Bhagavad Gita 2.26

[Paramananda das]

Text 26   atha cainam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mrtam tathapi tvam maha-baho nainam socitum arhasi  

Translation  

 If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.  

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada  

There is always a class of philosophers, almost akin to the Buddhists, who do not believe in the separate existence of the soul beyond the body. When Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita, it appears that such philosophers existed, and they were known as the lokayatikas and vaibhasikas. Such philosophers maintain that life symptoms take place at a certain mature condition of material combination. The modern material scientist and materialist philosophers also think similarly. According to them, the body is a combination of physical elements, and at a certain stage the life symptoms develop by interaction of the physical and chemical elements. The science of anthropology is based on this philosophy. Currently, many pseudo religions—now becoming fashionable in America—are also adhering to this philosophy, as well as to the nihilistic nondevotional Buddhist sects.   Even if Arjuna did not believe in the existence of the soul—as in the vaibhasika philosophy—there would still have been no cause for lamentation. No one laments the loss of a certain bulk of chemicals and stops discharging his prescribed duty. On the other hand, in modern science and scientific warfare, so many tons of chemicals are wasted for achieving victory over the enemy. According to the vaibhasika philosophy, the so-called soul or atma vanishes along with the deterioration of the body. So, in any case, whether Arjuna accepted the Vedic conclusion that there is an atomic soul or he did not believe in the existence of the soul, he had no reason to lament. According to this theory, since there are so many living entities generating out of matter every moment, and so many of them are being vanquished every moment, there is no need to grieve for such incidents. If there were no rebirth for the soul, Arjuna had no reason to be afraid of being affected by sinful reactions due to his killing his grandfather and teacher. But at the same time, Krishna sarcastically addressed Arjuna as maha-bahu, mighty-armed, because He, at least, did not accept the theory of the vaibhasikas, which leaves aside the Vedic wisdom. As a kshatriya, Arjuna belonged to the Vedic culture, and it behooved him to continue to follow its principles.  

 Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur   "I have presented to you the conclusive truth according to the scripture. Now I will present the truth according to material vision. Please understand it." Then he speaks this verse.   If you think that the soul is always born (nitya jatam) when the body is born, and always dies (nityam mrtam) with the death of the body, you should not lament for it. O mighty-armed Arjuna, being a brave ksatriya, this war is your dharma.   As Bhagavatam says:   ksatriyanam ayam dharmah prajapati-vinirmitah bhratapi bhrataram hanyad yena ghoratamas tatah   The code of sacred duty for warriors established by Lord Brahma enjoins that one may have to kill even his own brother. That indeed is the most dreadful law." SB 10.54.40  

 Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

Thus it has been stated by authoritative testimony that because the soul is neither subject to birth or death there is no need to lament. Now it is being stated that even if one erroneously believes that the eternal soul is perpetually born when the body is born and perpetually dies with the death of the body then and still there is no need for lamentation. Since both virtue and sin with their resultant reactions of birth and death are also attached to the soul perpetually there is still no need to lament.  Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya: Madhvacarya Madhvacarya's Commentary Even though the immortal soul is eternal, because of its constant connection and disconnection with the physical body from time immemorial it believes it is experiencing birth and death. Now begins the summation. Thus exists this expansive samsara known as the endless cycle of birth and death in the material existence. Until and unless the living entity has attained liberation from the material existence, one is subject to the stringent laws of endless births and deaths in different physical bodies as ordained by the material nature and so are following natural order. Therefore by possessing even this small amount of knowledge there is no need to worry. In the Shabda Nirnaya it is stated: Eternal and permanent the immortal soul is known to be and also the immortal soul is eternally in accordance with the cosmic order. Understanding in the knowledge that there is a cosmic order to existence one should not grieve.  

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

 Ramanuja Ramanuja's Commentary

Here the Supreme Lord Krishna gives Arjuna another reason not to lament for He states that even if one considers the eternal soul to be the same as the physical body which is subject to incessant births and deaths and not a separate and distinct reality; then still there is no need for grief because from birth the ageing of the physical body due to the passage of time leads to death and birth and death is a law of nature in the material existence and unavoidable.  

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

 Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

 In this way after establishing the eternal reality of the souls immortality according to the authority of Vedic scripture, the Supreme Lord Krishna describes that it is not intelligent to lament about it, even if one accepts the hypothesis of the Digambaras who believe that the soul is the same size as the body and is born and experiences death along with the body. This is referred to by the particle atha meaning if however, indicating according to another view. Accepting even this other view that the soul is constantly being born and constantly dying there is still no reason to lament about it and the reason why Lord Krishna reveals in the next verse.  

 

 Comment: We can see here in this purport how well Srila Prabhupada has explained this vers , and how highly empowered Srila Prabhupada was by Krishna.Srila Prabhupada mentioned two philosophies here: lokayatikas and vaibhasikas   I looked up Lokayatikas and found this: http://www.carvaka4india.com/2011/12/lokayata.html  it appears to be based on the philosophy of Cavaka Muni that did not accept reincarnation or karma or the soul. See also : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/The-gods-came-afterwa...   one interesting explantion is given there :"Buddhism and Jainism, along with Lokayata, are all categorised as the nastika (heterodox) schools of philosophy, because they reject the concept of a personal creator-god. The philosophy of Buddhism and Jainism is often described as 'spiritual atheism', because while rejecting the creator god, they uphold an all-encompassing spirit that pervades the universe. But it is only Lokayata that takes a further step to espouse complete materialism, making matter the primary and only source of creation and existence. "  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C4%81rv%C4%81ka That this philosophy originated from Brhaspati is unlikely ,because why would the Guru of the devas preach and atheistic doctrine?       Vaibhashika : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaibhashika  Vai·bha·si·ka  noun \vīˈbäs(h)ə̇kə\ -s

Definition of VAIBHASIKA

 : a Hinayana Buddhist philosophical school of realism derived from the Sarvastivadin and found chiefly in Gandhara and Kashmir

Origin of VAIBHASIKA Skt vaibhāṣika, fr. Vibhāṣā, a commentary on the Buddhist scriptures, fr. vibhāṣate it shines brightly, fr. vi apart, asunder + bhāṣate it shines; akin to Skt bhāti it shines — more at with, fancy

It appears there is a link between the materialistic concepts of Cavaka Muni and Buddhisme , Buddhisme is indeed another form of hidden materialism.   Srila Visvanath Chakravati Thakura mentioned about SB 10.54.40:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.54.40 kṣatriyāṇām ayaḿ dharmaḥ prajāpati-vinirmitaḥ bhrātāpi bhrātaraḿ hanyād yena ghoratamas tataḥ SYNONYMS kṣatriyāṇām — of warriors; ayam — this; dharmaḥ — code of sacred duty; prajāpati — by the original progenitor, Lord Brahmā; vinirmitaḥ — established; bhrātā — a brother; api — even; bhrātaram — his brother; hanyāt — has to kill; yena — by which (code); ghora-tamaḥ — most terrible; tataḥ — therefore. TRANSLATION [Turning to Rukmiṇī, Balarāma continued: ] The code of sacred duty for warriors established by Lord Brahmā enjoins that one may have to kill even his own brother. That is indeed a most dreadful law. PURPORT  Lord Balarāma, in the interest of fairness, is giving a complete analysis of the situation. Although one should not kill a relative, there are extenuating circumstances according to military codes. In the American Civil War, which took place in the 1860's, many families were divided between the army of the North and that of the South, and thus fratricidal killing unfortunately became a common affair. Such killing is certainly ghoratama, most dreadful. Yet such is the nature of the material world, where duty, honor and so-called justice often create conflict. Only on the spiritual platform, in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can we transcend the unacceptable pain of material existence. Rukmī was maddened by pride and envy and thus could not understand anything about Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

There is a very interesting discussion in this chapter about religious principles  spoken by Lord Balarama:

SB 10.54.35: Lord Kṛṣṇa tied up the evil-doer with a strip of cloth. He then proceeded to disfigure Rukmī by comically shaving him, leaving parts of his mustache and hair. By that time the Yadu heroes had crushed the extraordinary army of their opponents, just as elephants crush a lotus flower. SB 10.54.36: As the Yadus approached Lord Kṛṣṇa, they saw Rukmī in this sorry condition, practically dying of shame. When the all-powerful Lord Balarāma saw Rukmī, He compassionately released him and spoke the following to Lord Kṛṣṇa. SB 10.54.37: [Lord Balarāma said:] My dear Kṛṣṇa, You have acted improperly! This deed will bring shame on Us, for to disfigure a close relative by shaving off his mustache and hair is as good as killing him. SB 10.54.38: Saintly lady, please do not be displeased with Us out of anxiety for your brother's disfigurement. No one but oneself is responsible for one's joy and grief, for a man experiences the result of his own deeds. SB 10.54.39: [Again addressing Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma said:] A relative should not be killed even if his wrongdoing warrants capital punishment. Rather, he should be thrown out of the family. Since he has already been killed by his own sin, why kill him again? SB 10.54.40: [Turning to Rukmiṇī, Balarāma continued: ] The code of sacred duty for warriors established by Lord Brahmā enjoins that one may have to kill even his own brother. That is indeed a most dreadful law. SB 10.54.41: [Again Balarāma addressed Kṛṣṇa:] Blinded by conceit with their personal opulences, proud men offend others for the sake of such things as kingdom, land, wealth, women, honor and power. SB 10.54.42: [To Rukmiṇī Balarāma said:] Your attitude is unfair, for like an ignorant person you wish good to those who are inimical to all living beings and who have done evil to your true well-wishers. SB 10.54.43: The Supreme Lord's Māyā makes men forget their real selves, and thus, taking the body for the self, they consider others to be friends, enemies or neutral parties. SB 10.54.44: Those who are bewildered perceive the one Supreme Soul, who resides in all embodied beings, as many, just as one may perceive the light in the sky, or the sky itself, as many. SB 10.54.45: This material body, which has a beginning and an end, is composed of the physical elements, the senses and the modes of nature. The body, imposed on the self by material ignorance, causes one to experience the cycle of birth and death. SB 10.54.46: O intelligent lady, the soul never undergoes contact with or separation from insubstantial, material objects, because the soul is their very origin and illuminator. Thus the soul resembles the sun, which neither comes in contact with nor separates from the sense of sight and what is seen. SB 10.54.47: Birth and other transformations are undergone by the body but never by the self, just as change occurs for the moon's phases but never for the moon, though the new-moon day may be called the moon's "death." SB 10.54.48: As a sleeping person perceives himself, the objects of sense enjoyment and the fruits of his acts within the illusion of a dream, so one who is unintelligent undergoes material existence. SB 10.54.49: Therefore, with transcendental knowledge dispel the grief that is weakening and confounding your mind. Please resume your natural mood, O princess of the pristine smile. SB 10.54.50: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus enlightened by Lord Balarāma, slender Rukmiṇī forgot her depression and steadied her mind by spiritual intelligence.

your servant Paramananda das

 

[Paramananda das]

Kesava Kasmiri has mentioned about the Digambaras in his commentary :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digambar ,they are jains that believe in walking the earth naked