Srimad BhagavadGita

After declaring about the transient nature of the body and the eternal nature of the soul in the previous śloka, in this śloka Kṛṣṇa first picked up the eternal nature of the soul for discussion, wishing to discuss them in their order of importance. Kṛṣṇa said, “Know that the soul substance by which all these insentient objects are pervaded, is indestructible. No material has the capability or the power to destroy this imperishable soul”

A doubt might arise: Instead of discussing them in their order of declaration in the previous śloka, why did Kṛṣṇa pick up the eternal nature of the soul first for discussion?

Clarification: Kṛṣṇa picked up the eternal nature of the soul for discussion first,

1)because the soul is an achievable goal and knowing about its eternality alone can eliminate Arjuna's grief.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna knowledge about the soul's eternal nature first.

2)moreover, it is well known to Arjuna and everybody else there that the body is transient in nature. The     

eternality of the soul however is doubted even by the jñānis (wise). For this reason too, the eternal nature of

the soul is explained first by Kṛṣṇa.

​avināśi tu tat viddhi (Know that this soul by nature is indestructible)

tu The term 'tu' stresses on the point that the indestructible soul is different in nature from the

destructible body.

tat The term 'tat' is indicative of all the jīvātmas (souls) collectively.

avināśi The derivation for the word avināśi is na vinaṣṭuṃ śīlaṃ asyetyavināśi (One that is

indestructible by nature is called avināśi) It is the soul which is indestructible by nature.

Q: How is it known that the soul is indestructible by nature?

A: This question is answered by Kṛṣṇa as follows, yena sarvam idaṃ tataṃ, As the entire insentient matter  

(all kinds of bodies, all the different objects seen in this world and all materials which make them up) is

pervaded by the soul substance which is different from it, it can be inferred that the soul is indestructible

by nature.

sarvam idaṃ (All this) By saying so, Kṛṣṇa points with HIS own hands towards all the bodies seen

around, which are not self-luminous (they cannot reveal themselves, they need another source to reveal

their presence) and which are parāk (parāk refers to substances visible to others but which have no

consciousness, i.e they cannot know themselves or others, eg: the lifeless body which is not conscious of its

own existence or that of others. It is the soul in the body which is conscious).

yena Since the term 'yena' is indicative of a contrast to the insentient bodies pointed out by Kṛṣṇa, it

is by all means referring to the entire collection of conscious beings (the souls) which are self-luminous

(they can reveal themselves without the need of another source to reveal them) and pratyak (conscious

substances which can know themselves and other substances too).

tataṃ (Are pervaded) The word tataṃ conveys that the entire insentient matter is pervaded by

all the souls collectively, just as oil is present in the whole of the sesame seed, fire is uniformly

present in the whole of the wood and butter is present in the whole of the milk. This meaning for the term

'tataṃ' is justified because even though soul is aṇu (atomic by nature), it is possible for the infinite number

of souls collectively to pervade the collection of infinite insentient objects or alternatively, each soul by its

*dharma bhūta jñāna or attributive consciousness can pervade the entire collection of insentient objects at

any given time and place.

Note: *dharma bhūta jñāna: The soul itself is full of consciousness called dharmī jñāna or substantive

consciousness. It also has consciousness as an attribute which is called dharma bhūta jñāna or attributive

consciousness. With its attributive consciousness, the soul knows about the various things around it. For eg:

In a lamp, flame is synonymous with dharmī jñāna and the effulgence with the dharma bhūta jñāna.

Q: It is said that the soul substance pervades all of the insentient matter. When the matter it pervades is destructible, how can the soul which pervades be indestructible?

The latter half of the śloka answers this question.

A: kaścit vināśam na kartum arhati avyayasya asya (no material has the power or capability to destroy this imperishable soul) As the soul substance pervades all the insentient objects, we come to know that it is subtler than all of them and therefore none of the objects which are pervaded by the soul and are grosser than it, have the power and capability to penetrate the soul and destroy it thereafter. 

Further questions that arise in this respect and their answers are given below.

Q: How can it be concluded that, for a substance to destroy another, it must be subtler than it and must be able to penetrate it?

A: We see weapons, water, fire, wind, etc, entering into substances which are grosser than them and destroying them thereafter.

Doubt: In this world we see that a wooden pestle, hammer and such other gross substances destroy substances like a mud pot without penetrating it. This is contrary to the statement that the subtler substance alone which penetrates the grosser can destroy it.

Clarification: Just the coming together of the pestle and pot does not cause the pot’s destruction. If that was the case, even placing the pot on top of the pestle should have destroyed it. To say that the pestle’s speed alone destroys the pot is not correct either. If that was the case, even a pestle falling with a speed but not hitting the pot should have destroyed it. We observe that even when both speed and contact are there but the object is soft like grass, it will not destroy the pot. We have also seen that the falling of the pestle with a certain speed, facing the direction of the fall alone does not cause the pot’s destruction. The particular pointed part of the pestle must hit the pot too. So, we come to know that when an object with a certain speed, made up of a tough material hits the mud pot with its designated pointed part, the pot gets destroyed. A tough object moving with a speed pointed in a certain direction causes the still air in its path to start flowing in its direction. This pestle moves the air, makes it enter the relatively grosser mud pot, which alters its form and then destroys it. It is the subtler air which penetrates the mud pot and destroys it. Hence here too, there is no deviation from the rule that subtler substance alone can destroy the grosser.

Doubt: When a hefty stone is placed on top of a mud pot without any speed, the pot breaks. Here, even without the flow of air into the pot, the pot breaks. Thus, there is a deviation from the rule that subtler substance alone which penetrates the grosser can destroy it.

Clarification: The heavy stone pushes down a small part of the pot which comes in contact with it by its heavy weight. This subtler small part enters into a bigger part of the pot that is grosser than itself, alters its form, causing its deformation and destruction. In this way, many such small parts destroy parts bigger than them, causing destruction of the pot at large. Hence here too, there is no deviation from the rule that subtler substances which penetrate the grosser alone can destroy them.

Q: From the statement anoranīyān... Kaṭha Up 1.2.20 (Paramātma is smaller than the smallest...) it is known that subtler than the atomic soul (jīva) is the Paramātma. This implies that Paramātma can destroy the soul. How can it then be said that the soul is eternal?

A: Yes, HE can! But it is HIS eternal word that HE will not destroy the soul substance which is as dear to HIM as HIS Śri Kaustubha.

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Summary:

The 1st part of this śloka tells us that the conscious entity soul which pervades all the insentient objects is indestructible. The 2nd part of this śloka tells us why the soul is said to be indestructible. Since this soul is the pervader of all the existing insentient substances, it means that the soul is subtler than all of them and none can penetrate it. Therefore none can destroy it. The soul is thus indestructible and eternal.

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