BHAGAVAD GEETA: 46 - Swami Advayanandaji.

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BHAGAVAD GEETA 

Chapter - 2

Discourse – 2 (72 Slogas)

“Yoga of the SUPREME SELF”

Sri Veda Vyasaji

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Wednesday, 20 Dec 2023 07:50.

Post - 46.

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Slogam - 24: The Self is Beyond the Gross Body

1 Acchhedyah ayam adaahyah ayam  = This Self cannot be cut, nor can It be burnt;

2 akledyah ashoshyah eva cha;  = nor can It be wetted, nor can It be dried;

3 nityah sarvagatah sthaanuh  = The Self is eternal, all-pervading, stable,

4 achalah ayam sanaatanah.  = immovable and ancient.

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The previous sloga’s message is repeated but, in addition, the reason is given.

1-2 The repeated message is that the Self cannot be destroyed by any one of the five 

elements, nor by any combination of the five elements, because It pervades all of them, 

being subtler than all of them.

The idea that is being driven home is that we should never forget that this physical 

body is only an instrument for us to use in our dealings in the world.

3-4 The essential “I” or Self is not the body but that which is the Master of the body. 

The descriptions given here – eternal, all-pervading, ancient, and so on – are temporary. 

These are concepts which we hold in our mind, until such time as we progress further and 

extend our understanding. Then we can drop these pegs which assist us in the beginning.

Acharyaji especially emphasized the choice of words in Samskrit, which brings out 

phonetically the indestructibility of the Self. 

This is also perhaps why these words are repeated over three slogas – 20, 21 and 24. 

One may find the following reflective exercise, given by Acharyaji, very useful: Take 

each of the 4 Verbs and pair it with each of 5 Nouns. There will be 20 combinations in all. 

Reflect on how the Self would be in each of these 20 cases, finding examples for each 

combination. Here is a table to assist us:

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Next

Slogam - 25: Therefore, Do Not Grieve!

To be continued

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