वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि | तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही || 22 || |
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“Just as an individual forsaking old clothes dons new clothes, so the body-encased soul, during its wanderings on the path of delusion and mortal desires, casts off karma-worn bodies for new ones.”
Commentary
This verse refers to the doctrine of reincarnation. According to the natural order of evolution, the body should mature gradually over a period of many years; and then, like ripened fruit, fall voluntarily and without resistance from the tree of life. Transgressions against God and Nature—in the present or in past lives—may, however, cut short that normal span by disease or accident. Or virtue, also, may win the soul an early release. In every case, the bodily dwelling is fashioned and destined to best serve, for each lifetime, the self-created karmic pattern of the indwelling soul.