In this Weekly Wisdom, Gurudev shares that the human spirit is indestructible and how, in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna reacted when Krishna told him this.
Who am I? What is this universe all about? What is spirit, life, and soul? The soul can never be cut, burned, or buried. It can never be made wet.
Nothing happens to the soul, like nothing happens to space. You can’t wet space. It’s unbreakable. So is our soul.
Our spirit isn’t a substance. It’s a vast expanse. Such is the nature of your true spirit. It can never be destroyed. No arrows can pierce through it.
Your hand can be amputated, but your mind and spirit cannot. Spirit is indestructible. That gave a big sigh of relief to Arjuna.
Feeling young
Even though people get old, they never feel that. Other people will say, “Oh, the poor old man.” The one who says that is old himself. But he doesn’t see himself as a poor old man.
When you see young children growing up, you say, “Oh, they’re all grown up.” But you feel that you’ve never grown up. You’re the same.
There’s something in you deep inside that says you’ve never changed. Years passed by. You’ve cut so many birthday cakes, made so many wishes, and blown out candle after candle every year.
And yet, you feel inside, “Hey, I haven’t grown. Nothing has changed. I’m the same. I’m not going to die.”
A visit to the wardrobe
We have infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age. In the same way, we come into another body. We’re born again. We all play our roles in this game called world.
Even on their deathbed, people don’t know or feel that they’re going to die. Talk to people in the hospice. They all plan. They still have plans for what they should be doing.
There’s not the slightest feeling that you’re going to die or your life is going to end. Why do you have this confidence? What’s the true secret behind it?
Though you see people dying everyday, everywhere, something inside you refuses to believe that you’re going to die, too. That’s true, because you’re not going to die. You’ll never die!
You’re only changing your outfit. You’re going into your wardrobe and changing your dress. That’s all! Every death is nothing but a visit to the wardrobe.
You’ll never die! You’ll come right back with a new costume!
The head and the heart
Krishna knew it, but Arjuna didn’t. When someone doesn’t know about these matters, which are so subtle and intangible, it’s difficult to convince them.
Otherwise, the Gita would have been finished by the second chapter.
If Arjuna had been totally convinced, he would have said, “Yes, you’ve said it. I’m going to fight and finish this. Stop talking!” No, he didn’t say that!
Because knowing in the head is one thing and feeling in the heart is something else. Having coordination between these two is something altogether different. Sometimes, you know in the head and the heart, but they don’t match.
What’s the nature of your spirit? How indestructible you are, how nothing can destroy you, and nothing can even touch you. Destruction is so far away. Nothing can even touch you!
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Editor’s note:
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