Bhagavad Gita 14.20 · Krishna
Beyond birth, age and death
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान्।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते॥
guṇānetānatītya trīndehī dehasamudbhavānjanmamṛtyujarāduḥkhairvimukto’amṛtamaśnute
Going beyond these three gunas born of the body, the one within is freed from birth, death, age and sorrow, and tastes the deathless.
Words
- guṇa
- dehī
What it means
Krishna gives the promise. The dehi, the one living in the body, can go beyond all three gunas. Then they're freed from the sorrows of birth, death and old age. They taste amrita, the deathless. Not by rejecting the body, but by no longer being bound by its moods.
The story
Arjuna is surrounded by ageing elders and approaching death. Krishna offers him a freedom that ageing and death can't touch.
In your life
Think of a very old person who is radiant and unafraid, free in a way that has nothing to do with their body. Ask one older person you admire how they stay so free.
Beyond the moods lies the deathless.