eternal & indestructible

 
O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain.
The Lord now concludes the chapter of instruction on the immutable spirit soul. In describing the immortal soul in various ways, Lord Krsna establishes that the soul is immortal and the body is temporary. Therefore Arjuna as a ksatriya should not abandon his duty out of fear that his grandfather and teacher-Bhisma and Drona-will die in the battle. On the authority of Sri Krsna, one has to believe that there is a soul different from the material body, not that there is no such thing as soul, or that living symptoms develop at a certain stage of material maturity resulting from the interaction of chemicals. Though the soul is immortal, violence is not encouraged, but at the time of war it is not discouraged when there is actual need for it. That need must be justified in terms of the sanction of the Lord, and not capriciously.    (More...)
Krsna is making it clear to Arjuna that He does not accept this atheistic philosophy and that neither should he, and that it behooves him to carry out his duty in the tradition of all great Vedic warriors. "O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat, and, by so doing, you shall never incur sin." (Gita 2.30, 38) Krsna here definitely asserts that there is no cause for lamentation because in fact no one can be slain. Secondly, Arjuna should fight simply for the sake of fighting because Krsna is requesting this. The materialistic man is forever bewildered, being concerned with victory, gain and happiness, but the devotee is not concerned with these things. Happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat are the same to him. Whatever Krsna desires-that is the devotee's rule. It is not that he will be Krsna's devotee when he is victorious or when there is some gain. That is not devotion: that is business. Unfortunately most people, even most religious people, simply want to do business with God. "Give me this day, and I will do such and such." That is not love of God, that is love of whatever one is bargaining for. Whatever condition Krsna wants, even if Krsna wants to send the devotee to hell, the devotee also desires. It is known as "dovetailing desire" when one makes Krsna's desire his desire. "Do thou fight for the sake of fighting" simply because Krsna has willed it. Krsna is Supreme, and His reasons for desiring anything are supreme. So we can rest assured that there is divine justice in the battle, just as we understand that when the surgeon amputates an infected limb, it is not violence but mercy. Krsna is perfect, and whatever He does is perfect. Actually, Krsna favors no one, not even his devotee, because Krsna claims all living entities as His children. Thus we can rest assured that whatever Krsna is ordering is best for everyone concerned.    (More...)
The living entity is not killable because of his spiritual constitution. What is killed, or is supposed to be killed, is the body only.
When an embodied living entity is hurt by fatal weapons, it is to be known that the living entity within the body is not killed. The spirit soul is so small that it is impossible to kill him by any material weapon, as is evident from the previous verses. Nor is the living entity killable because of his spiritual constitution. What is killed, or is supposed to be killed, is the body only. This, however, does not at all encourage killing of the body. The Vedic injunction is, "mahimsyat sarva-bhūtani" never commit violence to anyone. Nor does understanding that the living entity is not killed encourage animal slaughter. Killing the body of anyone without authority is abominable and is punishable by the law of the state as well as by the law of the Lord. Arjuna, however, is being engaged in killing for the principle of religion, and not whimsically.    (More...)
The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Soul. The Mayavadi, however, cannot describe how the individual soul evolved from ignorance and consequently became covered by illusory energy. Because they are atomic individual souls (sanatana) eternally, they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of the fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varaha Purana, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gita also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Krsna, but he never became one with Krsna.    (More...)
Syamasundara: "All kinds of weapons, swords, flames, rains, tornadoes, etc., are unable to kill the spirit soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly there were other weapons made of all different types of material elements. Firearms were counteracted by water weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons. Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces nor annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of scientific devices. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Soul. The Mayavadi, however, cannot describe how the individual soul evolved from ignorance and consequently became covered by illusory energy. Because they are atomic individual souls [sanatana] eternally, they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord..."    (More...)
"The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be moistened by the water, nor withered by the wind." (Bhagavad-gita, 2.23) Here Lord Krsna begins to describe the properties of the spirit soul. These properties are antipodal to the properties of the body. We all know that the body can be cut to pieces, burned up, wetted, and so on, and because of this it is subject to pain and death. We are so certain of the killing abilities of fire that we use it to sterilize so that things will be germless. But we have information from Vedic literatures that there are living entities also in the fire. "This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can neither be burned nor dried." (Bg. 2.24) Here Lord Krsna is stressing the point that fire cannot kill the soul. All material attempts to annihilate the soul are futile. It is not possible to kill the soul by making a hotter fire, by using a sharper weapon, or by drowning it with any amount of water. The individual soul is sanatana, eternally situated.    (More...)
The spirit soul is so minute that it cannot even be seen by an enemy, to say nothing of being killed
The material body is perishable by nature. It may perish immediately, or it may do so after a hundred years. It is a question of time only. There is no chance of maintaining it indefinitely. But the spirit soul is so minute that it cannot even be seen by an enemy, to say nothing of being killed. As mentioned in the previous verse, it is so small that no one can have any idea how to measure its dimension. So from both viewpoints there is no cause of lamentation because the living entity can neither be killed as he is, nor can the material body, which cannot be saved for any length of time, be permanently protected. The minute particle of the whole spirit acquires this material body according to his work, and therefore observance of religious principles should be utilized. In the Vedanta-sūtras the living entity is qualified as light because he is part and parcel of the supreme light. As sunlight maintains the entire universe, so the light of the soul maintains this material body. As soon as the spirit soul is out of this material body, the body begins to decompose; therefore it is the spirit soul which maintains this body. The body itself is unimportant. Arjuna was advised to fight and sacrifice the material body for the cause of religion.    (More...)
In this way we are passing our lives. But if by chance we get the association of a saintly person, a pure devotee of the Lord, then by His mercy, this illusion becomes vanished. Therefore it is advised that everyone should seek the association of a saintly person, so that this ghost of ignorance may be removed; simply by taking shelter of a saintly person the kicks of material nature can be stopped. Actually, the trouble is in our mind, and it is there like a knot. It is called the mental knot of matter, and by the instruction of the Spiritual Master it is cut. That instruction is sometimes called the sword of discrimination, and in the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Krishna very elaborately explains this knowledge to His disciple Arjuna. In the 16th, 17th, and 18th verses Krishna says: "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the non-existent there is no endurance, and of the eternal there is no cessation. Seers have concluded this by studying the nature of both. That which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul. Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is subject to destruction. Therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata."    (More...)
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
All these qualifications of the atomic soul definitely prove that the individual soul is eternally the atomic particle of the spirit whole, and he remains the same atom eternally, without change. The theory of monism is very difficult to apply in this case, because the individual soul is never expected to become one homogeneously. After liberation from material contamination, the atomic soul may prefer to remain as a spiritual spark in the effulgent rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the intelligent souls enter into the spiritual planets to associate with the Personality of Godhead.    (More...)
The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchanging, immovable and eternally the same. It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. (The Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 2.23-25)    (More...)
Under the impression of the body, we seek the history of birth, etc., of the soul. The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does.
Qualitatively, the small atomic fragmental part of the Supreme Spirit is one with the Supreme. He undergoes no changes like the body. Sometimes the soul is called the steady, or kūtastha. The body is subject to six kinds of transformations. It takes its birth in the womb of the mother's body, remains for some time, grows, produces some effects, gradually dwindles, and at last vanishes into oblivion. The soul, however, does not go through such changes. The soul is not born, but, because he takes on a material body, the body takes its birth. The soul does not take birth there, and the soul does not die. Anything which has birth also has death. And because the soul has no birth, he therefore has no past, present or future. He is eternal, ever-existing, and primeval-that is, there is no trace in history of his coming into being. Under the impression of the body, we seek the history of birth, etc., of the soul. The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does. The so-called old man, therefore, feels himself to be in the same spirit as in his childhood or youth. The changes of the body do not affect the soul. The soul does not deteriorate like a tree, nor anything material. The soul has no by-product either. The by-products of the body, namely children, are also different individual souls; and, owing to the body, they appear as children of a particular man. The body develops because of the soul's presence, but the soul has neither offshoots nor change. Therefore, the soul is free from the six changes of the body.    (More...)
"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." The spirit soul is eternal, being freed from waste and change, which take place because of the material body. The example of a tree and its fruits and flowers is very simple and clear. A tree stands for many, many years, but with the seasonal changes its fruits and flowers undergo six transformations. The foolish theory of modern chemists that life can be produced by chemical interactions cannot be accepted as truth. The birth of a human being's material body takes place due to a mixture of the ovum and semen, but the history of birth is that although the ovum and semen mix together after sex, there is not always pregnancy. Unless the soul enters the mixture, there is no possibility of pregnancy, but when the soul takes shelter of the mixture the body takes birth, exists, grows, transforms and dwindles, and ultimately it is vanquished. The fruits and flowers of a tree seasonally come and go, but the tree continues to stand. Similarly, the transmigrating soul accepts various bodies, which undergo six transformations, but the soul remains permanently the same (ajo nityaḥ sasvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire). The soul is eternal and ever existing, but the bodies accepted by the soul are changing.    (More...)

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