2-21, 22 Sankhya Yoga (सांख्य योग) 21st & 22nd verses

 

वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम् |
कथं स पुरुष: पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम् ||(2-21)||

vedāvināśhinaṁ nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣhaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam

Word to Word Meaning: pārtha = Arjun; yaḥ = who; enam = this (atman); ajam = unborn;   avyayam = immutable;  avināśhinam = imperishable; nityam = eternal;  veda = knows; saḥ = that; puruṣhaḥ = person; katham = how; kam = whom; ghātayati = causes to be killed; hanti = kills; kam = whom.

Literal Meaning: O Arjun, how can one who knows the soul to be imperishable, eternal, unborn, and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?

 वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि |
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ||(2-22)||

vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya
nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī

Word to Word Meaning: naraḥ—a person; jirṇāni—worn-out; vāsānsi—garments; vihāya—sheds; aparāṇi—others; navāni (vāsānsi)—new (garments); yathā—as; gṛihṇāti—accepts;  tathā—likewise; dehī—the embodied soul;  jīrṇāni—worn-out;      śharīrāṇi—bodies; vihāya—casting off;  anyāni—other navāni (śharīrāṇi)—new (bodies); ; sanyāti—enters. 

Literal Meaning: Just as a human being sheds his worn out (old) clothes and puts on new clothes, in the same way, at the time of death, the soul leaves the old body and assumes a new body.

Commentary: From the previous explanations, we learn that life is continuous and that death is inevitable for every living being. The awareness we gain between birth and death is fleeting, ending with our demise. This makes our present knowledge temporary and limited, leaving us with little chance to understand eternity in our current state. 

Our awareness ends with death, making it impossible for us humans to connect with the next life. Moreover, what purpose does it serve to know what we will be? Is it not immaturity to guess the actions of God? Any interpretation, however logical it may be, still falls in the realm of imagination. Some of us may derive satisfaction from believing our interpretation is closer to reality, but this is mere gratification, not truth.