20. Death Does not Kill
K rishna tells Arjuna, “There is no time, past, present or future - when you, I and these rulers on the battlefield are not present” (2.12). He further adds that the ‘physical side’ or manifestation of the indestructible eternal ‘living entity’ (unmanifested) is certain to perish. Hence, the battle ahead must be fought without worrying about perishable entities. This eternal ‘living entity’ is known by many names such as atma , chaitanya , soul and consciousness. Krishna refers to the same as dehi . Krishna starts with the essence of creation and speaks of a ‘living entity’, which is indestructible, immeasurable, pervades all and is eternal (2.20 & 2.21). Secondly, the same eternal entity has a material side which invariably perishes (2.18). When Krishna mentions the rulers, he is referring to that ‘living entity’ in them, which is indestructible and eternal. We are made up of two parts. The first part is ‘body and mind’ which would invariably perish. They a...