IV: 5

[Krishna Jaya]

Chapter 4, Verse 5

 

Krishna says,

 

“You and I, Arjuna,

Have lived many lives.

I remember them all.

You do not remember,

O scorcher of enemies.”

 

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

 

“It is not necessary to believe in reincarnation in order to lead a spiritual life.  Whether we believe in one life or in many, we can all meditate and become masters of our minds and bodies.  There is even some danger in blindly accepting reincarnation.  The urgency of a task can be forgotten when we count on coming this way again.  The purpose of life is to finish our schooling by eliminating all that is selfish in us.  As long as we wholly identify with our bodies and our thoughts, we cannot escape a disruption of consciousness at the time of our passing.  But if we can rise above this exclusive identification and discover for ourselves that we are the everlasting Self, at death there will be no break in our awareness of the infinite continuity of existence.”

 

Paramahansa Yogananda:

 

“It is God’s mercy that a benighted person, ailing from various material trials, becomes forgetful of these from one incarnation to the next.  This oblivion regarding the miseries and shortcomings of previous existence is one of the most gracious mental anesthetics given by God to human beings, so that they are not burdened by memories of all the physical and mental suffering from past lives.  They are thus spared from carrying the discouragements of one life into another, and are given a fresh start on the path leading to the highest good.  It is enough that the proddings of their innate positive and negative tendencies remain with them as reminders of victories already won and lessons yet to be learned.  God and his divine incarnations never forget anything.  As soon as adepts are fully free, they too will be able to remember all the various forms they previously displayed in birth and lost in death, forms enshrouded in their virtuous achievements as well as their careless lapses into ignorance.”