________________
BHAGAVAD GITA
(dehin), so also is the attaining of another body. The Wise are not disturbed by this." 65
The Self is not affected when its mask is changed from that of childhood to that of youth, and then to that of age. The individual ego, the cherished personality, may feel disturbed, and may have difficulty adjusting itself to the changes and all the losses of life-opportunity that the changes imply, but the Self is unaffected. And it is cqually unconcerned when the mask is put aside altogether at the time of death, and a new one assumed at the next birth. There is no death, no real change, for Him. Hence, whether the sequence be that of bodies or of the ages of the body, it weighs no more on Him than do the solstices of the seasons or the phases of the moon. There is no cause for grief. "Weapons do not cut Him, fire does not burn Him, water wet Him, or the wind dry Him away. He cannot be cut, He cannot be burnt, He cannot be wet, He cannot be dried away. He is changeless (nilya), all-pervading (sarvagata), stable (sthāņu), 86 unshakable (acala),67 and permanent (sanātana)." 68
The Owner of the Body is beyond event; and since it is He who is the true essence of the individual, one must not pity the perishable creatures for being such as they are. “Thou dost feel pity," says Krşņa to the confused warrior, “where pity has no place. Wise men feel no pity either for what dies or for what lives. There never was a time when I and thou were not in existence, and all these princes too. Nor will the day ever come, hereafter, when all of us shall cease to be." 89 “There is no existence for nothingness; there is no destruction for that which is. Be assured that the very tissue of this universe is the Imperish
66 16. 2. 18.
86 Standing motionless, like a pillar, like a rock, or like Siva, the perfect yogi, in his meditation.
07 Like a firmly rooted mountain. 88 Bhagavad Gita 2. 28-24. 80 lb. 2. 11-12.
985
