Bhagavad Gita, also known as ‘Song of God’, teaches us human values essential in everyone’s life. The Bhagavad Gita is the ‘essence of Vedic knowledge’ and hence Lord Krishna’s message to the Pandava warrior Arjuna is applicable to the human entity. When Arjuna laments before the battle at Kurukshetra, Lord Shri Krishna advises him to deal with attachment and imparts knowledge about the human soul. Let’s see what advice Lord Krishna gave to Arjun about the soul!
Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 2
Verse 12:
There was never a time when neither I, nor you, nor all these kings existed; Nor will any of us cease to exist in the future.
Purport: I, you and every living being are eternally unique in this world. Don’t mourn anyone’s death because the soul is basically maintained by God while you are within the body and when you leave the body. It is normal to experience internal conflict and emotional conflict when facing life’s challenges.
Verse 13:
Just as the embodied soul continuously passes through this body, from childhood to youth and old age, similarly at the time of death the soul passes into another body. A calm person is not shocked by such changes.
Purport: This verse explains the concept of the eternal nature of the soul. It tells us that the individual soul, which is our true self, changes the body at the time of death and goes on to inhabit another body. Whether this new body is physical or spiritual, there is no reason to mourn, as the soul continues its journey through different bodies in the cycle of rebirth. The main message is not to mourn the change of the physical body, as the soul remains eternal and continues its existence beyond each life.
Verse 17:
You should know that which pervades the entire body as imperishable. No one can destroy that indestructible soul.
Purport: This soul is described in size as one ten thousandth of the upper part of a hair. And therefore no one can destroy the soul. The soul is immortal. In simple words, this verse states that the small spiritual spark (soul) is the core of our physical body.
Verse 20:
The soul is neither born nor dies. He has not come into existence, does not come into existence, and will not come into existence. He is unborn, eternal, ever present and original. He is not killed when the body is killed.
Purport: In simple words, this verse is telling us that the soul, our inner soul, is neither born nor dies. It is not like our physical body, which takes birth and eventually dies. The soul is eternal, which means it has no beginning and no end. It has always existed, and it will always exist. It is not tied to the past, present or future; It is timeless. There is no historical record of the soul coming into existence because it has always existed. Therefore no one can kill the soul.
Verse 22:
Just as a person gives up old clothes and puts on new ones, similarly the soul gives up old and useless bodies and puts on new physical bodies.
Purport: Just as we change our old clothes and wear new ones, similarly when the old clothes get worn out the soul changes its physical body. The soul leaves its old body and takes a new body. This process continues like changing clothes and continues as long as the soul exists.