8. There is No Death in Reality (2.19-2.21)

The first thing that comes from Kṛṣṇa is Sāṅkhya Yogaḥ. The moment Bhagavān is opening His mouth, you are given an amazing introduction about you! In Sāṅkhya, you are recognized as a Soul. Kṛṣṇa is one of the greatest followers of Kapila, the celebrated Incarnation of Mahādeva and Viṣṇu. Kapila is the first thinking man on the planet who experienced completion.

Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna that there is no death in reality. What is seen as death is the destruction of the impermanent body. No one therefore can kill or be killed by the another. Kṛṣṇa denies the concept of death. He is not saying: be good, and you will be taken care of when you die and if you are bad, you will suffer. He says there is no death, that's all.

Do not Fear Death, You Are Imperishable (2.22-2.30)

Kṛṣṇa continues with Sāṅkhya, the knowledge of completion:

Just as man casts off his worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, the Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters newer ones, anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī (2.22).Weapons do not cleave the Self, fire does not burn It, water does not moisten It, and wind does not dry It. The Self can neither be broken, nor burnt, nor dissolved, nor dried up. It is eternal, all pervading, stable, immovable and ancient.

nainaṁ chindanti saśtrāṇi nainaṁ dahāti pāvakaḥ I na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ II 2.23

Here, in very few words, Kṛṣṇa expounds upon the entire truth of

life and death. He clarifies why we should accept death gladly, instead of grieving over it.

An understanding of the truth that Kṛṣṇa unveils here is the key to immortality. It is the key to liberation from the bondage of life and death.

'Do not fear death, nānuśocitum arhasi (2.25).' Kṛṣṇa says, 'neither yours nor that of others. It is the disappearance of this material body. Even if the body perishes, you live on, so you do not have to worry or fear.'

What survives death is the sacred spirit in you that can never be destroyed. It is unchanging, eternal and all pervading. 'When you are that spirit, that energy,' asks Kṛṣṇa, 'what is there to grieve about? When you are the Divine yourself, what can you fear? What more can you ask for?'

Once you understand what Kṛṣṇa says, that death is like changing a worn-out garment, your fears will disappear. In fact you will celebrate death.

Fear of Unfulfilled Desires

It is not death that frightens us. It is leaving our incomplete desires and unlived life that frightens us. The hangover of that past incomplete desire continues to chase us as a pattern in the present. We do not know how to be complete, joyful.

Listen. Completion means feeling empowered, feeling powerful, without any hangover, without feeling powerless, during and after every situation in your life! If you are powerful, you won't be violent. You will not be in guilt, fear or carry incomplete desires.

Kṛṣṇa reveals that to be truly complete, joyful, is to cognize the truth that you are indestructible, and that life and death are but a mere passage. When you cognize this truth and start living it with integrity and authenticity, you will be living death. If not, you will be dead living.

To Fight is Your Responsibility, O Arjuna (2.31-38)

Kṛṣṇa works on Arjuna at two levels. At one level He talks to Arjuna at the Super-conscious plane about the ultimate Truth. He talks about how the undying and indestructible spirit lives on. Here, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna's fears about killing his svajanam, his kinsmen; what he considers as the end of life for these people is just one step in their journey.

Kṛṣṇa then descends to the practical level at which Arjuna exists and begins addressing his svadharma, Arjuna's own dharma, the natural path of his responsibility. Kṛṣṇa says, 'Fight! You are a kṣatriya. By fighting as your own responsibility demands, svadharmam api cāvekṣya (2.31), you earn merits and go to heaven. If you run away from this war, you commit a sin of being out-of-integrity with your responsibility, hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi (2.33). You will also be termed a coward, and for a kṣatriya, dishonor is far worse than death, sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate (2.34).

'Do not worry about victory or defeat. Defeated, slain you will ascend to heaven. Victorious, you will enjoy material benefits in this world itself. Therefore, O Kaunteya, fight as it is your responsibility*–yuddhāya kṛtaniścayaḥ (2.37)*.' Kṛṣṇa says to treat pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat all the same. He says to fight without worrying about the outcome. You shall incur no sin.

When the Paramātma, Supreme Soul says this, it means that Arjuna does not have to worry about right and wrong, sin or merit. Kṛṣṇa's exhortation is beyond human rationale. It is not what you do that matters; it is who you are being that matters. It is your space of completion that matters.

Experience Matters Not Knowledge (2.39-2.46)

Kṛṣṇa begins His teachings of Karma Yoga to Arjuna now. He says here, 'Forget the Vedas. Do not quote to Me what the scriptures say.' He says, 'All the knowledge contained in the Vedas is of as much use as water in a flood to one who has realized himself.' The Vedas are limiting. 'Move beyond them to the single-pointed determination of yoga that I shall teach you,' Kṛṣṇa says, 'and be established in a state where you are no longer concerned about creation, preservation and destruction. You will be beyond these and reach the state of Parabrahman.'

Only the Master of the Universe can speak with such authority. Kṛṣṇa is casting away the divinely transmitted scriptures, the Vedas, to instill the Truth in the inner space of Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa shows Arjuna how meaningless his borrowed intellectual knowledge is. He now leads him into experiential knowledge.