Bhagavad Gita 2.22 · Krishna
Like changing old clothes
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा-
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही॥
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro’aparāṇitathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāni anyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī
As we throw off worn-out clothes and put on new ones, the Self leaves worn-out bodies and takes on new ones.
Words
- dehī
What it means
Krishna gives one of the Gita's most famous images. The body is like clothing. When clothes wear out, we put on new ones. The dehi, the embodied Self, does the same with bodies. The person you love was never the garment. They were the one wearing it.
The story
Arjuna sees bodies he loves and can't bear to see them fall. Krishna offers him a picture simple enough for a child. Bhishma's old, scarred body is a coat worn long and well. Bhishma himself is something else.
In your life
Picture a widow folding her husband's sweaters, holding one a little longer than the rest. They were precious because he wore them. Keep the memory of the person, not just the things. They were always more than their clothes.
The body is a garment. The person is more.