Karma Yoga

"I am the atma"-this is the basic teaching of all our upanishads.Atma is referred to by the word, "brahman".Hence the term, "Aham Brahmasmi",I am the atma.This alone is the panacea to all our worldly problems.This principle is called the 'Jnana Yoga',that I am the paramatma.But to get to the stage where I am able to comprehend this fact,there is an intermediate stage,called the "Karma Yoga",where I am made to realize that I am the jivatma.Upon becoming a karma yogi,I am ready to accept the knowledge of the "Jnana Yoga".
Until verses 33,Krishna was giving a jist of "Jnana Yoga",but receiving this teaching is not easy for all.We can nod our heads,and perhaps put these verses in writing,but using this knowledge to confront our day to day problems is very difficult.Vedanta itself agrees that it is too abstract for one to understand,assimilate & practice it.
I need to go through a thorough spiritual preparatory course to receive this teaching.Such a program for spiritual refinement is called the "Karma Yoga".

Hence,let us see what "Karma Yoga" is.

To begin with,I am unable to accept the fact that I am the atma,the eternal & all pervading brahman,which supports the entire universe.This atma,is referred to as the "parama atma"."Jnana yoga" is nothing but understanding that I am the paramatma.

I have mentioned previously that we are made up of the sthula shariram(physical body),sukshma shariram(subtle body,made up of the mind & the prana) and the karana shariram(causal body,a storehouse of all our punyam & papam).These are materials & hence have no life of their own.They need to borrow consciousness from somewhere to be alive.The source of this consciousness is the "paramatma".
The sthula,sukshma & karana shariras,having borrowed consciousness,become what is called as the "jivatma".When a person dies,the jivatma disposes off the sthula shariram alone & goes in search of another,to quench its papam & punyam.This goes on & on infinitely.

Being a Karma Yogi,we consider ourselves to be the jivatma,before moving to being a Janana yogi,where we consider ourselves to be none other than the patamatma itself.

But being a karma yogi,I cannot claim to be eternal or all pervading.I am a localised individual restricted to the confines of a physical body & carrying the punyam & papam along with me,which are not only decided by our actions,but our intentions as well.Thus.I cannot claim to be 'akartha' & 'aboktha'.Therefore I am a 'kartha' & a 'boktha'.Karma yoga says that the very type of body I have acquired now is not by chance,but is a resultant of my karma.This body will survive until the punyam & papam which are to be exhausted through this body are done so,not before that & not a moment after that,whatever the circumstances may be.It is the karma that keeps the body going & discarding the body once the karma is exhausted,the now invisible 'jivatma' goes in search of another body to exhaust the karma that have been acumulated in this birth,is any.The 'jivatma' is visible only when it inhabits a body,not in between.
This is the law of Karma,without the knowledge of which,I cannot be a successful 'Karma Yogi'.
According to the law of Karma,I have taken this body.It will survive & ultimately perish,but 'I' ,will never perish.I shall keep going through the "punarapi jananam,punarapi maranam" cycle.
The next lesson is that,the very purpose of the jivatma taking up a body is to be accountable to the punyams & papams that I have accumulated,which would unfold gradually.This punya-papa-phalam is called 'prarabdha',meaning fate or destiny.My destiny is not determined by the world or God,but by my own past actions.

You may then ask the question,"Is my future determined by my destiny alone?".
Karma Yoga says that fate is one of the factors,but not the only one,influencing my future.To say that fate does not determine my future is ignorance.To say that fate alone determines it is incomplete knowledge.Karma Yoga also says that,in case of human beings,there is a second factor,called 'prayatna',meaning our effort or freewill.Also,for every 'prayatna' that I do,I earn fresh punyam & papam & am adding them to my repository.These are called 'aagaami'.

The condition of my body 10 years from now will be the resultant of 2 forces,one,my prarabdha,and second,the lifestyle I am following now.If I eat junk food,drink & smoke all the time,my aagaami will defenitely negatively influence my health,no matter how good my prarabdha is.

Just like the magnitude & direction of a resultant force is the vector sum of all the forces involved,my future is a resultant of my prarabdha & aagaami.Therefore,I have no way of predicting my future,since my prarabdha is unknown.
This is the secind principle I should remember.

The third principle I should remember is that all these universal laws of Karma are maintained by the omnicient "Eshwara".No human being can handle the law of karma,since we have no knowledge of the karma of ourselves,let alone others.Bhagavan is the 'karma adhyakshaha',meaning the presiding principle & the 'karma phala dhatha',meaning the one who gives the results of your karma at the appropriate time.
He gives the karma-phala perfectly according to the laws of the cosmos,and can never be unfair or unjust.

No wonder,there have been cases when a team of very proficient doctors,think that they have done a perfect job,but are left clueless as to why the patient lost his life.This is because they are aware only of their prayatna,but not of the patient's prarabdha.

A Karma Yogi must be a 'Baktha',a devotee of God.

There are a few points I should remember when performing actions as a Karma Yogi.

1.Reduce adarmic activities gradually.If I need to become a Karma Yogi,the first question I need to ask myself is whether my action is ethical or not.A very easy way to answer that is to see if we would accept the very same action from someone else.
If a conscious effort is made,I can identify many avoidable adharmic activies which I can do away with.Once we are sincere & drop the aviodable adharmic acitivities,Bhagavan will make the unaviodable activities also avoidable.

2.Increase dharmic activies(those which will contribute to the infrastructure around).
The 'Pancha Maha Yajna' form part of these.
They are-

a)Deva Yajna-our contributions to the 'pancha mahaboothas' (aakasha ,vayu ,agni , jala ,prithvi).The first contribuion is to look at them revenrentially & avoid damaging or polluting them & if possible,contribute to their growth.Look at them as the very manifestations of God.

"Lam Prithivatmane Gandhandhaarayami
Am aakashatmane pushpai pujaiyatmi
Yam vayuvaatmane dhupa madhrapayami
Ram agniyatmane deepam pradarshayami
Vam amruthatmane amrutopahaaram samarpayami"


Bhagavan is not the idol or photo.He exists in the form of the pancha boothas.
To remind us of the Deva Yajna, 'Nitya puja' is done.

b)Pitru Yajna-our reverential contributon to the preservation ,perpetuation & propagation of the family & family values.In Hinduism,family means 3 generations,our parents,ourselves & our children.We need to reverentially treat our parents & forfathers ,when they are alive & after their death.Find time to spend with your family.At least,chant the Vishnu Sahasranamam together once a week.

c)Brahma/Rishi Yajna- We are able to enjoy this wonderful culture only because of the scriptures.The screiptures were created by rishis.A materialistic culture will talk about tapping,extracting from & conquering nature.But Hinduism asks you to worship the nature,as it is not your enemy,but a friend.May you get its blessings & benefits by worshipping it.
Hence,we are indebted to the scriptures,& thereby their creators(the rishis) for enjoying this culture.Thus we must contribute to the growth of Hindu scriptures & Hindu scriptural teachers.It is not enough to benefit from Hinduism,but I must contribute towards its growth.Whenever there is a threat to Hinduism,we are ready to contribute financially,but the need of the hour is manpower.We are ready to revere a sanyasi,but not ready for a member of our family to become one.
Initially,the 4 vedas has 1180 branches put together,but now only 15-20 shakas are available now.The rest is lost.
At least chant the 'Gayathri mantra',which is supposed to be the essence of vedas.

d)Manushya Yajna-our contribution to our fellow human beings,especially the under privileged ones,those who do not have the resources to live due to some negative 'prarabdha'.I contribute what I can to these people,including but not limited to 'anna dhana' and 'jala dhana'.

e)Bootha Yajna-our reverential contribution to animals & plants.In Deva Yajna,we are taking into account only the pancha boothas,the inert elements,but in Bootha Yajna,we take into account all animals,plants ,insects,etc.
Examples of this would be 'Go puja' and 'Thulasi Puja'.

These 'Pancha Maha Yajna' would increase our dharmic activities.

3.Dedication of all our activities to the Lord.Every activity I do,no matter how small it is,I do it as an offering to him.Therefore,I would gain the following psychological benefits-

a)I remember that this action is going to the Lord & he alone shapes its result.Just like our semester examination papers are sent to various examiners,whom we do not know,and our scores depend on his state of mind at that moment,our actions go to the Bhagavan himself & he would give an unbiased result without any fear,taking into account my karma & my effort.
b)When I remember the Lord,anxiety with regard to the future will come down,since,future is unknown & anything unknown causes fear.Such fear will make my actions less efficient.If I believe in the Lord,I will tell myself that I have the support of the God to face the future that is bestowed upon me.
c)Whenever I do something as an offering to the Lord,it will be whole hearted.I would give it my heart & soul.I would want it to be of the best quality.Hence,commitment would arise.

"Work is Worship"


4.Experience the future as it unfolds,as my own karma-phala.Consider it as a 'prasada' from the God as he alone gives Karma-phalam,& anything from the God is a holy 'prasada'.Hence,I must not judge any experience as success or failure.If I look at my experience from my view point(raga-dvesha),I would term it as a success or a failure,& therefore I would react to the experience.If I consider it as 'Eshwar prasada',I will not react.
A simple example is the banana.If it comes from a shop,it would directly into our mouth.But if it comes from a temple,it would first go to our eyes & then to our mouth.
Every experience comes from the Lord & you should view it with 'prasada bhavana'.


Here ends what a Karma Yogi must do.
What are its benefits

1.Self respect-I will get out of my low self image,which is a major obstacle to growth in life,be it self pity,self hatred,self criticism.I not talking about arrogance,but freedom from inferiority complex.Krishna will explain about this in the 6 th chapter.The very fact that I am God's creation itself makes me special.More the dharmic activities I do,more worthy of myself I would feel.Giving makes you feel great.Taking will make you feel small.On the lighter side,even Bhagavan became small(Vamana) when he had to take from Mahabali.You need not become Ambani to give.Even a small squirrel contributed to the construction of the bridge to Lanka.

2.Serenity-When I work,I dont have anxiety because I have left the result to God,and when I get the result,I am not judgemental as it is God's blessing.Hence,I do not react.This is called 'samatvam'.Therefore,I have freedom from stress.Absence of stress is the indication that I am a Karma Yogi.

3.Harmony of the setup-since I believe in giving at all levels,be it family ,society or environment ,I will be happy at the end of my life that my contribution has been more than my consumption.Hence,there is harmony at all levels.

4.Spiritual growth and an increased desire to come to 'Jnana Yoga'.From the notion that 'I am the jivatma' to one that 'I am the paramatma'.


Thus,by being a Karma Yogi,I would have a balanced mind,one that is not violently swinging from one side to another.Even if there are reactions,their frequency and intensity and the recovery period of the mind to recuperate from the reactions will reduce.

Chapter 2,Verse 33

atha chetvam imam dharmyam
sangraamam na krishyasi
tatha svadharmam kritim cha
hitva papam avapsyasi

Krishna asks Arjuna to change his goggles and then study the situation.He had analyzed the situation correctly before coming to the battle that it was indeed necessary,but had cold feet once he saw Bheeshma,Drona and others on the other side due to his attachment for them.If he ran away from the battlefield,he would have ignored his visesha dharma and for shirking his duty,he would incur papa and also go to naraka.
If he does not fight this righteous battle(imam dharmyam sangraamam na krishyasi),which is his duty,then,for having ignored his duty(svadharmam) and honour(kritim),he would incur sin(hitva papam avapsyasi).

This verse concludes Krishna's advice from the ethical point of view(dharmic drishti).

Chapter 2,Verse 32

yadcchayaa chopapannam
svarga-dvaram apavrtam
sukhina katriyaa partha
labhante yuddham idrsham

Since Arjuna has viewed the battle of Mahabharatha wrongly,he has concluded the consequences too wrongly.He has viewed it from the angle of samanya dharma,and hence concluded that fighting the war would bring him papa & lead him to Naraka.
But,viewed from the visesha dharma point of view,which is correct,the Mahabharatha is ethical & fighting it would only bring him punya and lead him to Svarga,just like how army men are rewarded with various chakras on the republic day,for savagely killing the enemies in a war,which is an act of violence,indeed,but necessary in that situation.

Krishna tells Arjuna that fighting in the Mahabharatha war is an open door to heaven(swarga-dvaram) and such an oppurtunity has come to him,not because he wanted it,but because he is destined for it(yadcchayaa chopapannam).Hence,only a fortunate kshatriya(sukhina katriyaa) would get such a rare opportunity to fight for dharma and that he should not back off.

Chapter 2,Verse 31

svadharmam api chavekhya
na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyaad dhi yuddhaac chreyo'nyat
katriyasya na vidyate

Beginning from verse 31,Krishna start to analyze Arjuna's problems from the ethical point of view(Dharmic drishti),if,in case Arjuna could not comprehend the spiritual angle(Adhyatmika drishti).
He says that if the Mahabharatha was an immoral(adharmic) war,then taking part in it would definitly give you(Arjuna) papa,and you shall be destined for naraka.Hence,you should be afraid of it.Krishna wants to establish that this is a legitimate(dharma yudham) war and says that taking part in it would never be immoral.As a matter of fact,it is the duty of a kshatriya to fight adharmic people.And doing ones duty is never immoral.On the contrary,shying away from your duty as a kshatriya would give you papa and you shall be destined for naraka.

Here,Krishna agrees that war involves violence.And there is a general law that violence is unethical and non-violence alone is dharma.Dharma shastra talks about two types of dharma-
1.Samanya Dharma
2.Vishesha Dharma

Samanya dharma is the general rule that violence is evil.
But Dharma Shastra says that,even though the general rule is that violence is evil and should be avoided by all,there are circumstances where violence becomes a necessary evil,which becomes the duty of certain people at certain times.This is Vishesha dharma.


For example,when a jury has to pass a judgement,and has found the accused guilty,they must hand out a punishment,which is violence.They cannot sit back and say that they shall practice non-violence and thereby release the accused.

Taking this a step further,the supreme judge is the Bhagavan,an as an impartial judge,must hand out punya-phalam and papa-phalam to people depending on our actions.When handing out papa-phalam,Bhagavan himself is practicing violence as a necessary evil,since he is a "Karma-phala datha".

Hence,non-violence is samanya dharma and non-violence as a necessary evil becmes visesha dharma.At that time,talking of non-violence is wrong.Misplaced non-violence is adharma,in fact,it is as adarmic as violence itself.
It is with these that Arjuna has got confused with.In Mahabharatha,visesha dharma applies since it is a dharmic war,and to Arjuna,who is a kshatriya,restoring dharma is a duty.He confuses these because of his emotional attachment to his relatives.

Krishna wants to distinguish between samanya dharma & visesha dharma.Mahabharatha is an ethical war from the standpoint of visesha dharma,because Dhuryodhana had committed the "pancha maha papams",which by itself is a great accomplishment.Hence,he must be out in place.For this,Mahabharatha becomes necessary.

Being the brother of Dharma putra,Arjuna has become confused with the Dharma-shastra.
Krishna points this out.Hence he says that Arjuna cannot waver from doing his duty of fighting the Mahabharatha.Kshatriya means a person who rids the society of adharma.This is derived from the word "Kshatam",meaning disharmony.Hence,he who rids the society of disharmony is a kshatriya.
Hence,he says that fighting a righteous war to save the society becomes the primary duty of Arjuna and he must not run away from it.

The 'Atma'

The atma,according to vedanta,is our higher nature or spirit,is of the nature of consciousness and is different from the mind-body complex.
According to tatvabodha,the atma has five features-

1.Consciousness is not a part,a product or a property of the body.
2.Consciousness is an independent,formless principle which pervades the body & enlivens it.
3.Consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body.It extends infinitely beyond this physical body,and hence,all pervading.
4.This formless consciousness principle will continue to exist even after the body dies or disintegrates.Hence,it is eternal.
5.After the fall of the body,the surviving pure consciousness is not accessible to us because there is no medium(body)to interact with it.Hence,it will not be available for any transaction.Consciousness

Vedanta says that this consciousness is our real nature.We are not the body having consciousness,but the consciousness inhabiting a body temporarily.The body is received by us at the time of birth and shall be renounced by us at death.I,the formless consciousness,shall exist before the reception and after the renunciation of the body.

This atma was described by Lord Krishna from the 12th to the 30th verses of the 2nd chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.He uses 6 words to describe the atma.They are

1.Nityaha-meaning eternal.

2.Satyaha-meaning that which lends existence to matter.Consciousness is called satyaha because it lends existence to matter(body),just like water lends existence to waves and the ocean and clay,to a pot.Body is called 'asatyaha' because it borrows existence from the atma.

3.Akartha-meaning not the doer of any action,good or bad.'Kartha' means doer.

4.Aboktha-meaning not the receiver of any consequences of actions.The consequences of the action shall be borne by the doer of the action.Since the atma does no action,it cannot reap any consequences either.

5.Sarvagathaha-meaning all pervading.Just like space,which is all pervading and accomodates all of us,so is the atma.

6.Aprameyaha-meaning it can never an object of experience.It cannot be observed,but is the observer.


The concept of atma is extra-ordinary and cannot be accepted and believed by everyone.Just like how a 5 year old boy cannot understand the subject matter of M.Sc mathematics,and needs to go through years of schooling and a bachelor's degree to b eligible to do so,we,cannot assimilate the concept of atma right away and need a tutorial to be able to uplift ourselves to a level where we can comprehend it.
This tutorial is called 'karma yoga'.The atma is described in the 'jnana yoga'.Hence,we need to go through karma yoga before being able to undergo jnana yoga.
Krishna,in forthcoming verses and chapters will give us the coaching we need to understand the concept of atma.

The jnana yoga is the panacea to all problems of life.Any other solution,though may alleviate us temporarily,will probably give rise to a couple of more problems,but will never get rid of it permanently.

Chapter 2,Verse 30

dehi nityam avadhyoyam
dehe sravasya bharatha
tasmad sarvani butani
na tvma shochitum arhasi

This verse concludes Krishna's lecture from the spiritual point of view.Verses 12 to 30 dealth with "Adyathmic drishti",meaning spiritual angle of Krishna's jist of the lessons of the Gita.
Next,he would next preach from the "dharmic drishti"(ethical angle) as to why Arjuna must fight the Mahabharatha.

Here,he says that you are not the body(deha),but the atma(dehi).The body is only a temporary cloth you are given to wear temporarily.The reason behind giving you this cloth is for you to realize that you are the atma,which is eternal(nitayam)and cannot be slain(avadhyoyam).Hence,you cannot kill Bheeshma or Drona because they too are the atma.The atma is embodied in everyone.Having understood this,you should realize that neither are you the killer nor are they the killed.Therefore(tasmad),you must not grieve(na tvam shoshitum arhasi) over any living being that inhabits this world(sarvani bhutani).

This was from a spiritual angle,which is very subtle,and is difficult to comprehend and believe in.Hence,Krishna would now view the Mahabharatha war from an ethical point of view and speak to Arjuna.There is a general belief that violence is wrong.But just like how,even though steriods are harmful to the body,they are used by doctors for the benifit of the patient,violence becomes necessary at certain points of time in order to restore dharma.Hence,misplaced non-violence is wrong.

An army general protecting the country's borders,when encountering an intrusion,cannot practise non-violence.A surgeon,needing to amputate a person's limb in order to save his life,cannot say that he will not lift a knife.

Hence,violence & non violence are not white and black,and there are grey areas.
This,Krishna will take up from the next verse.

Chapter 2,Verse 29

ascharyavat pashyati kashchit enam
ascharyavad vadathi tathaiva chanyaha
ascharyavachchainam anya srunothi
sruthvapyenam veda na chaiva kashchit

Krishna now comes back from his suppositional argument that we are the mortal body,which he had taken in the last 3 verses,to the concept of the atma.

He advises Arjuna that nothing deserves grief,be it a body(since it has to go through various stages of birth,growth,decay,death,etc) or the atma(since it has neither birth or death and is beyond all karma).This is Krishna's jist of the Bhagavad Gita.In fact,he borrows this from the 7th chapter of the "Chaandogya Upanishad",named the "Bhuma Vidya".It is a dialogue between the guru,sage Sanatkumara and the shishya , Narada.Narada,being a very accomplished musician,having the ablility to travel anywhere as required(trilokha sanchaari),and having very special powers(siddhi),comes to Sanatkumara and says that in spite of having everything that a human being would crave for,he still experiences sorrow.He also accepts that only atma jnana can rid a person of all sorrows,and requests Sanatkumara to teach it to him.Sanatkumara agrees and his teachings form part of the 7th chapter of the Chaandogya Upanishad.
Krishna emphasizes that this knowledge alone is the solution to all sorrow.He also says that this knowledge is so profound that it is not very easy to understand.Hence,this knowledge is one of "wonder".

Why is this knowledge extra-ordinary?Three main reasons would be-

1.It talks about "Myself"."I" think "I" know myself intimately & better that anybody else.Vedanta says that I do not know myself at all.It says that I am the atma and am immortal.This I cannot comprehend now.It also says that if I am ready to undergo a very thorough educational programme,it shall convince me of the same.Hence vedanta becomes extra-ordinary,since no material object can teach me this.

2.I think that I am located at a place & am a localized individual.Vedanta challenges this and says that I,being the atma,am all pervading,and not limited by time or space.

3.I feel that the universe is very vast and that I am but an insignificant and small speck in one corner of it.Vedanta says that I am not inside the universe.On the contrary,the entire cosmos,including the space-time continuum reside in me.Sankaracharya says in the Atmabodha that "I" am an ocean in which galaxies are small bubbles appearing briefly from time to time.

Krishna says that Vedanta is too big a concept to be able to understand in a day or two,but will take years,requiring passing through the stages of Sravanam(consistent & systematic study of vedantic teaching for a length of time under the guidance of a competent acharya),Mananam(reflect in my own inetllect until I am convinced that this is not a matter of belief but that of understanding and conviction) and Nidhidyasanam(practice these to change my orientation from 'I am in this world' to 'The world is in me').This is worth the effort,because it will bring a revolutionary paradigm shift in the attitude towards oneself,towards the world and towards God.This is the only solution to all sorrow in life.

Thus Krishna says that,jnanis(enlightened people),very few are scarce in this world appreciate this knowledge.This is a wonder.
They enjoy this knowledge,and would like to spread it.Not many people are forthcoming to learn this as they are materialistically busy.When such people do come forward,the jnanis become acharyas and pass on their knowledge.This is also a wonder.

When these knowledge seekers encounter it,it is so overwhelming that they are unable to accept it right away.This is also a wonder.

The greatest wonder of all is that,even after studying these for years together,some students are still unable to understand this.

Chapter 2,Verse 28

avyakthadhini bhuthani
vyaktha madhyani bharatha
avyakthanidhananyeva
thtra ka paridevana

Vedanta says that the very words 'birth' and 'death' are illogical.The same goes for 'creation' and 'destruction'.These words must not even exist in our vocabulary.If they do so,it shows our ignorance.As modern science says that "Matter can neither be created nor be destroyed",it can be converted from one form to another.Thus,describing God as a creator itself is a misnomer.
The same logic can be extended to the words "srishti" & "pralayam" God could not and did not create the world.Just like how a carpenter making a chair does not create one per say,but merely converts wood from a tree into one,God did not create the world.To put it in perspective with modern science,even before the big bang,the earth existed.It shall continue to do so forever.Just that it was not,and will not,be in the form that it is in now.A star,after becoming a supernova,shall continue to exist,but in the form of energy.
The world is continually changing.During the course of this transformation,at some particular time,it becomes perceivable,just like water being visible in its solid & liquid states,but not in its gaseous forms.This is considered to be the creation of the world(srishti).Before this,the world was in a form that was not perceivable(avyaktha avastha,meaning intangible state).It is now in a vyaktha avastha,meaning tangible state.At some point in the future,it will again transform into avyaktha avastha and this phenomenon would be considered as "pralayam"(end of the world).
Thus,creation and destruction are nothing but a continuous change between a tangible form and an intangible form.It is not a linear process,but a cyclic process,which would keep repeating over and over again,and hence you cannot find its beginning or its end.
Hence,Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that birth and death of living beings are merely a transformation between a tangible an intangible forms.Beings manifest at birth,and transform to how they were before birth,an unmanifestable form,at their deaths.Thus,he must not grieve over either birth or death.

Chapter 2,Verse 27

jatasya hi dhruvo mruthyuhu
dhruvam janma mrutasya cha
tasmad apariharthertheye
na tvam shochitum arhasi

Now.Krishna gives a reason as to why Arjuna should not grieve over the death of his relatives.He says that for a being that is born,death is certain.And for one which has died,birth is certain.This is an undeniable fact.And one has no control over this.Hence,one must learn to accept what is inevitable.Intelligence is preparing the mind for situations over which one has no choice.The Mahabharatha is an inevitable event pending to happen,and Arjuna has no contol over it.There would be lives lost on both sides.He would have to part with his near and dear ones.But,he must accept this fact,and move on.By resisting to do so,one will only encounter sorrow.If accepted,the pain is halved.If resisted,the pain is doubled.
Now comes the question of how to develop this attitude of accepting the inevitable without resistance.To begin with,one must keep meditating/saying to oneself that he/she is ready to accept the inevitable.On continually practising it,it would gradually get imbibed in our hearts.Our facial expressions and body language would then start to reflect it.Others would then be able to see a smile on our faces at all times.Krishna asks Arjuna to do the same.According to our shastras,the mind and the brain are differnt.The brain forms part of the visible body,whereas the mind,the invsible.The brain perishes when one dies,whereas the mind continues.But he tells Arjuna that,even if he refuses to believe in this,he must still not grieve over the death of mortals,be it Bheeshma or Drona.
Death is inevitable.Modern science can extend life and delay death,but can never overcome it.We must all accept this fact.By understanding that one is the atma & not the physical body,two purposes are fulfilled.
1.It gives inner peace as I know that I am the atma,and that I have no destruction.This way,the innate urge for immortality is fulfilled.
2.I will,hence,be able to accept the mortality of the human body.

There is a very useful prayer that we all can use everyday-

"Oh Lord,give me the serenity to accept what cannot be changed.
Oh Lord,give me the courage to change what can be changed.
Oh LOrd,give me the ability to differentiate between the two"

Chapter 2,Verse 26

atha chainam nithyajaatham
nithyam va manyase mrutham
tathapi tvam mahabaho
nivam shochitum arhasi

From verses 26 to 28,Lord Krishna takes a different approach in preaching to Arjuna.
All along,he was trying to impress upon Arjuna that he is not the visible human bpdy,but the atma.In these verses,Krishna makes a suppositional argument that everyone were their mere visible mortal human bodies.He says that,even if Arjuna considered atma to be mortal,people have come with a date of birth and will have a date of death,he must not grieve over the inevitable.

Chapter 2,Verse 25

Avyakto'yam achintyoyam
avikaryo'yam uchyathe
tasmad evam viditvainam
nanusochithum arhasi


Naturally,the next question would be-"If atma is everywhere,they why cannot I sense it or perceive it.I have sense organs which enable me to touch,smell,see,taste and hear.Why is that the atma is not sensed by any of these?"Krishna expects this question and hence gives an answer to Arjuna.He says that atma is "Avyaktaha",meaning it does not have sensory property.My sense organs can experience something that has one of the five sensory properties.If an object has a form and/or colour,I can see it.But when it has neither,can I see it?
Can I see the ethyl mercaptane,very strong smelling substance which is mixed with LPG to detect gas leaks?Just because I cannot see it,can I assume that there is no gas leakage?Just because a deaf person cannot hear music,can he conclude that there is no such thing as music?These only mean that out sense organs are limited instruments which can perceive what they are meant to perceive.Similarly,atma,having no sensory property,cannot be perceived by any of our sense organs.They are intrinsically incapable of perceiving the atma.Thus atma is imperceptible.

Krishna goes one step further and answers another question-"I cannot sense the atma.But why cannot I intellectually think or amotionally conceive the atma?"
The answer is "Achintyoyam",meaning,non availablity to form a concept.All the concepts we conceived are based on our experiences in this material world.Thus,we cannot conceive something we have not experienced.Dont agree?Try explaining colours to a person born blind.Let's see you make him perceive/conceptualize and imagine them.Thus,atma cannot be imagined either.

"avikaryo'yam uchyathe" means that the atma is not subject to any change,as I have explained in the previous posts.

Krishna says that,having known this,that Arjuna is neither a kartha nor a boktha,he cannot commit papa or punya and incur their consequences,he must not grieve over the death of his opponents.He is the punya-papa-atheetha atma.

Chapter 2,Verse 24

acchedhyo'yam adaahyoyam
akledhyo shoshya eva cha
nithyaha sarvagathaha sthanuhu
achaloyam sanathanaha



Krishna says that the atma cannot be cut,cannot be burnt,cannot neither be wet,nor can it be dried.This atma is all pervading,changeless,immovable.It has no birth or death.
It cannot be affected by any of the pancha boothas.Why?Is it because the atma is so far away that it cannot be reached?No.Atma transcends space and time.It is here & now.Nevertheless,it is inaccessible to the elements.

There are a couple of comparisons made in the vedas regarding the atma.

1.Atma is compared to akasha,meaning space(one of the pancha boothas).Space is everywhere,right around you.But can you cut it with a knife?Can you burn it be lighting a fire?When it rains,does the space get wet?Try pouring water from a height.It transcends the space and wets only the object it comes in contact with.Do winds move space?Space is present here & now,and yet it is not affected by anything.Similarly,the atma is all pervading.The word "Chitakashaha" refers to this concept.It is derived from the word 'chit' meaning the higher consciousness(atma) and akasha,meaning space.
If you go to Chidambaram,you will see God being worshipped in the form of space.It is one of the pancha bootha sthalas.(The other four being Kanchipuram(Prithvi sthalam),Thiruvanaikaval(Appu sthalam),Sri Kalahasthi(Vayu sthalam) and Thiruvannamalai(Thejo sthalam)).
At Chidambaram,there is no idol to represent the God.There is mere space.It signifies that God is present in the space there,but is beyond the reach of our sense organs.

2.Atma is compared to prakasha(light).Just as you cannot bring about change to the space around you,you cannot do anything to light emanating from a source.


Lord Krishna,as part of the teaching,presents the spiritual knowledge to Arjuna.Spiritual knowledge means the knowledge of our own higer nature(the atma).The atma is regarded as spirit because it is neither matter nor a material substance.Vedanta says atma is in the nature of the consciousness itself.Matter by itself,is not a conscious entity.No material substance is conscious of either itself or others.The keyboard on which I am typing this very line is neither aware that it is a keyboard,not is it aware of me,being present and typing on it.Matter is matter because it is neither self-conscious nor is it conscious of others.THe materia body becomes conscious only by the pervasion of the the spirit(atma).
The nature of the atma is described as follows-

1.Niyaha & sthanuhu:Nityaha means eternal.Sthanuhu means not being subject to any change like birth,growth,decay,death,etc.

2.Sarvagataha & achalaha:Sarvagathaha means all pervading.Since it is all pervading,it is 'Achalaha',which means immovable.The earth can move because it is limited.Fire,water and air can move from one place to another,but space cannot move since it is all pervading.Similarly,atma is limitless with respect to time & space.The space-time continium does not limit the atma.This is reffered to by the word "desha-kala-aparichinnam".Parichinnam means limited.Hence,aparichinnam refers to the atma being limitless with respect to 'desha',the space and 'kala',the time.

Chapter 2,Verse 23

nainam chindanti shastraani
nainam dahati paavakaha
na chainam kledayantyaapaha
na shoshyati maarutaha

Now,Krishna come back to referring to the atma as the eternal spirit.
He says that no weapon(arrow,spear,mace) can cut the atma.
Fire can only burn the body,not the atma.
Water can erode stones over a period of time gradually,but it cannot do the same to the atma.
Wind can never dry the atma.

He points out that none of the pancha buthas(Except for space,as space is compared to the atma in other parts of the Gita) can have any effect on the Atma.

Thus,he encourages Arjuna to fight the battle,as by killing Bheeshma & Drona,he is destroying only their bodies and their atmas would find new ones to inhabit.

Chapter 2,Verse 22

vaasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navaani grhnaati naroparaani
tatha sharirani vihaya jirnani
anyaani samyaati navaani dehi


This is another important verse in the Gita,where Krishna transcends from his usual reference in the previous verses of referring to the atma as the all pervading,eternal spirit.He now speaks about the 'Invisible body'(Sukshma shariram + Karana shariram),i.e the mind,prana & the karma bearing portion of the human body.He calls this the 'dehi'.He says that just as we discard worn out clothes and wear new ones,the atma decides to abandon the worn out body it has been inhabiting in this janma,and moves into a new body.Once the body has served its purpose,it is considered worn out,be it at the age of 20 or 80.When this takes place is not in our hands.That is decided by our karma.Death is nothing but the transition of the atma from one body to another.

Death & after

What is death,and what happens after it?
The is the question everyone wants an answer to.
When a person dies,his physical body mingles with the elements.The body becomes the pancha buthas(Air,Water,Fire,Earth and Space).We ensure this through creamtion or burial of the physical body.Thus,the body doesnt go anywhere after death.
What happens to the atma?It cant either.The atma is infinite and all pervading.It cannot go to heaven or hell.
Hence,there must be something more,than the mere physical body & the atma.
Tatvabodha gives an answer to this.It says that all living beings are made up of four components.They are-

1.Sthula shariram(The physical body)-This is finite in nature & visible.Hence,it is referred to as the 'Visible body'.

2.Sukshma shariram(The subtle body)-This extends a little further than the limits of the visible body.This is the aura that surrounds a living being.It is not perceivable by our sensory organs.Nevertheless,it isn't all pervading either.The sukshma shariram is composed of many things,then most important of them being-
1.The mind
2.The prana(energy)

3.Karana shariram(Causal body)-This acts as the storehouse of all the papa & punya we have accumulated over the process of the many janmas(births) we take.

Together,the sukshma shariram and the karana shariram represent the 'Invisible body'.

4.Atma-This is the all pervading spirit,that provides consciousness to the visible & invisible body.It has no birth,no death,no growth,no decay,no arrival and no departure.It is all pervading and by itself performs no action.

Now,when a person dies,the visible body perishes.
The invisible body,now goes in search of another physical body to inhabit.The next body it would inhabit it decided by two things-
1.Kama:The unfulfilled desires accumulated in the previous janma.So long there are desires to be fulfilled,there shall be rebirth.
2.Karma:The papa & punya accumulated over the course of many janmas it has been through.The invisible body would carry all the karma into the next body it would inhabit.
If papas are predominant,it would be forced to take up an inferior body,say,for example,an animal.
If there is an equilibrium between papa & punya,it would be able to inhabit a human body again.
If punyas are predominant,then it would get a chance to inhabit a superior body.

What happens to the atma?It is all pervading.Hence nothing happens to it.It blesses the visible & invisible bodies with consciousness.

The use of the term 'atma' is two-fold
1.It refers to the all pervading spirit.The 'Jnana Kandam'(Spiritual portion) of the vedas deals with this atma.
2.Since the atma blesses the invisible body(Sukshma shariram+Karana shariram) with consciousness,the invisible body is also sometimes called the 'atma'.Just like adding sweetness(sugar) to a dish,and then calling the dish itself 'a sweet',the all pervading atma(spirit) providing consciousness to the invisible body,lends the invisible body,the name of 'atma'.The 'Karma Kandam'(Ritualistic portion) of the vedas deals with this atma.

It is this latter,the finite,invisible body that travels in search of a newer body,where it can fulfill its desires.The next birth is not limited to the world we are living in.The vedas say there are 14 lokas(realms) that life can exist in.Science,only recently,has been able to comprehend and accept the possibility of parallel universes/realms through the 'M-Theory'.So,the next body could be present in any realm,be it the 'Svar-loka' or the 'Patala-loka'.The realm we are in is called the 'Bhur-loka'.

Carrying out the rituals like the shardham,pitru-tarpanam,are supposed to assist the atma.It is said that these rituals help the atma even after it has taken to a new body.Hence,pitru-karmas become very essential.Doing pitru-yagna not only helps the atma,it also helps the doer by providing him with spiritual enlightenment.This,Krishna says in the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

Ch 2:Verse 17

avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaḿ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya na kaścit kartum arhati

You should know that,the atma,being imperishable and all pervading,nothing can bring about its destruction.

Ch 2:Verse 16

2:16
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api drshtonta tvanayostattva-darśibhiḥ

There is no existence for the unreal.
There is no non-existence for the real(atma).
The difference between the two is known to those who see the truth.

You are not the body.You are not the mind.You are something beyond these.You are the atma.

The difference between the atma and anatma(objects of the material world,which include the human body) can be illustrated by a simple example.Take gold,a block of gold.Of what use is it?(Other than being capable of breaking someone's skull if thrown).Take a golden bangle,a necklace,a gold ring.What do you see?A thing of utility.
But you must realize that the value that the bangle or the necklace carries is not its own.The bangle's value is of the gold with which it is made.The gold is the essence of the bangle.The piece of jewellery,though of great utility,holds no value of its own.Try melting it,and you'll know.On the contrary,gold,though of no practical utility by itself,is the essence of every form of jewellery.Likewise,the atma,though unseen,is the essence of different forms of objects(read living beings).
All living beings are in one way or another,a form of the atma.The atma is permanent,imperishable,existed before,during,and will continue to BE after the destruction of the human body.