TEXT 27
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।
तस्मा-दपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितु-मर्हसि ।। 27 ।।
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi
jātasya – of one who has taken his birth; hi – certainly; dhruvaḥ – a fact; mṛtyuḥ – death; dhruvam – it is also a fact; janma – birth; mṛtasya – of the dead; ca – also; tasmāt – therefore; aparihārye – of that which is unavoidable; arthe – in the matter; na – do not; tvam – you; śocitum – to lament; arhasi – deserve.
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.
One has to take birth according to one’s activities of life. And after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way one is going through one cycle of birth and death after another without liberation. This cycle of birth and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder, slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war are inevitable factors in human society for keeping law and order.
The Battle of Kurukṣetra, being the will of the Supreme, was an inevitable event, and to fight for the right cause is the duty of a kṣatriya. Why should he be afraid of or aggrieved at the death of his relatives since he was discharging his proper duty? He did not deserve to break the law, thereby becoming subjected to the reactions of sinful acts, of which he was so afraid. By avoiding the discharge of his proper duty, he would not be able to stop the death of his relatives, and he would be degraded due to his selection of the wrong path of action.
TEXT 28
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तम-ध्यानि भारत ।
अव्यक्त-निधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ।। 28 ।।
avyaktādīni bhūtāni
vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva
tatra kā paridevanā
avyakta-ādīni – in the beginning unmanifested; bhūtāni – all that are created; vyakta – manifested; madhyāni – in the middle; bhārata – O descendant of Bharata; avyakta – nonmanifested; nidhanāni – when vanquished; eva – it is all like that; tatra – therefore; kā – what; paridevanā – lamentation.
All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?
Accepting that there are two classes of philosophers, one believing in the existence of the soul and the other not believing in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation in either case. Nonbelievers in the existence of the soul are called atheists by followers of Vedic wisdom. Yet even if, for argument’s sake, we accept this atheistic theory, there is still no cause for lamentation.
Apart from the separate existence of the soul, the material elements remain unmanifested before creation. From this subtle state of nonmanifestation comes manifestation, just as from ether, air is generated; from air, fire is generated; from fire, water is generated; and from water, earth becomes manifested. From the earth, many varieties of manifestations take place. Take, for example, a big skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it is dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested and remains as atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy remains, but in course of time things are manifested and unmanifested – that is the difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either in the stage of manifestation or in unmanifestation? Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things are not lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all elements remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are they manifested, and this does not make any real material difference.
And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time (antavanta ime dehāḥ) but that the soul is eternal (nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ), then we must remember always that the body is like a dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul or one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.
TEXT 29
आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेनं आश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्यः ।
आश्चर्यवच्चैन-मन्यः श्रृणोति श्रृत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् ।। 29 ।।
āścarya-vat paśyati kaścid enam
āścarya-vad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ
āścarya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti
śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit
āścarya-vat – as amazing; paśyati – sees; kaścit – someone; enam – this soul; āścarya-vat – as amazing; vadati – speaks of; tathā – thus; eva – certainly; ca – also; anyaḥ – another; āścarya-vat – similarly amazing; ca – also; enam – this soul; anyaḥ – another; śṛṇoti – hears of; śrutvā – having heard; api – even; enam – this soul; veda – knows; na – never; ca – and; eva – certainly; kaścit – someone.
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.
Since Gītopaniṣad is largely based on the principles of the Upaniṣads, it is not surprising to also find this passage in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.7):
śravaṇayāpi bahubhir yo na labhyaḥ
śṛṇvanto ’pi bahavo yaṁ na vidyuḥ
āścaryo vaktā kuśalo ’sya labdhā
āścaryo ’sya jñātā kuśalānuśiṣṭaḥ
The fact that the atomic soul is within the body of a gigantic animal, in the body of a gigantic banyan tree, and also in the microbic germs, millions and billions of which occupy only an inch of space, is certainly very amazing. Men with a poor fund of knowledge and men who are not austere cannot understand the wonders of the individual atomic spark of spirit, even though it is explained by the greatest authority of knowledge, who imparted lessons even to Brahmā, the first living being in the universe. Owing to a gross material conception of things, most men in this age cannot imagine how such a small particle can become both so great and so small. So men look at the soul proper as wonderful either by constitution or by description. Illusioned by the material energy, people are so engrossed in subject matters for sense gratification that they have very little time to understand the question of self-understanding, even though it is a fact that without this self-understanding all activities result in ultimate defeat in the struggle for existence. Perhaps they have no idea that one must think of the soul, and thus make a solution to the material miseries.
Some people who are inclined to hear about the soul may be attending lectures, in good association, but sometimes, owing to ignorance, they are misguided by acceptance of the Supersoul and the atomic soul as one without distinction of magnitude. It is very difficult to find a man who perfectly understands the position of the Supersoul, the atomic soul, their respective functions and relationships and all other major and minor details. And it is still more difficult to find a man who has actually derived full benefit from knowledge of the soul, and who is able to describe the position of the soul in different aspects. But if, somehow or other, one is able to understand the subject matter of the soul, then one’s life is successful.
The easiest process for understanding the subject matter of self, however, is to accept the statements of the Bhagavad-gītā spoken by the greatest authority, Lord Kṛṣṇa, without being deviated by other theories. But it also requires a great deal of penance and sacrifice, either in this life or in the previous ones, before one is able to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa can, however, be known as such by the causeless mercy of the pure devotee and by no other way.
TEXT 30
देही नित्य-मवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत ।
तस्मात्-सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ।। 30 ।।
dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ
dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi
dehī – the owner of the material body; nityam – eternally; avadhyaḥ – cannot be killed; ayam – this soul; dehe – in the body; sarvasya – of everyone; bhārata – O descendant of Bharata; tasmāt – therefore; sarvāṇi – all; bhūtāni – living entities (that are born); na – never; tvam – you; śocitum – to lament; arhasi – deserve.
O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.
The Lord now concludes the chapter of instruction on the immutable spirit soul. In describing
