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Bhagavad
Gita - January 04, 2008
Chapter
2, Verses: 22-25
Swami
Yogatmananda
Vedanta
Society of Providence
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II.22:
As
after rejecting unusable clothes a man takes up other new ones, likewise
after rejecting unusable bodies the embodied one unites with other new
ones.
II.23 & 24: Weapons do not cut It, fire does not burn It, water
does not moisten It, and air does not dry It. It cannot be cut, It cannot
be burnt, cannot be moistened, and surely cannot be dried up. It is
eternal, omnipresent, stationary, unmoving and changeless.
II.
25:
It is said that This is unmanifest; this is incoceivable; This is unchangeable.
Therfore, having known This thus, you ought not to grieve.
The
above image is from Gita Darshan by courtesy of Sri
Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad.
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Summary
of this lecture:
What is death? The One all-pervading, ever-free Self, through ignorance
gets 'trapped' in finite; becomes, as if multiple because of the multiplicity
of the appearances of bodies. The 'trapped' self works through the three
bodies; gross (physical), subtle (mental) and causal. That is usually
termed as 'soul'. As the gross body, which is very limited in capabilities,
very fragile and short-lived, wears out, the soul changes it; the snapping
of the connection of the subtle body of that soul with that gross body
is what is known as death. The soul, with the causal & subtle body
(which contain all the 'wealth' of karma) then connects to another gross
body. This is the 'birth' of that person! According to Brihadaranyaka
Upanisad, a new gross body is first selected and then the old body is
given up. Also, since there is no spatial transfer of the subtle body
to the different gross bodies, like the candy being transferred from
one box to another, there is always the possibility of one soul using
several gross bodies/ several souls sharing one gross body.
Next 3 verses tell that the Self is unaffected by the actions at the
appearance-level.
Several questions were asked about the connection between the subtle
body and the gross body. More discussion on them will follow in the
next class.
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