Gita : Ch-2. Slo-24.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-2. ( Samkya-yogam )


Slokam-24. ( Krishna's reply to Arjuna  continues...)



Acchedyayam-adahyoyam      akledyososhya     eva    ca,


Nityah    sarvagatah     sthannuh   acaloyam     sanatanah.


Ayam    accedyah    adahyah    =   This soul   ( Jeevatma  )   unbreakable,     cannot be burned;

Akledyah     asoshyah     ca    eva   =    insoluble     cannot be dried     and     certainly;

Ayam     nityah     sarvagatah   =   ( This soul )  everlasting     all-pervading ;
 
Sthannuh      achalah   =    unchangeable      immovable;

Sanatanah   =    ( Atma )   is above    and   beyond    the time   (  eternally   the   same  ).



This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.


All these qualifications of the atomic soul definitely prove that the individual soul is eternally the atomic particle of the spirit whole, and he remains the same atom eternally, without change. The theory of monism is very difficult to apply in this case, because the individual soul is never expected to become one homogeneously. After liberation from material contamination, the atomic soul may prefer to remain as a spiritual spark in the effulgent rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the intelligent souls enter into the spiritual planets to associate with the Personality of Godhead.


The word sarva-gataḥ (all-pervading) is significant because there is no doubt that living entities are all over God's creation. They live on the land, in the water, in the air, within the earth and even within fire. The belief that they are sterilized in fire is not acceptable, because it is clearly stated here that the soul cannot be burned by fire. Therefore, there is no doubt that there are living entities also in the sun planet with suitable bodies to live there. If the sun globe is uninhabited, then the word sarva-gataḥ—living everywhere—becomes meaningless.


In this slokam Lord Krishna states the reasons why the soul can never be destroyed and these three descriptions are because the soul is incombustible, insoluble and unwitherable. Why is this so? Because the soul is nitya or eternal. Only the transitory physical body can be burned, moistened or withered. The soul is extremely subtle, subatomic in nature and sarva-gatah meaning all pervading. Being all pervasive the soul is extremely supra-subtle, more so than air or even than atoms. Being the subtlest of the subtlest it is sthanuh or unchangeable as it is incapable of being modified in any way. As it is acalah or permanent it is devoid of any nature of change and constant and as it is constant it is sananatah or everlasting and eternally existing.


The reasons given as evidence supporting the eternal souls immortal position is that being acchedyah or indestructible it is incapable of being cut. Being adahyah or incombustible it is incapable of being burned. Being akledyah or insoluble it is incapable of being moistened. Being free from moisture it is asosyah or incapable of being dried. This is the idea. Another reason for why the soul is not liable to cutting, burning, moistening or drying is because it is everlasting, all pervading, immutable, never undergoing modification and primordial as it has no beginning.


Weapons are powerless to inflict any injury by cutting or piercing, fire is powerless to burn, water is powerless to wet and air is powerless to dry the eternal soul. The soul having the propensity of pervading everything being capable by its nature of interpenetrating all substances. It is subtler than any substance and no substance can penetrate it. The effects of cutting, burning, soaking, drying and others which takes place by weapons, fire, water, air and the rest penetrate the object which is the focus of their direction; but due to its impregnable nature the soul is uninfluenced being beyond the scope of the material substratum. Hence the eternal soul is unchangeable, immovable and everlasting.

To be continued ...