Bhagwad Gita - Post 20

Sri Krishna explains the nature of SELF thus:

Verse 21

Vedaavinaashinam nityam

ya enam ajam avyayam;
Katham sa purushah paartha

kam ghaatayati hanti kam.

(He is not born, nor does he ever die; after having been, he again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, he is not killed when the body is killed.)

An enlightened person who knows the changelessness and the indestructibility of the Self cannot perform the function of slaying or cause another to slay. When we know the Self to be invulnerable, how can anyone slay it?  The words ‘how can he slay' refer to Arjuna and `cause another to slay’ refer to Krishna's own role.

Lord Krishna explains that the soul being eternal is not subject to the six modifications of material existence which are: Existence, birth, growth, disease, decay and death. 

The soul is never born and never dies at any time. How can this be? It is not that the soul did not exist before and will not exist in the future. 

The soul exists eternally but opting the experiences of the material existence accepts a physical body. What did not exist in the past but is manifested only in the present is called conceived and that which exists now but will cease to exist eventually is called dead. 

But the soul is not conceived as it eternally exists and it will never die because it is immortal. 

With the 2 words ajah meaning unborn and nityam meaning eternal, it is made clear that the 2 modifications of birth and death are not applicable to the soul. 

In order to also negate the idea of the soul possessing any modifications by even being, Lord Krishna explains that the soul is everlasting which means it is free from being or nonbeing. The modification of any growth of the soul is neutralized by the word Puranah meaning ancient, that it always existed as it is. 

One possessing a body grows by the increase of the bodily parts; but the soul being bodiless does not increase it is the same eternally. 

The remaining 2 modifications of disease and decay are inapplicable by inference in understanding that the soul being eternal without any need to increase remains as it is and is changeless. 

Hence the soul being bereft of any of the six modifications of the physical body can never be destroyed even when the physical body is destroyed.

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.

Katha Upanishad describes SELF thus:

NA JĀYATĒ MRIYATĒ VĀ VIPAŚCINNĀYAṄ KUTAŚCINNA BABHŪVA KAŚCIT.

AJŌ NITYAḤ ŚĀŚVATŌ.YAṄ PURĀṆŌ NA HANYATĒ HANYAMĀNĒ ŚARĪRĒ 

The intelligent Self is neither born nor does It die. It did not originate from anything, nor did anything originate from It. It is birth less, eternal, un decaying, and ancient. It is not injured even when the body is killed.

Vipascit, the intelligent One (Self)-intelligent, because Its nature of consciousness is never lost; 

na jayate, is not born-It is not produced; 

na va mriyate nor does It die. An impermanent thing that has origination, is subject to many modifications. 

With a view to denying all the modifications in the Self, the first and last of these modifications, in the form of birth and death, are being first denied here in the text: 'He is neither born nor dies.

Moreover, ayam, this One-the Self; 

na kutascit, did not come from anything-did not originate from any other cause; and from the Self Itself 

na kascit babhuva, nothing originated-as something different from It. 

Therefore, ayam, this Self (is),

ajah, birthless; 

nityah, eternal; 

sasvatah, undecaying. 

That which is impermanent is subject to decay, but this one is everlasting; therefore, It is 

puranah, ancient-new indeed even in the past. A thing is said to be new now, which emerges into being through the development of its parts, as for instance, a pot etc. 

The Self, however, is opposed to them. It is ancient, i.e. devoid of growth. 

Since this is so, therefore, 

na hanyate, It is not killed-not injured; 

sarire hanyamane, when the body is killed-with weapons etc.-though It exists there, just like space.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 19

Verse 12

Na twevaaham jaatu naasam

na twam neme janaadhipaah;

Na chaiva na bhavishyaamah

sarve vayam atah param.

Nor at any time indeed was I not,

nor these rulers of men,

nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter.

In the Katha Upanishad, Lord of death, Yama, teaches nachiketa, thus:-

“This Self is never born, nor does It die. It did not spring from anything, nor did anything spring from It. This Ancient One is unborn, eternal, everlasting. It is not slain even though the body is slain. 

If the slayer thinks that he slays, or if the slain thinks that he is slain, both of these know not. For It neither slays nor is It slain.”

In the Skanda Purana it is stated:

"There is no possibility of any destruction of the absolute Consciousness of the Supreme Lord the same, similarly it also applies to the individual consciousness of all living entities. 

The One who so desiring manifests as the many. The connection and disconnection from the physical body is known as birth and death. Such is this reality for all living entities; but for the eternal and transcendental Supreme Lord this reality has no relevance and is in no way applicable."

Thus, Krishna says that neither He Himself nor Arjuna nor the great kings of the age that have assembled in both the armies, are mere accidental happenings. 

They do not come from nowhere and, at their death, do not become mere non-existent. 

Dear all,

How to understand the essence of this verse in an easier manner?

We are clear from the pure canvass pour that the pure canvass = God or Brahman who / that existed even before time space, 5 elements emerged. 

And, in the same pour, we also learnt that while we are born, we occupy a part of the pure canvass and if we erase our body that has occupied the part of the pure canvass, then we are nothing else but the (part) in the pure canvass itself.

For a quick recap, please go through this pure canvass post link from an earlier blog theme post. 

Thus, are we not clear now that the pure canvass (Krishna referring to Himself in this verse) and we (the rulers referred in the verse) are never born and shall never cease to exist?

There are two things in the world, the soul which is real and the body which is unreal. Both of these are not to be grieved for because the soul never ceases to be, and the body is ever perishable. 

Thus, Sri Krishna speaks here of the immortality of the Self or the soul. The Self exists in the three periods of time - past, present and future.

He declares that the embodied soul in everyone identifies itself with varied forms temporarily to gain preordained experiences. 

Neither Krishna himself nor Arjuna nor the other kings who have assembled in the battlefield are mere accidental happenings nor shall they cease to exist in future. It is not that they came from nowhere nor at their death they become nothing or non-existent. The soul remaining the same, it gets apparently conditioned by different body equipments and comes to live through its self-ordained environments.

The essence of this verse, "the eternal existence of SELF" has been explained with so many illustrations in Atma Bodha theme posts such as,

- Pot Space (Where the Body is like pot which may exist or which may get broken (die) whereas the space inside is neither born, bore dies). 

- Gold and Ornament (The ornament is like various bodies whose shape, color, appearance etc may vary whereas the essence, the Gold (SELF) is the same).

In fact, the Atma bodha verses theme posts are more than sufficient for reading and contemplating in one's entire life, on the IMPERISHABLE SELF, which is the essence of today's post verse.

Lord Krishna informs Arjuna that due to fraternal feelings he was neglecting his own nature not to fulfill his duty according to righteousness. Is it because of the fear of losing his life or is it because of ignorance that he (Arjuna) and all others are but Pure consciousness?

The physical body is in all respects subject to destruction so there is no purpose in being frightened, nor should there be any concern over the possibility of destruction of the individual consciousness because its nature is also eternal.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 18

Dear All,

After allowing Arjuna to speak out and express his deluded state fully, the Lord takes over only after Arjuna is through with all his expressions, all his logics and is now looking for the guidance from Hrishikesa (Hrisika+Isa = Lord of senses).

Chapter 2 - Verse 11

Ashochyaan anvashochastwam

prajnaavaadaamshcha bhaashase;

Gataasoon agataasoomshcha na

anushochanti panditaah.

The Blessed Lord said:

You have grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.

Sri Krishna directly takes Arjuna to the highest realm of Truth, the essence of all Upanishads by pointing out that it is unwise on the part of Arjuna to grieve for the death he foresees of the army of Kauravas, for, the wise men know that there is no death for SELF, which is the eternal identity off all of them.

Death is nothing but disintegration of the matter and that the five elements of which the body is composed, return to their source.

Swami Sivananda pens a powerful line when he writes, 

"Arjuna forgot that his relations with this world in his present life were the results of his past actions. These, when exhausted, end all the relationship and the new ones crops up when one takes another body"

His disciple Swami Chinmayananda writes,

"The ego (Avidya) rises when the Pure SELF is not recognized; this deep-seated ignorance in man not only veils his Divine Nature from himself, but also projects on the reality, a positive misconception".

"Grief and dejection are the price that delusion demands from its victim. To rediscover ourselves to be really something higher than our own ego, is to end all the sorrows that have come to us, through our false identifications.

Thus, the Eternal spirit in man, asserting its false relationships with his body, comes to feel bound by a thousand relationships with the world of things and beings."

Katha Upanishad says, 

"Just as the sun, the eye of all the world, is not defiled by the eye's outward blemishes, So the One Inmost Self of every being is not defiled by the suffering of the world".

Thus, as echoed in the above Upanishad declaration, encompassing all that exists, internal and external is the Supreme Lord / Supreme SELF. 

Whatever is present in totality is the Supreme SELF, the undecayable one, without a second and nothing else. 

Swami Sivananda writes in Moksha Gita,

(For a liberated sage who has realized that all being are the Self, there is neither delusion nor grief, as there is no second for him)

And His worthy disciple Swami Krishnananda writes the commentary on the above verse,

"To him who sees Oneness only everywhere, where is delusion and where is grief? The experience of secondlessness is achieved through a finding of one's self in each and every being including even the wicked and the ungrateful. 

Such an expansion of the Self leads to the glory of the manifestation of the real Essence of the Being of all beings, where one finds himself in truth, where the lost Self is recovered with unbounded joy. 

Grief is only the temporary psychosis of the individual which has been deprived of a desired object or which is unable to fulfil a desire. The Jivanmukta who sees the One common Being spread everywhere grieves never. Beholding Existence as undivided he walks on the earth unknown and unidentified."

The main lesson on this verse is given above in the lines marked bold. 

For one to grieve for the other, either living or dead, the one has to differentiate between himself and the other, i.e., other objects should be perceived by him.

When one has crossed that duality of subject-object and beholds the entire creation as ONE COMMON BEING, then who has to grieve for whom?

What does it mean, in the light of satsanghs held till now, the blog posts given till now on Upadesa Sairam, Tattva bodha etc?

When one realizes SELF, then He transcends his body, mind, intellect, he transcends Vasanas, he exists verily as the pure canvass, in which so many drawings may come and go, but the pure canvass has nothing to do with these drawings and it exists pure, unaffected. 

It is also like the screen in a theatre where so many pictures come and go, there is comedian, Hero, heroine coming and giving, there are emotions, there are tears, there are laughters happening when the projector is on and the movie is running. But, does the screen have anything to do with all those things?  Does the screen grieve when some character in the movie projected on it dies or laughs when a character is born in the same movie?

In order to cure the very source of Arjuna's delusion, Krishna is here teaching him the cream of knowledge, as declared in the immortal books of the Hindus, the Upanishads.

True to that traditional cultural concept of education, here, the Great Master, Krishna, starts his instructions to Arjuna with a direct discourse upon the Eternal truth. 

Love.