Clarity — Lesson 9
The Self is unchanging, all-pervading, and stable (Gita 2.24)
Verse
नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥ २.२४ ॥
Transliteration
acchedyo'yam adāhyo'yam akledyo'śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo'yaṁ sanātanaḥ
Meaning
This Self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, unmoving, and ever the same.
Sandhi-vigraha
नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुः अचलः अयम् सनातनः ।
Anvaya
अयम् नित्यः, सर्वगतः, स्थाणुः, अचलः, सनातनः।
Key Words
- acchedyaḥ — cannot be cut
- adāhyaḥ — cannot be burned
- akledyaḥ — cannot be wetted
- aśoṣyaḥ — cannot be dried
- nityaḥ — eternal
- sarvagataḥ — all-pervading
- sthāṇuḥ — stable
- acalaḥ — unmoving
- sanātanaḥ — ever the same
Teaching
Krishna now summarizes the nature of the Self. The Self is not affected by any physical process. It does not change. It does not move. It does not come and go. It is always present, the same in all conditions. Change belongs to the body and the world. Not to the Self.
Connection to Clarity
Clarity is recognizing the difference between what changes and what does not. Everything we experience changes. But the one because of which all experience is known does not change. Recognizing this gives inner stability.
Reflection
Thoughts change. Emotions change. Situations change. Is there something in me that does not change through all of this?