Gita for Life · Situations
What does the Gita say about death and loss?
4 passages of the Gita on this question. Each shows what the verse says, why it belongs here, and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s explanation.
In short
Death is the one certainty of every life, yet the Gītā shows it is not the end of anyone: the soul only changes bodies. Knowing this, we can say goodbye with faith, help those who have gone through our devotion, and prepare for our own departure by remembering Kṛṣṇa.
The body ends; the person goes on. Remember Kṛṣṇa, for them and for yourself.
-
Death is certain for everyone who is born
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur Bhagavad-gītā 2.27
What the verse says
For one who has taken birth, death is certain, and for one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna, he should not lament in the unavoidable discharge of his duty.
Read 2.27 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that one takes birth according to one’s activities, and after finishing one term of activities one dies to take birth again: the cycle of birth and death keeps turning until liberation.
“after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next.”
Lesson
After a death the mind keeps asking, “What if I had done something differently?” The Gītā gently reminds us that death comes to every body that is born. It is not a punishment, and it is not your failure.
Example
A son blames himself for not taking his mother to a bigger hospital. The doctors did what they could; her time had come, as it comes for all of us. Accepting this lets him grieve without guilt.
-
Death is a change of body, not the end of the person
tathā dehāntara-prāptir Bhagavad-gītā 2.13
What the verse says
Just as the soul passes from boyhood to youth to old age in this body, at death it passes into another body. The “self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.”
Read 2.13 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the soul is changing bodies every moment, and at death it simply moves into another body, material or spiritual. So Arjuna had no reason to lament for Bhīṣma and Droṇa.
“This individual soul finally changes the body at death and transmigrates to another body”
Lesson
The one you loved has not disappeared; he or she has moved on. Your love was for the person, and that person still exists.
Example
When a friend’s train leaves the platform, she is gone from your sight, but she has not ceased to exist; she is travelling on. The Gītā teaches us to see death as such a journey.
-
Like changing old clothes for new
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya Bhagavad-gītā 2.22
What the verse says
As a person gives up old garments and puts on new ones, the soul gives up old and useless bodies and accepts new ones.
Read 2.22 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the soul does not make this journey on its own: it moves to another body by the grace of the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa in the heart, who is compared to a friend sitting with the soul on the same tree.
“Transference of the atomic individual soul to another body is made possible by the grace of the Supersoul.”
Lesson
Your loved one was not alone at the moment of death. Kṛṣṇa, as the Supersoul, was with them, as He is with every soul at every moment.
Example
When a worn-out shawl is folded away, its owner does not go cold; he wraps himself in a new one. The old cloth is gone, but the person who wore it is still there.
-
The best help for those who have gone
lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ Bhagavad-gītā 1.41
What the verse says
Arjuna worries about what happens when families become corrupt: then “there is no offering of oblations of food and water to the ancestors.”
Read 1.41 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
When there is increase of unwanted population, a hellish situation is created both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. In such corrupt families, there is no offering of oblations of food and water to the ancestors.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the family tradition of offering the departed forefathers food first offered to Viṣṇu (prasādam), and adds that one engaged in devotional service does not need such rituals: by devotion alone one can deliver even thousands of forefathers from misery.
“Simply by performing devotional service, one can deliver hundreds and thousands of forefathers from all kinds of misery.”
Lesson
Love for those who have gone does not have to end in helplessness. Chant for them, offer food to Kṛṣṇa and share the prasādam, and live a life of devotion: this is the greatest gift you can give them.
Example
On her father’s death anniversary, a daughter invites devotees for kīrtana and serves Kṛṣṇa-prasādam to all the guests, praying for her father’s welfare. Her grief has become service.
-
Every loss is a reminder: our own time will come
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ Bhagavad-gītā 8.6
What the verse says
Whatever state of being one remembers when quitting the body, that state one attains without fail.
Read 8.6 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that what we think of at death is shaped by the thoughts and actions of our whole life, and that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the best way to make our state of being spiritual.
“therefore the actions of this life determine one's future state of being.”
Lesson
At a funeral everyone becomes thoughtful for a moment. Don’t let that moment pass. What we practise every day is what we are likely to remember at the end.
Example
A man who spent fifty years thinking only of business may still worry about accounts in his last days. A woman who chanted every morning for fifty years is far more likely to find Kṛṣṇa’s name on her lips.
-
Remember Kṛṣṇa at the end, and reach Him
anta-kāle ca mām eva Bhagavad-gītā 8.5
What the verse says
Whoever leaves the body at the time of death remembering Kṛṣṇa alone at once attains His nature. “Of this there is no doubt.”
Read 8.5 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that one who leaves the body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness goes at once to the Lord’s transcendental abode, and that the way to remember Him then is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa throughout life.
“Anyone who quits his body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is at once transferred to the transcendental abode of the Supreme Lord.”
Lesson
Help those who are dying to remember Kṛṣṇa: chant softly near them, play kīrtana, keep His picture where they can see it. And begin practising that remembrance for yourself today.
Example
In many Indian homes, the family gathers around a dying elder and chants the holy names together. It is the most loving farewell there is.
-
Beyond death: Kṛṣṇa’s eternal home
mām upetya punar janma Bhagavad-gītā 8.15
What the verse says
The great souls who reach Kṛṣṇa never return to this temporary world full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
Read 8.15 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this world is full of birth, old age, disease and death, so one who reaches Kṛṣṇa’s own abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, has no wish to return. Such great souls want only Kṛṣṇa’s company.
“They only want Kṛṣṇa's association and nothing else.”
Lesson
Death separates us here, but the real goal is a place where there is no more death and no more separation. Let every loss turn your heart towards Kṛṣṇa’s home.
Example
A student living far away in a hostel studies sincerely, but her heart counts the days until she goes home. A devotee does her duties fully in this world, but her heart knows where home is.
Preparing to remember Kṛṣṇa: the way given in 8.5
In the purport to 8.5, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains how to prepare for the moment of death, following Lord Caitanya:
“The word smaran (remembering) is important.”
- Chant the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, incessantly.
- Be more tolerant than a tree.
- Be humbler than the grass.
- Offer all respect to others, without expecting respect in return.
“In such a way one will be able to depart from the body successfully remembering Kṛṣṇa and so attain the supreme goal.”
Seeing death through the Gītā
| Without knowledge | With the Gītā’s knowledge | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| “This should never have happened.” | “Death is certain for every body that is born.” | 2.27 |
| “He is gone for ever.” | “He has moved on; the soul never dies.” | 2.13 |
| “She was all alone at the end.” | “Kṛṣṇa, as the Supersoul, was with her.” | 2.22 |
| “There is nothing I can do for them now.” | “My devotion and prayers can help them.” | 1.41 |
| “I’ll think about death later.” | “What I practise now is what I’ll remember then.” | 8.6 |
| “Death is the end of everything.” | “Remembering Kṛṣṇa, the soul goes to Him.” | 8.5 |
| “This world is my only home.” | “My real home is with Kṛṣṇa.” | 8.15 |
Our reflections, each based on the verse named beside it.
Ask yourself
- Am I carrying guilt for a death that, in truth, no one could have prevented?
- Can I think of the one I lost as an eternal person who has moved on, and not as someone who has ceased to be?
- What can I do in their memory that is real service: chanting, offering prasādam, helping others?
- If my own time came today, where would my mind naturally turn?
- What daily practice will help me remember Kṛṣṇa at the end?
The essence
Death ends the body, never the person. Love those who have gone by serving Kṛṣṇa on their behalf, and prepare for your own journey by making His remembrance the habit of your life.
If sadness or loss becomes too heavy, talk to someone you trust. In India you can call the free Tele-MANAS helpline, 14416.
The headings, explanations, lessons, examples, table and questions are ours, written to help you apply the verses. The Sanskrit lines, the verse translations and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s quoted words are from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is as published on vedabase.cc, unaltered.
All the verses for this topic
-
Bhagavad-gītā 2.13
As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.
Why this verse is here
What is death? – It is simply change of bodies (2.13 dehino 'smin yathā dehe...)
From the thematic compilation Death
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.13
Since every living entity is an individual soul, each is changing his body every moment, manifesting sometimes as a child, sometimes as a youth, and sometimes as an old man. Yet the same spirit soul is there and does not undergo any change. This individual soul finally changes the body at death and transmigrates to another body; and since it is sure to have another body in the next birth—either material or spiritual—there was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna on account of death, neither for Bhīṣma nor for Droṇa, for whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one's work in life. …
-
Bhagavad-gītā 2.27
For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.
Why this verse is here
One who takes birth is sure to die (2.27 jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur...)
From the thematic compilation Death
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.27
One has to take birth according to one's activities of life. And, after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way the cycle of birth and death is revolving, one after the other without liberation. This cycle of birth and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder, slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war are inevitable factors in human society for keeping law and order.
-
Bhagavad-gītā 2.22
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
Why this verse is here
Soul’s changing the bodies is compared to a person’s changing different dresses. (2.22 vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya...)
From the thematic compilation Soul and Transmigration
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.22
Arjuna is advised herewith by the Lord not to lament for the bodily change of his old grandfather and his teacher. He should rather be happy to kill their bodies in the righteous fight so that they may be cleansed at once of all reactions from various bodily activities. One who lays down his life on the sacrificial altar, or in the proper battlefield, is at once cleansed of bodily reactions and promoted to a higher status of life. So there was no cause for Arjuna's lamentation.
-
Bhagavad-gītā 8.5
And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.
Why this verse is here
Whatever one thinks at time of death one will attain that state in the next life (8.5 anta-kāle ca mām eva...)
From the thematic compilation Self-control
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 8.5
In this verse the importance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is stressed. Anyone who quits his body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is at once transferred to the transcendental abode of the Supreme Lord. The word smaran (remembering) is important. Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa is not possible for the impure soul who has not practiced Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service. To remember Kṛṣṇa one should chant the mahāmantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, incessantly, following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, being more tolerant than the tree, humbler than the grass and offering all respect to others without requiring respect in return. In such a way one will be able to depart from the body successfully remembering Kṛṣṇa and so attain the supreme goal.
Everyday questions answered by these verses
Related topics
Each verse is linked to this topic by a statement in our primary study source, shown under “Why this verse is here”. The verses and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words are quoted from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, unaltered.