Embracing transformation
Change is the only constant. Learn to flow with life's changes rather than resist them.
Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati
As the embodied soul continuously passes through childhood, youth, and old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
Matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah, agamapayino 'nityas tams titikshasva bharata
O son of Kunti, the contact between the senses and sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are impermanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendant of Bharata, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro 'parani, tatha sharirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi
As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.
Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya ca tasmad apariharye 'rthe na tvam shocitum arhasi
For the one who is born, death is certain; and for the one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore, for this unavoidable reality, you should not grieve. The cycle of birth and death is inevitable and universal. Grief over what cannot be avoided is a waste of energy and wisdom.
Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram, tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah
Whatever state of being one remembers when leaving the body at death, O son of Kunti, one attains that very state in the next existence, being always conditioned by that state of mind. This powerful verse reveals that the mind's content at the moment of death shapes the next birth — thus an entire life of practice is aimed at purifying the final thought.
Bhuta-gramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate, ratry-agame 'vashah partha prabhavaty ahar-agame
Again and again the day comes, and all beings take birth; and with the coming of night, all are helplessly dissolved. O Partha, the same multitude of beings comes into being again and again helplessly. Souls are compelled to take birth again and again by the force of karma and cosmic cycles — only God-realization breaks this cycle.
Avyaktadini bhutani vyakta-madhyani bharata avyakta-nidhanany eva tatra ka paridevana
All created beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in the middle state, and unmanifest again after death. So what is there to lament? Existence moves from the unmanifest through manifestation back to the unmanifest — what we call death is simply a return to the prior state. There is no cause for sorrow.
Shariram yad avapnoti yac capy utkramatishvarah, grhitvaitani samyati vayur gandhan ivashayat
As the wind carries aromas from their source, so the living entity, who is the lord of the body, carries the mind and senses from one body to another when it gives up one form and takes another. This verse illuminates the subtle mechanics of transmigration — the soul carries its accumulated mental and sensory impressions into the next life.
Avyakto 'yam acintyo 'yam avikaryo 'yam ucyate tasmad evam viditvainam nanushocitum arhasi
The soul is said to be unmanifest, unthinkable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. The soul transcends all categories of sensory and mental perception — it cannot be seen, thought about, or altered. Grief over the soul's fate is therefore completely misplaced.
Atha chainam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mritam tathapi tvam maha-baho nainam shocitum arhasi
Even if you believe the soul is constantly being born and constantly dying, O mighty-armed, you should still not grieve. Even from the conventional standpoint of those who do not accept the Vedic view of the soul's immortality, grief is still irrational. Death is inevitable and beyond our control.
Na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sharire
The soul is never born nor dies at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain. This is one of the most celebrated descriptions of the immortal Atman in all scripture.
Vedavinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam katham sa purushah partha kam ghatayati hanti kam
Krishna asks: how can one who knows the soul to be indestructible, unborn, eternal, and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill? The question is rhetorical — true knowledge of the self makes the concept of killing spiritually meaningless. Only ignorance creates guilt around fulfilling one's righteous duty.
Sattvam rajas tama iti gunah prakriti-sambhavah, nibadhnanti maha-baho dehe dehinam avyayam
The three gunas—sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance)—born of material nature, bind the eternal soul to the body.
Adhaśh chordhvaṁ prasṛitās tasya śhākhā guṇa-pravṛiddhā viṣhaya-pravālāḥ, adhaśh cha mūlāny anusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣhya-loke
The branches of the tree extend both upward and downward, nourished by the three gunas, with sense objects as the sprouts. Its roots extend downward, binding one to actions in the human world.
Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana, ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango 'stv akarmani
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
Niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyayo hy akarmanah, sharira-yatrapi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmanah
You should thus perform your prescribed Vedic duties, since action is superior to inaction. By ceasing activity, even your bodily maintenance will not be possible.
Avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty ahar-agame, ratry-agame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake
With the coming of day, all manifestations emerge from the unmanifest; and with the coming of night, all are dissolved back into what is called the unmanifest. The rhythm of cosmic creation and dissolution follows Brahma's day and night — at the dawn of each cosmic day, creation springs forth, and at cosmic night, all returns to the unmanifest.
Nanyam gunebhyah kartaram yada drasthanupashyati, gunebhyas cha param vetti mad-bhavam so 'dhigacchati
When one sees that there is no agent of action other than the three gunas, and knows that which is transcendental to all these gunas, one attains My divine nature. The final insight is that all action is driven by gunas; the one who sees this transcends them.
Gunan etan atitya trin dehi deha-samudbhavan, janma-mrityu-jara-duhkhair vimukto 'mritam ashnute
When the embodied being transcends these three gunas associated with the body, they are freed from birth, death, old age, and suffering, and attains immortality.
Read slowly and contemplate. Don't rush through these verses. Pick one that resonates and sit with it for a few minutes.
Return regularly. Ancient wisdom reveals itself gradually. Come back to these verses when you need them.
Apply to your situation. Consider how each teaching relates specifically to what you're experiencing right now.
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