Gita 2.20
Sankhya Yoga
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः । अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
In essence: The Self is never born, never dies—unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient—it remains untouched even as the body falls.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "These words... 'never born, never dies'... they sound beautiful but impossible. I watched my mother die. I felt her hand grow cold."
Guru: "You felt her hand—the body's hand. Did you feel her awareness leave? Or did you infer it from the body's stillness?"
Sadhak: "I... I assumed she was gone because the body stopped. But how can I know what happened to her consciousness?"
Guru: "Exactly. You saw the body cease functioning. The Self—which was never identical to that body—you cannot track with your senses. Where would you look for something that has no form?"
Sadhak: "But I miss her! The grief is real, even if you say her Self continues!"
Guru: "The grief is completely real, and I'm not asking you to suppress it. You miss her presence, her words, her touch—all expressions through the body. Grieve that loss fully. But underneath the grief, can you sense that her being—the consciousness that looked through her eyes—could never simply vanish?"
Sadhak: "Something in me does feel that she's... not gone. Just unreachable through the old channels."
Guru: "That intuition is closer to truth than your logical conclusion. The verse says 'purāṇa'—ancient. Her Self didn't begin when her body was conceived, and it didn't end when her body failed."
Sadhak: "Then why does death feel so terrible? Why does it break us?"
Guru: "Because we identify with the body and see others as bodies. We forget what we are. The Gita's purpose is not to make death pleasant—it is to reveal that what dies was never truly ourselves or our loved ones. The grief transforms when the identification shifts."
Sadhak: "I want to understand this not as philosophy but as... reality. How do I get there?"
Guru: "You don't 'get there'—you're already there. You've always been the unborn, eternal Self. You've just been hypnotized by the body's story. The question is not 'how do I become immortal?' but 'how do I recognize what I already am?'"
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🌅 Daily Practice
Upon waking, before your mind assembles your identity (your name, your problems, your plans), rest for one minute in pure awareness. That awareness—unconcerned with past or future—is a glimpse of your unborn, undying nature. Carry this glimpse as you enter the day.
When fear arises—fear of failure, rejection, illness, or death—pause and ask: 'What in me is afraid?' Notice that awareness itself is not trembling; only the mind-body is reacting. Let this noticing create a small space between you and the fear, loosening its grip.
Contemplate someone you have lost—a relative, friend, or teacher. Instead of focusing on the absence of their body, try to sense the presence that looked through their eyes. That presence was 'aja'—unborn. Where could it go? Rest in the mystery, without needing an answer.