Fwd: Immortality is Self Evident

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna

 

As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the

soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

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,

unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. GITA 2:22/24

 

Every human being has the natural ability to discriminate (vivek). It

is the work of a spiritual aspirant to give due importance to this

discrimination (vivek). This discrimination (vivek) was ever present.

It is not something that came into existence now. If it is a new

creation, then it would also end some day, because it is a principle

that everything that is born (created, comes into existence) must die.

It is destined towards destruction. Therefore discriminative ability

are not born, but they are simply awakened. When a spiritual aspirant

gives importance to this self-evident discriminative attitude, then

that discrimination is awakened within and it is called realization.

 

Every human being possesses this feeling with that he must live

forever, that he must never die. Rather every human being desires

immortality. This desire for immortality itself is proof that in fact

human beings are immortal. If we were not immortal, then we would not

desire immortality. e.g. we are thirsty or hungry, it proves that there

is such a thing as water and food, for quenching the thirst and

satisfying the hunger. If there was no such thing as water and food,

then there would not be any hunger or thirst. Therefore Immortality is

self-evident. Here a doubt arises, that when a being is already

immortal, then why does he desire immortality?

 

The explanation for this doubt is that when we neglect or do not pay

attention to our discrimination, then we assume identity with the

perishable body i.e. assume "I am the body", therefore the desire for

immortality and the fear of death arise. This fear arises inspite of

the discrimination within, knowing full well that the body is not the

real self, and that the body constantly changes from childhood to now,

and the Self is unchanged.

 

The Self is clearly separate from the physical body, i.e. "I am not the

body" This is the experience of all human beings, yet we continue to

neglect this experience. This is a disgrace to one's discrimination. A

spiritual aspirant must give importance to his own discriminating

abilities. The change occurs in states, but the self is unchanged. This

body always abides in death, whereas the Self abides in immortality.

One must give importance to this discrimination.

 

The body is perishable, no one can ever preserves it for ever, and our

real self is non-perishable. No one can ever destroy it.