Bhagavad Gita : Chapter Two : Slokas 21 to 30 : Krishna Teaches Arjuna about the Undamagable Self : (With pada chheda and anvaya) : Audio

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Bhagavad Gita : Chapter Two : Slokas 21 to 30 : Krishna Teaches Arjuna about the Eternal Self : (With pada ccheda and anvaya) : http://ancientindians.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/gitatwo21to30.mp3

Bhagwaan Sri Krishna continued to explain to Arjuna :

“Oh Partha! How can a puruSa (person, in this context)  - who knows that “This” is indestructible, eternal, birthless and unspoilable – either wound or kill anyone? As a man throws away his old worn out clothes for new ones, so also the One who owns the body, throws away the old worn-out bodies for new ones.

“This” cannot be cut by weapons or burnt by fire or wet by waters or dried by wind. It is un-cuttable, un-burnable, un-wet-able and un-dry-able.  It is eternal, all pervading, stable, unmoving and ancient.

It is said to be undifferentiated, beyond thought, cannot be changed. Knowing this, you are not worthy of worrying!

And IF YOU think,

“It is born eternally and dies eternally”,

even then oh one of powerful arms, you are not worthy of worrying!

“Since death is certain for the born and birth is certain for the dead” and nothing can be done about it, you are not worthy of worrying!

In the beginning all beings are undifferentiated and they are differentiated in the middle. They become undifferentiated on destruction, therefore why the lamenting?

Some perceive the wonder of “This”, another speaks of It’s wonder, yet another hears about its wonderfulness and yet even having heard about it no one knows it.

The One who possesses a body, is ever-present, un-killable, He is in the body of all, oh Bharata! Therefore for all all beings, it is not right that you worry!”

My Comments : 

na tvam socitum arhasi :

The phrase na tvam socitum arhasi occurs both in the Valmiki Ramayanam and in the Bhagavad Gita. It literally means you have no right to worry! Which we translate oft as “it is not right that you worry”.

Lines from the Valmiki Ramayanam : Throughout the Ramayana, you have people advising one another not to grieve and the ill effects of grief. In the s’lOkAs below from Kishkindakanda,  Sri Rama is being advised not to grieve.

In the Ramayanam, it is Rama who is thus advised by others and in the Gita it is Krishna who advises Arjuna. In the context of the Ramayanam, it was Rama who had to go to the forest and wage a war to recover his wife, in the context of the Gita, it was Arjuna who had to kill his relatives! The one who has to “do something really difficult” naturally has worries and thoughts about it and the ones who are close to them use steadying words.When faced with a colossal task fraught with emotion, it is wonderful to remember that the doer is the immortal puruSa and that It knows what it is doing!

In the Ramayanam, the reasons given against worry are – that it does not befit the brave and knowledgeable and will never lead to happiness.

We have just read above what Krishna said.

Death :

Science has taught us that we die bit by bit everyday. When we are young, rate of growth and repair exceeds rate of decay. As we grow older, growth slows down, repair slows down and the body gets worn out. Eating more causes indigestion and not body-preservation.

The cells that formed us yesterday are not the cells that form us today and we look different everyday of our lives. Yet ask even a 95 year old person and he says “I feel exactly the same as I ever felt. I am surprised that I can’t leap over fences as I used to and I have less hair than I once did. My body feels older and less flexible and my mind forgets stuff. But I feel the same! “

I know that I won’t be able to preserve this body form with its daily variations for more than a countable number of decades, I don’t remember my birth, my time in the womb, much of my childhood and youth, most of my adult life and where I put my glasses last night or how many times I repeat the same words when I talk to young people.

I don’t remember ‘acquiring a body’ and don’t know if I will understand ‘giving it up’.

But I Do Understand,  feeling the same about myself and noticing that “I” don’t bleed when I cut my finger or cease to exist when I cut my nails. I do understand being surprised when people judge me by my body or face or what decorations I put on them!

I do understand the idea of my Self.

I do not yet see/feel that it is the same as the Self in you and in the Sun. I feel eternal but I don’t yet feel the ‘sarva-gata’ everywhere going bit. My “I-ness” feels pretty localized, even trapped if you will!

 To answer Krishna’s question “why the lamenting?”

Krishna, there are a few people who care for me and I care for. That take care of me and that I take care of. The idea of not having them is very sad and lonely and painful. The idea of our “impermanence” is unbearable. We have not gone with the ones who have gone before,  and will not go with the ones who go next, but please take care of our people. Time and Space often separate us and our thoughts are with them always. I love “these people” and I can understand what poor Arjuna felt when had to fight “those people” by his own hand!

Thank you for telling me that all my loved ones are eternal. It means a lot to me. I understand that family attachments are body attachments!

Other Posts By Me : 

(Click) Bhagavad Gita Complete : Satya Bhashyam (vyAkhyAnam)

Bhagavad Gita : Audio Files

Adi Sankara’s and Ramanujacharya’s Gita Bhashya Online

Gita Parayanam : Bhagavad Gita Slokas (with Nyasa, Dhyana, Mahatmya , and sandhis) in Devanagari

Sankara’s Gita Bhasyam (My translation and explanation. Work in Progress.)

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