Bhagavad Gita 2.28

[Paramananda das]

TEXT 28

avyaktadini bhutani vyakta-madhyani bharata avyakta-nidhanany eva tatra ka paridevana

SYNONYMS

avyakta-adini--in the  beginning unmanifested; bhutani--all that are created; vyakta--manifested; madhyani--in the middle; bharata--O  descendant of Bharata; avyakta--nonmanifested; nidhanani--all that  are vanquished; eva--it is all like that; tatra--therefore; ka--what; paridevana--lamentation.

TRANSLATION

All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest  again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Accepting that there are two classes of  philosophers, one believing in the existence of soul and the other not believing  in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation in either case.  Nonbelievers in the existence of the soul are called atheists by followers of  Vedic wisdom. Yet even if, for argument's sake, we accept the atheistic theory,  there is still no cause for lamentation. Apart from the separate existence of  the soul, the material elements remain unmanifested before creation. From this  subtle state of unmanifestation comes manifestation, just as from ether, air is  generated; from air, fire is generated; from fire, water is generated; and from  water, earth becomes manifested. From the earth, many varieties of  manifestations take place. Take, for example, a big skyscraper manifested from  the earth. When it is dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested  and remains as atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy  remains, but in course of time things are manifested and unmanifested--that is  the difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either in the stage of  manifestation or unmanifestation? Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested  stage, things are not lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all elements  remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are they manifested, and this does  not make any real material difference. And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (antavanta ime dehah) that these material bodies are  perishable in due course of time (nityasyoktah saririnah) but that soul  is eternal, then we must remember always that the body is like a dress;  therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body has no factual  existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a  dream we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but  when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the  chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the  nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one  believes in the existence of the soul, or one does not believe in the existence  of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

For the soul there is no birth and death (verse 20). For the body, birth and death are certain (verse 27). Thus the causes of lamentation have been eliminated. In this verse both causes are eliminated at once.

Devas, humans and animals are not visible before their birth. However, their subtle and gross bodies do exist invisibly in a potential form, from the existence of the causal ingredients such as earth. They become visible in the middle period, and invisible after death. Even at the time of mahapralaya these bodies exist in a subtle form through the continued existence in subtle form of karmas and other elements. Thus all living entities bodies are invisible before birth and after death, and are visible in the interval.

This is stated by the personified Vedas in the Bhagavatam:

sthira-cara-jatayah syur ajayottha-nimitta- vujah

O eternally liberated, transcendental Lord, Your material energy causes the various moving and nonmoving species of life to appear by activating their material desires, but only when and if You sport with her by briefly glancing at her. SB 10.87.29.

What cause is there for lamentation (paridevana)?

As Narada says:

yan manyase dhruvam lokam adhruvam va na cobhayam sarvatha na hi socyas te snehad anyatra mohajat

O King, in all circumstances, whether you consider the soul to be an eternal principle, or the material body to be perishable, or everything to exist in the impersonal Absolute Truth, or everything to be an inexplicable combination of matter and spirit, feelings of separation are due only to illusory affection and nothing more SB 1.13.44

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya: Visnuswami Sridhara Swami's Commentary When one considers the nature of the physical body and the facts about birth  and death being a physical reality one should not lament. All living entities  have the unmanifest as their beginnings, meaning unmanifest in the physical  existence because it is only that which exists in the physical world either  subtle or physical that is manifested. In the middle all living entities are  manifested in the period between birth and death known as life constituting the  state of mortal existence. Finally at the moment the body perishes known as  death all living entities return once more to the unmanifest state. It is  inevitable that all living entities must accept the nature of the material  existence being embodied in a physical body so what is the need to lament over  the physical body. To lament thus is like a person lamenting over friends seen  drowning in a dream after one has woken up.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya: Madhvacarya Madhvacarya's Commentary In this verse the Supreme Lord Krishna explains the fact that here on Earth  whatever happened before birth is unknown by the use of the word avyaktadini.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya: Ramanuja Ramanuja's Commentary Living entities like human beings though eternally existing due to the  auspices of each one's eternal soul have an unknown origin before birth, a  manifest condition from birth to death and proceed again to an unknown existence  at the termination of the physical body. Such alternations constitute material  existence and are a natural law. This then gives no cause to grieve. Having just  shown that even if one erroneously was under the misapprehension that the  physical body itself and the eternal soul are the same; there is still no reason  to grieve as in the next verse 29 it is declared that very rarely is a person  found who would see, hear, converse, or who could be convinced about the  wonderful nature of the eternal soul which is factually distinct from the  physical body.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya: Nimbaditya Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary Even when the soul has departed from the physical body and no longer  connected as is inevitable at the time of death and the bodies of respected  elders like Bhishma are no longer perceptible still what is the necessity for  grief? To this Lord Krishna states that all is unmanifest in its primordial  state which is characterised by the three qualities known as sattva, rajas and tamas and which is a prior stage of creation to the illusory energy and material  creation. All living entities have bodies in substratum as consciousness and  this is the original matter of all existence which is beyond perception due to  its being extremely subtle and subatomic in essence. But this in no way  indicates that there is before all this an antecedent non-existence as the  logicians and the impersonalists opine due to there inability to perceive this  extremely subtle, subatomic nature. This original matter although extremely  subtle and subatomic is revealed in the Vedic scriptures and is perceived by one  whose consciousness has attained the realization of that state. Thus they are of  the same nature although there is modification during the intermediate stage  from birth to death as is established in the Vedanta Sutra, II:XV,XVI of Vedavyasa which states: because of the existence of the cause, the effect is  perceived; the effect is non-different from the cause although being posterior  because it is existent in the cause. It should not under any circumstances be erroneously assumed or mistakingly  believed that from a non-existent condition the existent was produced and that  because of the cause being non-existent then the effect is non- existent and  thus the world is also non-existent. This has already been refuted and clarified  by Vedavyasa in Vedanta-Sutra, II:XIX where it states: That as a cloth is  non-different from its threads, an effect is also non-different from it's cause.  So how can it be reconciled that the something can be produced from nothing as  those hypothesising that existence can manifest from the non-existent. If we were to accept our origin as being non-existent then we can accept that  the oil of sesame seeds is produced from sand but this has never been seen or  heard. Because it is subatomic it is imperceptible and yet it is still existing.  Therefore in the matter of the existence of living entities the unmanifest,  imperceptibly subtle, transforms itself into the manifest by modification which  is known as birth and after some time again transforms itself into the unmanifest which is known as death. So when the correct understanding of birth  and death is realized then what possibly is the necessity for lamentation as it  is not befitting one who is situated in spiritual intelligence.

Comments: My pranams to the lotusfeet of of Sri Guru and Gauranga

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

The acaryas and Srila Prabhupada has given some amazing puports to help us understand the Atma the spirit soul. Mostly human beings are only absorbed in the bodily concept of life.And one becomes confused when one identifies with the body and believes that the goal is to enjoy this temporary body. Srila Visvanath Chakravati Thakura has mentioned SB 1.13.44

http://vedabase.net/sb/1/13/44/en  Srila Prabhupada has given a beautiful purport to this sloka:

O King, in all circumstances, whether you consider the soul to be an eternal principle, or the material body to be perishable, or everything to exist in the impersonal Absolute Truth, or everything to be an inexplicable combination of matter and spirit, feelings of separation are due only to illusory affection and nothing more.

PURPORT

The actual fact is that every living being is an individual part and parcel of the Supreme Being, and his constitutional position is subordinate cooperative service. Either in his conditional material existence or in his liberated position of full knowledge and eternity, the living entity is eternally under the control of the Supreme Lord. But those who are not conversant with factual knowledge put forward many speculative propositions about the real position of the living entity. It is admitted, however, by all schools of philosophy, that the living being is eternal and that the covering body of the five material elements is perishable and temporary. The eternal living entity transmigrates from one material body to another by the law of karma, and material bodies are perishable by their fundamental structures. Therefore there is nothing to be lamented in the case of the soul's being transferred into another body, or the material body's perishing at a certain stage. There are others also who believe in the merging of the spirit soul in the Supreme Spirit when it is uncovered by the material encagement, and there are others also who do not believe in the existence of spirit or soul, but believe in tangible matter. In our daily experience we find so many transformations of matter from one form to another, but we do not lament such changing features. In either of the above cases, the force of divine energy is uncheckable; no one has any hand in it, and thus there is no cause of grief.

The purport of Srila Sridhara Swami really stands out:" It is  inevitable that all living entities must accept the nature of the material  existence being embodied in a physical body so what is the need to lament over  the physical body. To lament thus is like a person lamenting over friends seen  drowning in a dream after one has woken up. "

Kesava Kasmiri who is the incarnation of Nimbarkacarya and appeared during Lord Caitanyas lilas , has given us such a important purport he has quotes verses from Vedanta Sutra chapter2 text 15 and 16 :Our dear departed goduncle Kusakrata Prabhu has kindly translated this Vedanta Sutra with the commentaries of  Srila Baladeva Vidhyabhusana.

Sutra 15

caracara-vyapashrayas tu syat tad-vyapadesho 'bhaktas tad-bhava-bhavitvat

cara—moving; acara—and unmoving; vyapashrayah—the abode; tu—indeed; syat—may be; tat—of that; vyapadeshah—name; abhaktah—not figurative; tat—of Him; bhava—the nature; bhavitvat—because of being in the future.

Indeed, He resides in all that move and does not move. Therefore it will be learned that every word is one of His names.

Purport by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

The word "tu" (indeed) is used here to dispel doubt. The word "caracara-vyapashrayah" means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides in all moving and unmoving beings. The word "tad-vyapadeshah" means "the names of the moving and unmoving beings". The word “abhaktah" means "these names are primarily names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead". Why is that? The sutra explains: "bhava-bhavitvat" (the real meaning of names will be learned in the future). This means that by studying the scriptures one will come to understand that all words are names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Shruti-shastras explain:

so 'kamayata bahu syam

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead desired: Let Me become many. Let me create the material world."

sa vasudevo na yato 'nyad asti

"He is the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing is different from Him."

In the Vishnu Purana (3.7.16) it is said:

kataka-mukuta-karnikadi-bhedaih

kanakam abhedam apishyate yathaikam

sura-pashu-manujadi-kalpanabhir

harir akhilabhir udiryate tathaikah

"As golden bracelets, crowns, earrings, and other golden ornaments are all one because they are all made of gold, so all demigods, men, and animals are one with Lord because they are all made of Lord Hari's potencies."

The meaning is this: Names of potencies are primarily the names of the master of these potencies. This is so because the master is the very self of His potencies.

Adhikarana 11

The Individual Spirit Souls Are Eternal and Without Beginning

Introduction by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

Because He is the origin of everything, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no other origin from which He was created. This has already been described. Now we will determine the nature of the individual spirit soul. First the idea that the individual soul has an origin will be refuted.

In the Taittiriya Aranyaka, Maha-Narayana Upanishad (1.4) it is said:

yatah prasuta jagatah prasuti

toyena jivan vyasasarja bhumyam

"From the Supreme Personality of Godhead the universe was born. With water He created the living entities on the earth."

In the Chandogya Upanishad it is said:

san-mulah saumyemah sarvah prajah

"O gentle one, all living entities have their roots in the Supreme."

Samshaya (doubt): Do the individual spirit souls have an origin or not?

Purvapaksha (the opponent speaks): Because He is the creator of the material universe, which contains both sentient living entities and insentient matter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be the creator of the individual spirit souls. Any other idea would be illogical.

Siddhanta (conclusion): The author of the sutras gives the following conclusion.

Sutra 16

natma shruter nityatvac ca tabhyah

na—not; atma—the individual spirit soul; shruteh—from the Shruti-shastra; nityatvat—because of being eternal; ca—and; tabhyah—from them.

Because the individual spirit soul is eternal, and because of the statements of Shruti-shastra and other scriptures, this idea about the individual spirit soul is not true.

Purport by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

The individual spirit soul was never created. Why not? The sutra explains: "shruteh" (because of the statements of Shruti-shastra). In Katha Upanishad (1.2.18) it is said:

na jayate mriyate va vipashcin

nayam kutashcin na babhuva kashcit

ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano

na hanyate hanyamane sharire

"O wise one, for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."*

That the individual spirit soul was never born is also declared in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (1.9):

jnajnau dvav ajav ishanishau

"Neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor the individual spirit souls were ever born."

The word "tabhyah" in the sutra means "the eternality of the individual spirit soul is described in the Shruti and Smriti -shastras". The word "ca" (and) in the sutra means that the individual spirit soul is also conscious and full of knowledge.

In the Katha Upanishad (2.5.13) it is said:

nityo nityanam cetanash cetananam

"Of all eternal living souls there is one who is the leader. Of all eternal souls there is one who is the leader."

In the Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Lord explains:

ajo nityah shashvato 'yam puranah

The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval."

Therefore, when it is said, "Yajnadatta is born and again he dies," such words refer only to the external material body. The jata-karma ceremony and other ceremonies like it also refer to the external material body. The individual spirit soul is different from the external material body and resides in it like a passenger. In the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (4.3.8) it is said:

sa va ayam purusho jayamanah shariram abhisampadyamanah sa utkraman mriyamanah

"At the moment of birth the spirit soul enters a material body and at the moment of death the soul leaves the body."

In the Chandogya Upanishad (6.11.3) it is said:

jivopetam vava kiledam mriyate na jivo mriyate

  "The soul resides in the material body. When the body dies the soul does not die."

Here someone may object: How can this be? If this is so, then this fact disagrees with the scriptural description of the individual souls' creation.

To this objection I reply: The individual spirit souls are said to be created because they are effects of the Supreme. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has two potencies, and these are said to be His effects. Here is what makes these two potencies different. One potency is the pradhana and other inert, unconscious, not alive potencies that are meant to be objects of enjoyment and various experiences. The other potency is the individual spirit souls, who are not inert, dull matter, but are conscious, alive beings, and who are able to enjoy and perceive various experiences. These two potencies share one common feature: that they are both the effects of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way the scriptural description of the souls' creation is not contradicted. In this way the scriptures are correct, and in this way, also, the individual spirit souls are never born.

Adhikarana 12

The Individual Spirit Souls Are Both Knowledge and Knowers

Introduction by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

Now the author of the sutras considers the nature of the individual spirit soul. In the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (3.7.22) it is said:

yo vijnane tishthan

"The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge."

In another passage it is said:

sukham aham asvapsam na kincid avedishi

"I slept happily. I did not know anything."

Samshaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul unalloyed knowledge only, or is the soul the knower that experiences knowledge?

Purvapaksha (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul consists of knowledge only. This is confirmed by the statement of Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (3.7.22): "The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge." The soul is not the knower or the perceiver of knowledge. The intelligence is the knower. Therefore statement, "I slept happily. I did not know anything." is spoken by the intelligence, not by the soul.

Siddhanta (conclusion): The author of the sutras gives the following conclusion.

Kesava Kasmiri also refered to Vedanta Suta 2.19:

Sutra 19

svatmanash cottarayoh

sva—own; atmanah—of the soul; ca—and; uttarayoh—of the latter two.

Also because the last two refer to the soul.

Purport by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

The word "ca" (also) is used here for emphasis. Here the word "uttarayoh" (the last two) means "of the coming and going". The coming and going here definitely occurs to the individual spirit soul. This is so because the coming and going in the pervious sutra clearly refer to an agent, to the performer of the action. The coming and going here are understood to be coming and going from a material body. This is clearly seen in the first Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (4.4.2) passage quoted in the previous purport. It is also seen in the following words of Bhagavad-gita (15.4):

shariram yad avapnoti

yac capy utkramatishvarah

grihitvaitani samyati

vayur gandhan ivashayat

"The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another."*

If someone says that the soul actually never goes anywhere, although it seems to go places because of the misidentification of the external material body as the self, then I say this is a foolish idea. In the following words the Kaushitaki Upanishad refutes this idea:

sa yadasmat sharirat samutkramati sahaivaitaih sarvair utkramati

"At the time of death the soul, accompanied by all his powers, leaves the material body."

The word "saha" (accompanied by) is used when the more important is accompanied by another of lesser importance. An example is the sentence: "Accompanied by (saha) his son, the father took his meal." Another example is in Bhagavad-gita (15.4), which declares that the soul carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. In this way the foolish example pushed forward by the impersonalists, the example of the air in the jar and in the sky, is clearly refuted