SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avyaktādīni bhūtāni
vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva
tatra kā paridevanā
‘(All) creatures, O Bhārata, have an unmanifest origin, a manifest middle, and again an unmanifest end. Such being the case, where is cause for sorrow?’
Beings like mankind etc., though ever-existent entities, have a non-manifest (or latent) ante-natal condition, a manifest middle condition, and proceed again into an unmanifest post-natal condition. Such vicissitudes constitute a natural law. This therefore need cause no grief[1. Cf. with Śrī Bhāgavata, (Śruti-Gita, X, 87, 38), “na yadidam agra asa, na bhavishyadato, nidhanādanumitam antarā tvayi vibhūti, etc.].
Having thus shown that even if it were true that body itself was ātmā, even then there was no reason to grieve for, the next verse declares that seldom is a person found who would see, hear, converse, or who would be convinced (from hearing from others who know), about the wonderful nature of ātmā, which is distinct from body:
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