अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत |
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना || 28||
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanānyeva tatra kā paridevanā
avyakta-ādīni—unmanifest before birth; bhūtāni—created beings; vyakta—manifest; madhyāni—in the middle; bhārata—Arjun, scion of Bharat; avyakta—unmanifest; nidhanāni—on death; eva—indeed; tatra—therefore; kā—why; paridevanā—grieve
Translation:
All beings are unmanifest in their beginning, O Bhārata, manifest in their middle state, and unmanifest again in their end. Why, then, lament for them?
Commentary:
This is a true estimate of all beings in the universe. Their state before their birth is not known. They appear to exist for a period after they are born. And again, they disappear after death. One does not see them before birth and after death. Why do men feel so much when they pass away?
People have no connection with the body before it is born. And they cease all contact with the body after death. Only for a brief interval in the middle period, there is a kind of link. What has not existed in the beginning and what does not exist after the end, though it appears in between the two points, cannot be real. It is non-existence.
The whole universe is thus an illusion. This is the drumbeat of Vedanta.
The dream world did not exist before the dream. It does not exist after one wakes up from the dream. It exists only while the dream lasts. He knows it to be a tremendous illusion after he wakes up. In the same way, the whole universe and all the pleasures and pains that one experiences are all illusions for the man who has awakened from the dream. They are like the water in the mirage, which to the eye appears clear and beautiful, and which when one investigates disappears at once. Why then all this fear and sorrow, weeping and wailing when the whole thing is an illusion?
In this manner, the Lord argues out the issue, and the succession of thoughts so far may be summarised thus.
1. Atma is eternal. All living beings, the so-called relations and friends are different manifestations of the same indestructible Atma, and so Arjuna should not grieve for them.
2. Atma is unchanging; one wears and throws away different bodies, as old clothes are discarded and new garments are worn.
3. Even if it is accepted for the sake of argument, that Atma itself is born and dies, again and again, Arjuna should not grieve for the dead, because they should take birth again.
4. These bodies did not exist before birth, and so do not exist after death. They appear in between for a brief interval of time only. Therefore they are unreal and illusory. Why then grieve for them?
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Beings are unknown to our human senses before birth and after death. It is only in the interim that they are manifest. What is there to grieve about?[Source]
Nowadays it is asserted that man is infinitely progressing, forward and forward, and there is no goal of perfection to attain to. Ever approaching, never attaining, whatever that may mean and however wonderful it may be, it is absurd on the face of it. Is there any motion in a straight line? A straight line infinitely projected becomes a circle, it returns to the starting point. You must end where you begin; and as you began in God, you must go back to God.[Source]
The threefold1 modification, O Uddhava, which has come upon you is an illusion, for it only comes in the middle,2 and is not at the beginning and end. When birth and such other things befall it,3 what is that to you? For that4 which exists at the beginning and end of an unreality, alone persists in the middle.
( 1 Threefold etc.—Gross, subtle, and causal bodies are meant. 2 Middle—like a snake or garland in the rope. 3 It—refers to “modification” in line 1. 4 That etc.—e.g. the rope in a false perception of snake or garland.) — Srimad Bhagavatam
Water and a bubble on it are one and the same. The bubble has its birth in the water, floats on it, and is ultimately resolved into it. So also the Jivatman and the Paramatman are one and the same, the difference between them being only one of degree. For one is finite and limited while the other is infinite; one is dependent while the other is independent. (Source: The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna)
- This entire cosmic manifestation is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All living beings dwell in Me, but I do not dwell in them. (BG 9.4)
- There is no end of My divine manifestations, Ο dreaded Arjuna. This is but a partial statement by Me of the multiplicity of My attributes. (BG 10.40)
The Rishi said: Nisumbha was killed and Sumbha lying down on the ground could not bear this insult to his kingly honour. With uncontrollable anger, he cried out at Devi, “O weak and wicked Durga! Do not be proud. You are fighting with the help of somebody else.” The Devi said, “I am alone and single in this world. Who is there other than Me here? See, all these many fighting with you are Myself. Now look at Me.” As soon as Devi uttered these words, all those appearances of many entered into the body of Durga, and there was none but Devi, the Single. Devi again said, “Be calm. I alone with the power of immanence and omnipresence appeared as many but now stand single and have withdrawn myself into Myself.” (Source: Sri Durga Saptashati or The Devi Mahatmya (The Glory of The Divine Mother) by Swami Sivananda)
Admin Note: Ocean ana Wave Analogy — Wave was the the ocean, Wave is the Ocean and Wave will be the Ocean. Similar is the case with Gold ornaments and Clay pots. There is no separate entity apart from Brahman. All the things of the world with Name and form are only different manifestations of Same Brahman.
