The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.
Read D for Determination, Discipline and Devotion here.
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Translation
In this verse, Krishna talks about the ephemeral nature of life. Nothing that is born, lives forever. Just like we discard (vihaya) the worn clothes (jirna vasam/vastra) and wear new ones (navani ghrna), the soul takes on a new body (navam deha) after discarding (vihaya) the old one (jirna).
How long do we want to live?
Everyone wants to live forever. But every living creature - a blade of grass, a tiny bacterial cell, a bird, animal or a human being - has only a finite time on earth. Krishna tells us that the body is ephemeral, not the soul, for the soul never dies. It merely leaves one body and takes on another. He asks us not grieve for the body that is temporary and instead nourish our soul that lives on forever.
A story from the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the story of Chitraketu, a King who ruled over Surasena near Mathura. Despite having several queens, he was childless. He desperately longed for an offspring and after conducting several rituals, his queen Krtyadyuti was finally blessed with a son. The king and queen doted on the child and were extremely attached to him. But the other queens were jealous of the prince and secretly poisoned him one day.
The king and queen were devastated and could not get over the loss of their child, crying uncontrollably. Seeing their pitiable condition, Sage Narada decided to bring the soul of the dead child back to Chitraketu. The soul was given the permission to re-enter his body and continue his life as a prince.
'Which body should I enter, oh, sage?' asked the soul. 'This is not my first birth, I have lived several lives before. I have had a mother, a father, friends and relatives in each birth. These relationships are temporary. They are only bound to the body. The soul has no such bond.'
Hearing the soul speak thus, Chitraketu understood the eternal truth. He and the queen were able to let go of their attachment to their son and bid his body a farewell.
Our lifespan is finite.
This is the only truth, though it is bitter. When our time is spent, we will leave with nothing, neither our body, nor our wealth, nor our relationships. Yet we spend our lifetime acquiring exactly that, which will not accompany us.
What is it that we should strive to accumulate then? What will we carry with us? Doesn't that make you ponder?
Read F for Faith here.
Such a great reminder that always brings us back to the universal truth—the most important lesson in impermanence ...nothing will last...the body will be destroyed but not the soul. Despite that knowledge, we still cling to our material possessions believing that we will live on forever!
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Esha!! Somehow man always believes that he is immortal. And unfortunately keeps believing so till his final moments.
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ReplyDeleteLetting go is not easy for mortals like us. Most of the time, the social circle we’re in leads us to hold on to things that don’t matter in the afterlife and we all need a sage narada in our lives who will enable us to realise the truth
Agree... The feeling of mamatva or I and mine, is the reason why we aren't able to let go. It again circles back to attachment. But as long as we continue to have that attachment, we will keep coming back. we would become jeevan muktas or liberated if we learn to let go, so yes, that can't be an easy task at all.
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