BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:23

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:23

 

nainam chindanti sastrani

nainam dahati pavakah

na cainam kledayanty apo

na sosayati marutah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

na--never; enam--this soul; chindanti--can cut to pieces;

sastrani--weapons; na--never; enam--this soul; dahati--burns;

pavakah--fire; na--never; ca--also; enam--this soul;

kledayanti--moistens; apah--water; na--never; sosayati--dries;

marutah--wind.

 

TRANSLATION

 

The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire,

nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

 

PURPORT

 

All kinds of weapons--swords, flame weapons, rain weapons, tornado

weapons, 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.

 

The Mayavadi cannot explain how the individual soul came into

existence simply by ignorance and consequently became covered by

illusory energy. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls

from the original Supreme Soul; rather, the individual souls are

eternally separated parts of the Supreme Soul. Because they are atomic

individual souls eternally (sanatana), 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 a 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.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.