Clarity — Lesson 6
The Self is unborn, eternal, and changeless (Gita 2.20)
Verse
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥ २.२० ॥
Transliteration
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato'yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
Meaning
The Self is never born, nor does it die. It does not come into being at any time, nor does it cease to exist. It is unborn, eternal, ever-present, and ancient. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
Sandhi-vigraha
न अयम् भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजः नित्यः शाश्वतः अयम् पुराणः ।
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
Anvaya
अयम् भूत्वा पुनः न भविता।
अयम् अजः, नित्यः, शाश्वतः, पुराणः।
शरीरे हन्यमाने अपि अयम् न हन्यते।
Key Words
- na jāyate — is not born
- na mriyate — does not die
- ajaḥ — unborn
- nityaḥ — eternal
- śāśvataḥ — everlasting
- purāṇaḥ — ancient, ever-present
- na hanyate — is not destroyed
- śarīre hanyamāne — when the body is destroyed
Teaching
Krishna now makes the teaching very clear.
The Self is not something that comes into existence. It is not something that goes out of existence.
Birth and death belong to the body.
The Self is free from both.
It is always present, always the same, not affected by time or change.
When the body is destroyed, nothing happens to the Self.
Connection to Clarity
Clarity is seeing that I am not limited to the body.
If I take myself to be the body, then I am subject to fear, loss, and death.
If I understand myself as the Self, then I see that I am not touched by these changes.
This shifts the entire way we see life.
Reflection
I say “I was born” and “I will die.”
Am I referring to myself, or to the body I identify with?