गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥ १४.२० ॥

guṇān-etān-atītya trīn-dehī deha-samudbhavān |
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-duḥkhair-vimukto’mṛtam-aśnute || 14.20 ||

Immortality – here and now

Krishna speaks of Immortality as a distinct goal to be attained here and now, in this very life. He also explains the process. Mind and intelligence alone are the means. The redemption, when gained, will reflect a wholesome harmony in one’s personality. The knowledge of the guṇātīta Self is the foundation on which this spiritual redemption rests:

Having gone beyond the three guṇas arising from the embodiment, one becomes freed of torments of birth, death and decrepitude, and experiences immortality.

The guṇa influences and interplay, says Krishna, are more an outcome of body-association and the involvement it brings about. These cannot be avoided. The seeker should learn to transcend them effectively.

One does not have any control or option over one’s embodiment and what follows. Allow then the guṇa influences to have their play, but transcend them with the help of spiritual wisdom. Such a possibility is quite within every one’s reach. This transcendence makes the seeker free of birth, death, decrepitude and grief.

With the dawn of wisdom the seeker realizes that he was never born; nor is there any death for him. It becomes evident that both birth and death are hearsay only. At no time has anyone experienced his birth, nor will one experience his death.

Sorrow is an outcome of the non-sublimated mind. When the mind is enriched by spiritual wisdom, the impact of sorrow will decline steadily and inevitably dissolve too. Such dissolution of sorrow is the sure characteristic of liberation. It will be experienced without let or hindrance. Liberation will shine even through the incidences of sorrow and grief. These transitory notes will be like waves in water on which the seeker, due to the merit of his illumination, will remain afloat, waving his limbs of discrimination and dispassion.

The agonies of old age also will dwindle. They will not assail the Knower as they do the ordinary people. His abhimāna of the body will be minimal. Yet he will keep the body functional as much as possible for loka-saṅgraha.

As explained earlier, here too the transcendence is preserved inspite of these bodily notes. They cease to torment or dislodge the seeker because of his wisdom and the sense of freedom. Nothing is destroyed or displaced. It is only that the seeker gains the ability to rise above worldly afflictions, which are a part of embodiment.