Chapter 2 Shloka 21

वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम्।

कथं स पुरुष: पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम्।।२१।।

Bhagwan says to Arjuna:

O Arjuna, son of Pritha!

A person who considers this Atma to be indestructible,

eternal, undecaying and unborn,

how can such a person be said to kill somebody

or have him killed?

Chapter 2 Shloka 21

वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम्।

कथं स पुरुष: पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम्।।२१।।

Bhagwan says to Arjuna:

O Arjuna, son of Pritha! A person who considers this Atma to be indestructible, eternal, undecaying and unborn, how can such a person be said to kill somebody or have him killed?

Understand carefully little one! The Lord again reveals the subtle, mysterious depths of the essence of the Atma. He says:

a) The Atma is imperishable;

b) It is beyond birth and death;

c) It is constant and unchanging;

d) It transcends name and form;

e) It is the same everywhere;

f) It is supreme consciousness and indestructible in essence;

g) It is without any defects;

h) It is devoid of qualities.

Understand therefore, the attitude of one who identifies with the Atma:

1. He ceases to identify with the body and its attributes.

2. He does not identify with any actions that may be performed by the body.

3. He never desires to establish the body.

4. He is not attached to any likes and dislikes or desires that are born of sense gratification.

5. He is no longer attached to any sensations that arise from contact with sense objects.

6. He is no longer attached to the mind whose only focus is gross objects.

7. When he has broken the bond with his own body then his intellect becomes totally detached from the body and all that pertains to it.

8. His intellect has, so to say, forgotten itself.

9. That Atmavaan, so to say, lives in complete self-forgetfulness.

Since such a one does not consider himself to be the body, how can he claim any actions of the body; how can he be said to kill or have anyone killed? This war that is about to begin, is an interaction between bodies – how can it involve the Atma? How can the unborn Atma ever die? For, though the Atma does everything, yet it performs no actions.

Little one! It is extremely difficult to reach this state. Many a sadhak who tries to achieve it, is waylaid by the theory that underlies it and loses its practical essence. This state is achieved only by one who forgets himself completely and gives proof of it in life. This is the state of the Atmavaan.

Some proofs of this state in ordinary day to day life:

a) The Atmavaan attaches no importance to fame or disrepute for both pertain to the body;

b) He will do nothing for the establishment of the body;

c) No act is too big or too small for him – he performs the most insignificant deed with the same dedication as the most important act;

d) Such a one will bear no grudge against anyone;

e) Naught will be done for personal establishment or protection;

f) Such a one will serve his fellow men with complete identification;

g) There will be utter forthrightness and honesty in response to others’ questions, but without any expectation that they will agree;

h) He will always do his duty by the other even if the other constantly rebuffs him.

Little one, a few stages of life have been mentioned here for your understanding. From this you must have gained some idea of what an Atmavaan is like in real life. Those whose lives do not bear testimony to these qualities cannot be considered to be an ‘Atmavaan’. Mere rhetoric or theoretical knowledge does not make a person an Atmavaan. His life should give proof of this state.

Such beings have transcended body consciousness and are devoid of the attitude of doership, of being the enjoyer of all experiences. They are without attachment and the feeling of ‘me’ and ‘mine’. They have transcended the jivatma bhav or the concept of individual existence.

But remember! So long as you have not achieved this state of body forgetfulness, you are responsible for each deed performed by the body. Continue to perform your duty. As you go forward in the spiritual realm, your sphere of duty will change.

Little one, the Atmavaan does everything to establish the other and withdraws silently after the job is done. So long as others need him he is there with full attention.

a) He gives them all his time.

b) He accompanies them in their tasks.

c) His actions and behaviour are tailored to the needs of the other, giving love, advice and physical help to the extent it is needed.

d) He cajoles the other in the other’s own interest, and even becomes seemingly  displeased with the other, if the situation requires this of him.

e) At times he scolds and at other times pleads with the other on bended knees, in the other’s own interest.

However, once their purpose is served, the very same people revile and reject such a one. They consider him insincere, for, now he is too busy with someone else’s problem to while away time with them. If they were to acknowledge his sincere help and remain by his side, they too, would have to:

1. Use all their resources to help others as did their benefactor!

2. Spend their time in aiding others.

3. Learn how to bend in order to achieve the other’s purpose.

4. Bear humiliation for the other’s sake.

Unconsciously, they weigh out these factors and prefer to desert the Atmavaan, often blaming him in the bargain. However, the Atmavaan seeks nothing from them and their attitude does not deter him from helping them yet again, when they seek his help. For him the body is nothing more than a stone image which he uses to fulfil each one’s heart’s desires. His silence too, is like that divine image of ‘stone’ in the temple, from Whom all come to seek, but may not consider making even an offering of thanks. For, he neither rejects nor favours anyone. Even while doing everything for others, he feels that he does nothing; that he is not the doer.