BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:28

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:28

 

avyaktadini bhutani

vyakta-madhyani bharata

avyakta-nidhanany eva

tatra ka paridevana

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

avyakta-adini--in the beginning unmanifested; bhutani--all that are

created; vyakta--manifested; madhyani--in the middle; bharata--O

descendant of Bharata; avyakta--nonmanifested; nidhanani--when

vanquished; eva--it is all like that; tatra--therefore; ka--what;

paridevana--lamentation.

 

TRANSLATION

 

All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in

their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what

need is there for lamentation?

 

PURPORT

 

Accepting that there are two classes of philosophers, one believing in

the existence of the soul and the other not believing in the existence

of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation in either case.

Nonbelievers in the existence of the soul are called atheists by

followers of Vedic wisdom. Yet even if, for argument's sake, we accept

this atheistic theory, there is still no cause for lamentation. Apart

from the separate existence of the soul, the material elements remain

unmanifested before creation. From this subtle state of

nonmanifestation comes manifestation, just as from ether, air is

generated; from air, fire is generated; from fire, water is generated;

and from water, earth becomes manifested. From the earth, many

varieties of manifestations take place. Take, for example, a big

skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it is dismantled, the

manifestation becomes again unmanifested and remains as atoms in the

ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy remains, but in

course of time things are manifested and unmanifested--that is the

difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either in the

stage of manifestation or in unmanifestation? Somehow or other, even

in the unmanifested stage, things are not lost. Both at the beginning

and at the end, all elements remain unmanifested, and only in the

middle are they manifested, and this does not make any real material

difference.

 

And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gita

that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time

(antavanta ime dehah) but that the soul is eternal (nityasyoktah

saririnah), then we must remember always that the body is like a

dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body

has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is

something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky,

or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that

we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom

encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the

material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the

existence of the soul or one does not believe in the existence of the

soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.