212. Rules of Rebirth


 

Krishna gave a blueprint of life when he said that a part of HIM manifests as an individual soul and attracts the senses which are a part of prakriti (nature). Essentially, it is desire that attracts senses. For example, the desire to see or hear attracts the sense organs of the eye or ear.

He further explains about the process of the embodied soul leaving the body and entering a new body. Krishna says, "As the air carries fragrance from place to place, so does the embodied soul carry the mind and senses with it, when it leaves an old body and enters a new one (15.8). The deluded do not perceive the soul residing or departing or experiencing the world of the gunas. Those with the Eye of Wisdom see (15.10). The yogis striving for liberation see Him existing in themselves; but those who are unpurified and undisciplined are unable to perceive Him even when they struggle to do so" (15.11). Purity is nothing but the balance between pleasure-pain; profit-loss; victory-defeat (2.38).

This is the continuation of Krishna's earlier assurance to Arjun that when someone dies on the path to eternal state through practice (abhyasa) of vairagya (dispassion) with shraddha (trust), he will start at the same point in his next birth where he left in the previous life (6.37-6.45). Essentially, the experience of handling the axe of non-attachment gets carried to the next birth.

Krishna clarifies that efforts are a must but not sufficient as we need to have purity of mind and heart to attain liberation (eternal state). It's like efforts creating a nuclear weapon, but a lack of purity of heart could result in destruction. That's why many cultures and practices insist upon purity first and introduce spiritual techniques like meditation subsequently.

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