Chapter 2, Verse 23
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayanty-āpo
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Weapons cannot cut it, nor the fire burn it, nor do the waters drench it, nor
the wind dry it.
Overtaken by his feelings for his relatives, Arjuna asks, “How can I kill them?” He starts to worry and grieve, thinking, “How could I do that?” Lord Krishna reminds him that weapons cannot cut the soul, nor can fire burn it. Referring in this verse to fire, water, and wind, He explains that the elements don’t have any effect on the soul: neither fire, water, or wind, can do anything to the soul. He says, “Even if the body is cut into pieces by a weapon, the soul is not. Even if the body is burned, the soul will not be burned. Even if water dissolves the body, the soul is not touched by it.”
During the time of the Mahabharat War, the elements were used as weapons.
Here Krishna says that even if a weapon of water is thrown at the body, it will never dissolve the soul. Even if the weapon of air, the Vayu Astra, is thrown at the body, it will not dry up the soul. The soul will always remain untouched by these elements. Krishna explains why the soul is superior to the elements. The body is made up of the five elements. Since these elements are already present inside the body, how can these elements destroy the soul? Even if you throw a fire, a bomb, or a missile at the body of a realised person, this won’t affect him. If you send a water or wind weapon at a realised person, it will have no effect on him. You will often see this in the lives of saints. For example, there is a beautiful story of Saint Haralambis who lived in Greece.
During World War II, the Nazis went there and the local people told him, “Don’t light the candles of the church, they will kill you.” He didn’t listen and completely ignored them. So one fine day, what did he do? The soldiers waited for him near the church and after he had finished lighting all the candles, they started shooting at him! At that moment, Haralambis was laughing like crazy! He ran towards them and took from his pocket all their bullets and threw them at the soldiers. Fire didn’t have any effect on him. Nothing can affect one who is centred in the Self. The same was in the life of the Greek Saint, Papa Nicholas Planas. When he was walking outside and it was raining very much, he always stayed completely dry. This shows that the qualities of the soul can also affect the physical body. The soul has full power over the elements. It is beyond the elements. The soul is the great controller.
Bhagavad Gita
