January29 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 2; Verses 2.23-2.25 (Day 29) Sankhya Yoga

 

January 29 – Chapter 2; Verses 23-25

Day 29 [2.23-2.25]

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।

न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥ २-२३॥ 

nainaṁ chhindanti śhastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na chainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śhoṣhayati mārutaḥ (2.23) 

நைனம் சி²ன்த³ன்தி¹ ஶஸ்த்¹ராணி நைனம் த³ஹதி¹ பா¹வக¹: |
ந சை¹னம் க்¹லேத³யன்த்¹யாபோ¹ ந ஶோஷயதி¹ மாருத¹: ||23|| 

23. Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not. 

COMMENTARY: The Self is indivisible, partless. It is infinite and extremely subtle. So, the sword cannot cut It; fire cannot burn It; water cannot wet It; wind cannot dry It. 

अच्छेद्यो ऽयमदाह्यो ऽयमक्लेद्यो ऽशोष्य एव च ।

नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलो ऽयं सनातनः ॥ २-२४॥ 

achchhedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śhoṣhya eva cha
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur achalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ (2.24) 

அச்¹சே²த்³யோ‌யமதா³ஹ்யோ‌யமக்¹லேத்³யோ‌ஶோஷ்ய ஏவ ச¹

நித்¹ய: ஸர்வக³த: ஸ்தா²ணுரச¹லோ‌யம் ஸனாத¹ன: ||24|| 

24. This Self cannot be cut, burnt, wetted nor dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, ancient and immovable. 

Commentary: The Self is very subtle.  It is beyond the reach of speech and mind.  It is very difficult to understand this subtle Self.  So Lord Krishna explains the nature of the immortal Self in a variety of ways with various illustrations and examples, so that It can be grasped by the people.

Sword cannot cut this Self.  So It is eternal.  Because It is eternal, It is all-pervading.  Because It is all-pervading, It is stable like a statue.  Because It is stable, It is immovable.  It is everlasting.  Therefore, It is not produced out of any cause.  It is not new. It is ancient.

 

अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्यो ऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते ।

तस्मादेवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुमर्हसि ॥ २-२५॥ 

avyakto ’yam achintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam uchyate
tasmād evaṁ viditwainaṁ nānuśhochitum arhasi (2.25) 

அவ்யக்¹தோ‌¹யமசி¹ன்த்¹யோ‌யம் அவிகா¹ர்யோ‌யமுச்¹யதே¹ |
த¹ஸ்மாதே³வம் விதி³த்¹வைனம் நானுஶோசி¹து¹ மர்ஹஸி ||25|| 

25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing This to be such, thou shouldst not grieve. 

Commentary: The Self is not object of perception.  It can hardly be seen by the physical eyes.  Therefore, the Self is unmanifested.  That which cannot be seen by the eyes becomes an object of thought.  As the Self cannot be perceived by the eyes, It is unthinkable.  Milk when mixed with buttermilk changes its form.  The Self cannot change Its form like milk. Hence, It is changeless and immutable.  Therefore, thus understanding the Self, you should not mourn.  You should not think also that you art their slayer and that they are killed by you. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda (verses 23-25): Expressions like ‘I am injured. I am burnt’ are defective. Even so, ‘I am a bad man’, etc.  They betray a confusion of the self (to which the ‘I’ points) and the body and mind which are subject to all these afflictions.  Take the expression ‘I am sick’. If it is true, then I cannot be made healthy! It is just like the expression ‘This is paper’ which cannot be made into a loaf of bread!

Injury, burning, evil nature, sickness, and so on, are superimpositions on the self which as nothing to do with these and hence isable to shake them off at will.  Its essential nature as the immortal, eternal, all-pervading, stable and ancient self asserts itself.

Thus, even common expressions like ‘I am a man’, if pursued as an inward enquiry will lead us to their logical conclusion, the Self.  ‘I’ is really not ‘a man’, for the ‘I’ is really distinct from the ‘man-body’. The ‘I’ is beyond all these modifications.  It is the subtle essence hidden in all bodies, one and immutable.

“That which is the subtle essence of all, in that all exists has its being.  That is the truth.  That is the Self.  That thou art, O Śvetaketu” – Chāndogya Upanishad. 

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