Chapter 2 Shloka 20

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूय:।

अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।२०।।

Bhagwan says:

This soul is neither born, nor dies at any time.

Having been in existence before, It does not cease to be.

It is eternal, constant and ancient.

It is not slain when the body is slain.

Chapter 2 Shloka 20

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूय:।

अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।२०।।

Bhagwan says:

This soul is neither born, nor dies at any time. Having been in existence before, It does not cease to be. It is eternal, constant and ancient. It is not slain when the body is slain.

Little one, listen carefully to what the Lord is saying. The Atma is neither born nor does It die. It remains constant.

The Atma is without birth; It is untouched by attributes; It has no name or form.

Impermanence of the body

Then who is born? It is the body that is born – a piece of clay moulded by the three-fold attributes of nature – sattva, rajas and tamas.

1. The seed of the individual’s actions falls on the soil and sprouts as the individual’s body.

2. It is nurtured by the soil, only to merge back into the elements when its life span is over.

3. The attributed qualities, too, belong to this body of clay and the shape assumed is also constituted of the five elements.

4. The world gives this body a name.

5. Life and death happen to this same body.

6. All actions are performed by this body of five elements.

7. Its qualities partake of the qualities of other objects.

8. At times, its qualities obliterate the qualities of others.

9. Its qualities are also influenced by those of others.

10. The inherent qualities of the body impel it to act.

11. The qualities of the body are affected by others’ or one’s own qualities.

All doings are of the body and the mind and not of the Self, the Atma. If the Atma is unborn then how can it die? The Atma is eternal and indestructible.

Listen little one! Bhagwan Krishna Himself says, “You are not the body.”

1. Then why are you attached to your body?

2. So much pride in your physical attributes is not good.

3. Why do you take credit for the body’s deeds and foster doership?

4. It is the body which partakes of the objects of the world; why must you consider yourself to be the enjoyer?

5. You perform cruel actions in order to establish this body which you are not! This body, of which you think so highly, is destined to die, whereas you are the eternal, indestructible Essence. What relationship is there between you and this body? This body and you, who are Atma Itself, are incompatible. Can the conscious and the inert ever be one?

Therefore:

a) Sever your false attachments with this name and form.

b) Cease to take pride in what you essentially are not.

c) Your hunger and desires pertain to the body, give them up.

d) Relinquish sorrow, fear, remorse, hope and covetousness, knowing they are of the body. Whatever you do for the body is false, for it is based on a false premise – that you are the body. What you do for others is the truth, because the basis for such selfless actions is devoid of body consciousness.

The wise sages, the sanyasis, the learned know the body is mortal. Therefore they are not attached to it.

1. Knowing the Atma to be unborn, they do not claim the body as their own.

2. Knowing the Atma to be their basic essence, they rise above doership and enjoyership.

3. They do not live only for the good of the body; they spontaneously do what is good for the other.

4. They, so to say, become forgetful of their minds and mental concepts.

5. Their every deed is for the welfare of the other.

6. They are fearless sanyasis.

Little one, you too must obey the Lord’s Word. He Himself is enjoining you to do so!