A common space for harmonic peacemakers

II: 28

Chapter 2, Verse 28

"Before birth, beings are unmanifest;

Between birth and death, manifest;

At death, unmanifest again.

What cause is there for grief in all this?"

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi:

"According to the findings of modern physics, all matter has only phenomenal existence and is at a deeper level formless energy. Both in its previous state and in its present form, matter is nothing but pure energy, and on dissolution of the present form, it will remain essentially the same energy. Thus, the present phenomenal phase of existence is seen to have no permanent significance, and it is this that Krishna seeks to impress on Arjuna."

[In this set of verses on the Self (11-30), Krishna tells Arjuna again and again that there is no reason to mourn or be sorrowful. He's speaking from the absolute level when he says this. For those of us who do not operate from this level all of the time, mourning and sorrow are part of the natural course of things and are not to be denied lest they fester and eat away at our insides. Those who are truly free have gone beyond mourning and sorrow because they rest in constant union with the universal. The sorrow they show in human interaction when informed of a death, for example, is probably more out of compassion for the suffering of those left behind than from a personal sense of loss.]

Ram Dass:

“In our culture that emphasizes forward movement, in which time is deemed ‘of the essence,’ there is little acceptance of slowness, inwardness, and the grieving process, which are healthy and necessary aspects of life. The older we get, the more we lose; this is the law of impermanence. We lose loved ones, cherished dreams, physical strength, work, and relationships. Only by learning how to grieve can we hope to leave the past behind and come into the present moment. We are to learn how to surrender to the experience of our pain. To counteract our natural tendency to turn away from pain, we open to it as fully as possible and allow our hearts to break. Rather than close ourselves to grief, it helps to realize that we only grieve for what we love.”

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

“Through the practice of meditation, we will acquire the delightful incapacity to associate people very much with their physical appearance. If someone asks me, ‘How tall is Jeff?’ I have to take time to try to picture him, then use a mental tape and try to remember his height. This is a healthy sign. When someone asks me how old a person is, it takes a certain amount of time for me to recall. When we do not associate people with their physical appearance, with their age, we are beginning to associate them with the deathless Self. The more we dwell upon the physical appearance and age of others, the more we are conscious of our own appearance and age. The mystics tell us to be less concerned with packaging and more concerned with content. When I look at people, I like to look in their eyes. These are the windows of the soul. Gradually, as we become more and more conscious of the changeless Self, we will be looking at people through their eyes and deep into the Lord of love who is within.”