Soul

Ashocyan anvashocase prajnavadams ca bhashase gatasun agatasumsh ca nanushocanti panditah

Krishna says Arjuna grieves for those who should not be grieved for, yet speaks words of wisdom. The truly wise do not grieve for either the dead or the living. This verse strikes at the root of Arjuna's delusion — grief born of ignorance about the immortal nature of the soul.

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.

Antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah sharirinal anashinah aprameyasya tasmat yudhyasva bharata

Krishna says these physical bodies of the eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable soul are said to have an end. Therefore, O Arjuna, fight. The body is temporal and will perish, but the soul within is eternal. Understanding this truth liberates one from the false grief of bodily death.

Ya enam vetti hantaram yash chainam manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijanito nayam hanti na hanyate

Krishna says that one who thinks the soul is a slayer and one who thinks it is slain — neither of them knows. The soul neither slays nor is slain. The confusion about killing and being killed on the battlefield rests entirely on the mistaken identification of the self with the body.

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.

Vedavinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam katham sa purushah partha kam ghatayati hanti kam

Krishna asks: how can one who knows the soul to be indestructible, unborn, eternal, and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill? The question is rhetorical — true knowledge of the self makes the concept of killing spiritually meaningless. Only ignorance creates guilt around fulfilling one's righteous duty.

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.

Atha chainam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mritam tathapi tvam maha-baho nainam shocitum arhasi

Even if you believe the soul is constantly being born and constantly dying, O mighty-armed, you should still not grieve. Even from the conventional standpoint of those who do not accept the Vedic view of the soul's immortality, grief is still irrational. Death is inevitable and beyond our control.

Ashcharya-vat pashyati kashcid enam ashcharya-vad vadati tathaiva chanyah ashcharya-vac chainam anyah shrinoti shrutvapy enam veda na chaiva kashcit

Some see the soul as amazing, some speak of it as amazing, some hear of it as amazing, and even having heard, no one knows it. The nature of the soul is the deepest mystery of existence. Despite philosophical discussion and scripture, the direct experience of the self eludes ordinary human comprehension.

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.

Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah, manasas tu para buddhir yo buddheh paratas tu sah

The senses are superior to the gross body, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and the soul is superior to the intellect.

Tat kshetram yac ca yadrik cha yad-vikari yatash cha yat, sa cha yo yat-prabhavash cha tat samasena me shrinu

Hear from Me briefly what the field is, its nature, its modifications, from where it comes, who the knower of the field is, and what His powers are. Understanding this framework is the foundation for all higher knowledge.

Anadi-tvat nirgunatvat paramatmayam avyayah, sharira-stho 'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate

O son of Kunti, because the imperishable Supersoul is without beginning and beyond the qualities of material nature, even though situated within the body, it neither acts nor is entangled. The soul's transcendence keeps it untouched by the activities of the body.

Yatha sarva-gatam saukshymyad akasham nopalipyate, sarvatravastito dehe tathatma nopalipyate

As the all-pervading sky, due to its subtlety, is never contaminated, similarly the Self, situated everywhere in the body, is never contaminated. Just as space remains pure despite pervading all objects, so too the soul remains untainted in all conditions.

Yatha prakaśayaty ekah kritsnam lokam imam ravih, kshetram kshetri tatha kritsnam prakasayati bharata

Just as the one sun illuminates the entire world, so does the one soul illuminate the entire field (body). As one sun lights the whole world, a single consciousness illumines the entire body — this analogy concludes the teaching on field and knower.

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.

Shariram yad avapnoti yac capy utkramatishvarah, grhitvaitani samyati vayur gandhan ivashayat

As the wind carries aromas from their source, so the living entity, who is the lord of the body, carries the mind and senses from one body to another when it gives up one form and takes another. This verse illuminates the subtle mechanics of transmigration — the soul carries its accumulated mental and sensory impressions into the next life.

Utkramantam sthitam vapi bhunjanam va gunānvitam, vimudha nānupashyanti pashyanti jnana-cakshusah

The foolish cannot understand how a living entity departs from the body, nor how it enjoys sense experience under the spell of the modes of nature — but one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this clearly. Spiritual vision, cultivated through knowledge, allows one to perceive the soul's journey that is hidden from the materially absorbed.

Yatanto yoginash cainam pashyanty atmany avasthitam, yatanto 'py akrtātmano nainam pashyanty acetasah

The endeavoring yogis see this soul clearly within themselves. But those who are not self-realized — even though they endeavor — cannot see it, for their minds are not purified. Sincere spiritual practice and inner purification are essential conditions for perceiving the soul; effort alone without self-purification is insufficient.

Dvav imau purushau loke kshara chaksharা eva cha, ksharah sarvani bhutani kuta-stho 'kshara ucyate

There are two kinds of beings in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable; the unchanging soul is called imperishable.