explains that never can the soul be cut
by weapons, never can the soul be burned by fire, never can the soul be
moistened by water and never can the soul be withered by air.
Although only one use
of the word na meaning
never would have been sufficient to establish the premise of utter futility in
trying to destroy the soul, it is used four times to strengthen the emphasis
insuring there is not even the slightest vestige of doubt.
WEAPONS
CLEAVE IT NOT --- It is very
well-known that with an axe one can cut down a thing, but neither can one wound
water, fire, air or space with a sword, however sharp it might be.
The principle is that
no instrument can hit or destroy an element subtler than itself. Naturally,
therefore, Atman, the Self, the very cause of the subtlest element, space, and
necessarily therefore, subtler than space, cannot be cut asunder by the gross
instruments.
FIRE
CANNOT BURN IT --- Fire generally
can burn things other than the fire, but it cannot burn itself. The burning
capacity in fire is the very Essence, the Truth in it, and therefore, fire
cannot burn its own Essence, viz., its fiery nature.
Wherever there is
fire, it can consume things only in space and yet, space is never consumed by
fire. Things are consumed by fire in space. If space itself cannot be consumed
by fire, how impotent it must feel when it tries to consume the cause of space,
the Self?
WATER
CANNOT MOISTEN IT --- Things get
soaked only when they have got inter-space in themselves. A piece of bread can
be soaked in water or milk, but a piece of iron cannot be soaked, as iron has
no inter-space in it.
When the substance is
one homogeneous mass containing nothing other than itself to condition it,
water cannot enter the substance and, therefore, cannot soak it.
Another method of destruction observed is either through the quick effects of
water, that is drowning, etc., or through the slow effects of moisture, such as
corroding, etc. Even these cannot destroy the Truth.
WIND
DRIES IT NOT --- Dehydration is
possible only when there are some traces of water in the substance dehydrated.
Every crystal has its own water of crystallization, which, when removed, causes
the crystals to lose their distinct shapes and forms and get pulverized into a
fine powder.
The Supreme
Consciousness contains nothing other than Itself and therefore, annihilation
through the process of dehydration is not possible.
The unseen is always
explained in terms of the seen, and thereby the unknown becomes fully
indicated, rather than defined; for, any unknown thing merely defined in itself
remains as unknown as before.
Similarly, here, the
Changeless, Immutable, Self is being described by Lord Krishna in terms of the
mutable and ever-changing world which is very familiar to Arjuna and all people
like us. In the world-of-change, objects come to their annihilation through
instruments of death or they are consumed by fire or destroyed by water or
dried up by air.
Say to yourself,
‘weapons cannot cut me.’ But weapons kill your body! Then who are you? If you
believe yourself to be the body, mind and intellect you get affected by the
world. You become a victim, tossed around by the fluctuations in the world.
Shift your focus to Atman.
The world will no
longer torment you. Even the mind, intellect and vasanas are
immune to physical changes in the world. When you are engrossed in a book you
are oblivious to hunger, thirst and other demands of the body.
The masters emphasize
that all suffering is because of wrong identification. The world by itself has
no power to disturb you. You become vulnerable when you mistakenly believe
yourself to be the body-mind-intellect.
When you understand
you are Atman the world ceases to traumatize you. You may interact with the
world and do what you have to but as a master, not slave. Only then can you
enjoy the world.
Love.
