January30 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 2; Verses 2.26-2.27 (Day 30) Sankhya Yoga
Wisdom of Yoga
Lesson
2.3 (Verse 26-38)
January 30 – Chapter 2;
Verses 26-27
Day 30 [2.26-2.27]
अथ चैनं
नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् ।
तथापि त्वं
महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ २-२६॥
atha chainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛitam
tathāpi twaṁ mahābāho naivaṁ śhochitum arhasi (2.26)
அத2 சை1னம் நித்1யஜாத1ம் நித்1யம்
வா மன்யஸே ம்ருத1ம் |
த1தா2பி1 த்1வம் மஹாபா3ஹோ
நைவம் ஶோசி1து1மர்ஹஸி ||26||
26. But, even if you think of It as being constantly born and dying, even then, O mighty-armed, you should not grieve!
Commentary: Lord Krishna here, for the sake of argument, takes up the popular supposition. Granting that the Self is again and again born whenever a body comes into being, and again and again dies whenever the body dies. O! Mighty-armed (Arjuna of great valour and strength), you should not grieve thus, because birth is inevitable to what is dead and death is inevitable to what is born. This is the law of Nature. Therefore, one should not grieve.
जातस्य हि
ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।
तस्मादपरिहार्ये ऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ २-२७॥
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ janma mṛitasya cha
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na twaṁ śhochitum arhasi (2.27)
ஜாத1ஸ்ய ஹி த்4ருவோ ம்ருத்1யுர்த்4ருவம்
ஜன்ம ம்ருத1ஸ்ய ச1 |
த1ஸ்மாத3ப1ரிஹார்யேர்தே2 ந த்1வம் ஶோசி1து1மர்ஹஸி
||27||
27. For, certain is death for the born and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable you should not grieve.
Commentary: Birth is sure to happen to that which is dead; death is sure to happen to that which is born. Birth and death are certainly unavoidable. Therefore, you should not grieve over an inevitable matter.
Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda (verses 26-27): Krishna’s
expressions are very clever and guarded! He does not concede that the Self is
born and it dies. But if you think so,
even then there is no cause for grief.
We should learn to accept the inevitable. As a famous prayer goes: ‘God, grant me the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference’. Birth and death are inevitable; so why
worry?
In the second verse, we see that the cautious wording. Death is certain for that which is born and birth for the dead. But, where is it said that the self is born or it dies? Birth and death belong to the illusion (conventional or traditional usage), not to the self, the substratum for the ‘I’. I am not born nor do I die; birth and death belong to the confusion. At best, ‘birth’ and ‘death’ are conventional expressions like the ‘rising’ and ‘setting’ of the sun. For not even the ‘body’ dies finally. Birth and death are two apparent stages in a ceaseless change. They have social implications but cease to be true when investigated into. When you drive along a tar road in the morning, you find a mirage. When the sun sets, the mirage disappears (dies). Oh, no, it is not dead; the next morning, when the sun rises, the mirage is born again! We can accept the inevitable with wisdom and courage only if we are firmly rooted in the truth or the permanent reality which is totally unaffected by these passing phenomena.
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