Eternal

Na tv evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah na caiva na bhavisyamah sarve vayam atah param

Krishna declares that there was never a time when He, Arjuna, or all these kings did not exist, and there will never be a time when any of them will cease to exist. This establishes the eternal and continuous nature of individual consciousness, negating the fear of annihilation through death.

Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati

As the embodied soul continuously passes through childhood, youth, and old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

Nasato vidyate bhavo nabhavo vidyate satah ubhayor api drishto 'ntas tv anayos tattva-darshibhih

Krishna teaches that the unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to exist. Those who see the truth have concluded this about both. The distinction between the eternal real (sat) and the transient unreal (asat) is the foundation of Vedantic philosophy and spiritual discrimination.

Avinashi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam vinasham avyayasyasya na kashcit kartum arhati

Krishna says know that to be indestructible by which all this universe is pervaded. No one is able to cause the destruction of the imperishable. The soul pervades and underlies all of existence and cannot be destroyed by any force, since it is the very ground of being itself.

Na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sharire

The soul is never born nor dies at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain. This is one of the most celebrated descriptions of the immortal Atman in all scripture.

Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro 'parani, tatha sharirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi

As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.

Nainam chindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah, na chainam kledayanty apo na shoshayati marutah

Weapons cannot shred the soul, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.

Acchedyo 'yam adahyo 'yam akledyo 'shoshya eva ca, nityah sarva-gatah sthanur acalo 'yam sanatanah

This soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can neither be burned nor dried. It is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.

Avyakto 'yam acintyo 'yam avikaryo 'yam ucyate tasmad evam viditvainam nanushocitum arhasi

The soul is said to be unmanifest, unthinkable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. The soul transcends all categories of sensory and mental perception — it cannot be seen, thought about, or altered. Grief over the soul's fate is therefore completely misplaced.

Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya ca tasmad apariharye 'rthe na tvam shocitum arhasi

For the one who is born, death is certain; and for the one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore, for this unavoidable reality, you should not grieve. The cycle of birth and death is inevitable and universal. Grief over what cannot be avoided is a waste of energy and wisdom.

Avyaktadini bhutani vyakta-madhyani bharata avyakta-nidhanany eva tatra ka paridevana

All created beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in the middle state, and unmanifest again after death. So what is there to lament? Existence moves from the unmanifest through manifestation back to the unmanifest — what we call death is simply a return to the prior state. There is no cause for sorrow.

Dehi nityam avadhyo 'yam dehe sarvasya bharata tasmat sarvani bhutani na tvam shocitum arhasi

The soul dwelling in the body of every being is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. Since the inner self is indestructible in all beings, grief over any loss of life is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what we truly are.

Esha brahmi sthitih partha nainam prapya vimuhyati sthitvasyam anta-kale 'pi brahma-nirvanam ricchati

That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God. The final verse of Chapter 2 describes brahmi sthiti — the state of Brahman-consciousness — as the supreme destination. One who attains this state is never again deluded, and even at death merges into the Absolute.

Naham prakashahah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavritah, mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam

I am not manifest to everyone, being veiled by My yoga-maya. This deluded world does not know Me as unborn and eternal. God is veiled from ordinary perception by the divine power of yoga-maya. Without sincere spiritual seeking and purification, the eternal nature of God remains hidden.

Avyakto 'kshara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim, yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama

That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns — that is My supreme abode. The supreme abode of God, from which there is no return, is the ultimate destination described throughout the Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy.

Ye tv akṣharam anirdeśhyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate, sarvatra-gam achintyaṁ cha kūṭa-stham achalaṁ dhruvam

But those who worship the imperishable, the undefinable, the unmanifest, the omnipresent, the inconceivable, the unchanging, the immovable, the eternal—

Jneyam yat tat pravakshyami yaj jnatva 'mritam ashnute, anadir mat-param brahma na sat tan nasad ucyate

I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you shall taste the eternal. Brahman, the supreme, is beginningless and subordinate to Me; it is said to be neither being nor non-being. The ultimate object of knowledge is the transcendent Brahman.

Mamaivamsho jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah, manah-shashthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karshati

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.