The change of body is like changing clothes.

Just as a person sheds old clothes and puts on new ones, the soul that possesses a body is said to leave the old body and enter a new one. Death is likened to changing clothes, and it explains that even though the visible body changes, the soul, which wears the body, continues.

In the commentary, when it says that the body "grows old," it refers not only to age but also to the depletion of prarabdha karma, which is the force shaping that particular body and has already begun to bear fruit. By using the familiar analogy of clothing, it becomes clear that the change of bodies and the extinction of the soul itself are distinct phenomena.

Japanese Translation from the Geeta Press Edition - Chapter 2, Section 22: "The soul sheds its old body and enters a new one."

Indeed, the soul is eternal and immortal, and it will never be killed. Therefore, one should not grieve about the soul. Also, the body is something that perishes, and it will certainly perish. Therefore, one should not grieve about the body either.

However, when a soul leaves one body and enters another, that process is accompanied by great pain. So, why is it unreasonable to be sad about such an event that involves so much suffering? Anticipating this question, the Lord will say:

Sanskrit original text

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि
संयाति नवानि देही ॥ २२ ॥

Romanization

vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi |
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni
saṃyāti navāni dehī || 22 ||

Just as a person sheds old clothes and puts on new ones, the soul that possesses a body also discards an old body and enters a new one. (22)

On the surface, this analogy may seem somewhat inappropriate and not entirely consistent with the facts it is trying to explain. Generally, people feel a certain sense of satisfaction when they take off old clothes and put on new ones. On the other hand, the process of discarding an old body and entering another one involves suffering and pain.

However, if you think about it more deeply, you will see that this analogy is not inappropriate.

Only those who are ignorant suffer when they abandon their old bodies and enter new ones; the wise do not.

The child cries when the mother tries to take off their dirty, old clothes and put on new ones. The mother is not moved by the child's crying, but makes them accept the change of clothes for their own good. Similarly, God, with little concern for Jeeva's tears, replaces the body when it becomes old.

In this context, the phrase "body becomes old" should be interpreted as meaning that its lifespan is coming to an end. If we interpret the word "old" as meaning "aged," then difficulties arise. This is because not all people age and die. Even young men and women, even infants, sometimes enter the gates of death.

When the Prārabdha, that is, the total of karmas that will bear fruit during a lifetime, for a person runs out, existence can die at any age. Whether it is old age, youth, or childhood, that time is considered the limit of that life. Therefore, when the body becomes old, it should be understood as meaning that the force of the Prārabdha that formed that body has been exhausted.

If we take this meaning, then the adjective Jīrṇāni, which is attached to the noun "body" and means "old," is perfectly appropriate.

Following the pattern where Vāsāṃsi, meaning "clothes," is in the plural form, Śarīrāṇi, meaning "bodies," also uses a plural form. This expression has been carefully considered. There are two possible reasons why the plural form was used in this case.

Firstly, it is unknown how many bodies a specific Jīvātmā has shed and how many new bodies it has taken.

Also, it is unknown how many more bodies it will shed and take before attaining enlightenment and being liberated from birth and death. This is indicated by the use of the plural form in this context.

Secondly, each individual soul possesses three bodies: the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body. When a Jīvātmā leaves one body and enters another, all three of these bodies undergo change. A person's actions are responsible for changes in their nature or temperament.

The cause-body is represented by the individual's nature, which consists of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, that is, the principles of harmony, movement, and inertia. This is also known as temperament or disposition. Generally, it is the person's nature that determines the last thought at the time of death, and the subtle body is formed according to that final thought or desire.

Jīvātmā leaves the old body, which it has inhabited along with its subtle body and causal body, and enters a new gross body that is suitable for its subtle body. Therefore, using the plural form to indicate changes occurring in all three bodies: the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body, was perfectly reasonable.

In reality, the soul is immutable and inactive, so it does not move from one body to another. It is always fixed and stable. However, when a pot is moved from one place to another, it appears that the ether or space within the pot is also being moved. Similarly, when the subtle body leaves one gross body and enters another, the soul also seems to be moving from one body to another.

Therefore, in order to explain the phenomenon of death to ordinary people, the act of leaving one body and entering another is attributed to the soul. The word "Dehī" refers to the soul that identifies with a physical body. Due to its connection with the gross body, the soul appears to leave one body and enter another. In this sense, it is said that the soul leaves an old body and enters a new body.

In this section, two different verbs, Gṛhṇāti and Saṃyāti, are used in relation to two different objects: "clothing" and "body."

The original meaning of Gṛhṇāti is "to take," and the original meaning of Saṃyāti is "to go."

Clothing is taken and put on. Therefore, the verb Gṛhṇāti is used for clothing. On the other hand, it seems that the soul leaves one body and enters another, so the verb Saṃyāti is used for that.

Similarly, the use of two words in this section – Naraḥ, meaning "human," and Dehī, meaning "being with a body" – also has special significance.

Only humans wear and remove clothing; other beings do not. However, the transition from one body to another applies to all beings. Therefore, when speaking about clothing, the word Naraḥ, meaning "human," is used, and when speaking about the body, the word Dehī, meaning "being with a body," is used.