Gita 02.24 – The soul can’t be stopped from going anywhere nor forced to go anywhere
acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam
akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur
acalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ (Bg 2.24)
Word-for-word:
acchedyaḥ — unbreakable; ayam — this soul; adāhyaḥ — unable to be burned; ayam — this soul; akledyaḥ — insoluble; aśoṣyaḥ — not able to be dried; eva — certainly; ca — and; nityaḥ — everlasting; sarva-gataḥ — all-pervading; sthāṇuḥ — unchangeable; acalaḥ — immovable; ayam — this soul; sanātanaḥ — eternally the same.
Translation:
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
Explanation:
The first two lines of verse 2.24 reiterate the points Kṛṣṇa made in 2.23 regarding the characteristics of the soul. Verse 2.23 stated that the soul cannot be pierced by weapons. Here, Kṛṣṇa re-states this in terms of the soul’s inherent qualities. In the previous verse, Kṛṣṇa describes the impossibility of certain actions affecting the soul. This impossibility arises due to the intrinsic characteristics of the soul, which are further elaborated in this verse.
For example, we could say that a certain object is waterproof, meaning that water will not damage it or penetrate it—an impossibility of action similar to what was mentioned in the previous paragraph. However, when we explain that the object is waterproof because it is made of a waterproof covering or case, we are connecting the impossibility of that action to a characteristic. Similarly, verse 2.23 states that certain actions cannot affect the soul, while verse 2.24 explains why they cannot occur by describing the soul’s inherent qualities.
In Bhagavad-gītā 2.23, it is stated that weapons cannot penetrate the soul—nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi. Verse 2.24 explains why this is so—the soul is impenetrable (acchedyo ’yam) and, therefore, cannot be pierced. Similarly, the soul cannot be burned because it is unburnable (adāhyo ’yam). It is also insoluble (akledyo) and unwitherable (aśoṣyaḥ). Furthermore, the soul is described as eternal, as it cannot be destroyed by any means.
Now, after describing these qualities, Kṛṣṇa goes on to mention additional characteristics of the soul: nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ.
Nityaḥ means eternal, which essentially summarizes the previous four characteristics. Since the soul cannot be destroyed by any means, it is naturally eternal.
Now, we come to two interesting characteristics mentioned for the first time: sarva-gataḥ and sthāṇuḥ.
One translation of sarva-gataḥ is “all-pervading.” However, this translation presents an immediate logical problem. If the soul is truly all-pervading, how can it move from one body to another? If it is already everywhere, there would be no question of movement.
Yet, earlier, Kṛṣṇa clearly stated that the soul transmigrates—it moves from one body to another, just as one discards old clothes and puts on new ones. Later in the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa repeatedly affirms this movement.
If we take sarva-gataḥ as “all-pervading” and acalaḥ as “immovable” in the strictest sense, they seem contradictory. If something is everywhere, where can it move? Movement implies that it is not already present in a location. Moreover, if it were truly immovable, its all-pervading nature would make that immovability redundant—since it is already everywhere, there would be nowhere to move to. However, the Gītā repeatedly describes the soul’s movement. In Bhagavad-gītā 14.18, He explains:
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
Here, He describes how the soul in the mode of goodness moves upward, the soul in passion remains in the middle, and the soul in ignorance moves downward. Similarly, in 9.25 (yānti deva-vratā devān), He states that those who worship the demigods go to the demigods, while those who worship Him attain Him. In 8.16 (ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna), He explains that the soul can travel across various planetary systems, from the highest to the lowest, but ultimately returns. These verses confirm that the soul moves.
If the soul attains Kṛṣṇa’s abode, it does not return. This further reinforces that the literal meanings of sarva-gataḥ (all-pervading) and acalaḥ (immovable) create logical contradictions. Therefore, these terms must be understood contextually rather than literally.
Sarva-gataḥ does not mean that the soul is already present everywhere but that it is capable of going anywhere. The soul can travel to heavenly planets, descend to lower planets, or even take birth in lower species. It can reside on various planets. Thus, sarva-gataḥ means the soul has the ability to go anywhere.
This meaning of sarva-gataḥ logically follows from acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca. As embodied beings, we cannot go everywhere—if we enter fire, we will be burned; if we go deep into water, we will drown. However, because the soul is unaffected by material elements and is materially indestructible, it can go anywhere.
Therefore, sarva-gataḥ does not mean that the soul is already present everywhere but that it has the capacity to go everywhere.
This also highlights the possibility of life existing on other planets. While mainstream science currently holds that life is possible only on Earth, even from a material perspective, our exploration of nearby planets remains incomplete.
For instance, we may claim to have explored the surface of the Moon or Mars and found no signs of life, but this assumes that life exists only on the surface. We have not extensively investigated beneath the surface, where subtle underground life forms—such as microbes, worms, and other organisms—could exist.
Moreover, when researchers conclude that a planet is uninhabited, they often do so not by exhaustively examining every part of it but by studying its atmospheric conditions in select areas and extrapolating from those observations. However, such extrapolation is not always reliable. Just because a certain part of a planet’s atmosphere appears unsuitable for life does not mean the entire planet is uninhabitable—let alone its subsurface regions, where conditions may be different.
Even from a material scientific perspective, the question of whether life exists on other planets remains open. There is no definitive proof that life does not exist elsewhere.
From a spiritual perspective, understanding that the soul is unaffected by material conditions and can take on bodies suited to different environments allows us to see how life can exist in various places. For example, on the Sun planet, the soul can have a body adapted to withstand its extreme conditions. Just as aquatic creatures have bodies suited for living in water and humans have bodies suited for land, the soul can inhabit bodies appropriate for different planetary conditions.
We may think that living at such high temperatures is impossible, but even on Earth, there are thermophilic life forms that thrive in extreme heat. These are a type of extremophiles—organisms capable of surviving in extreme conditions, whether of intense heat or extreme cold.
Therefore, the most that honest scientists can say is that ‘life as we know it’ has not been found on other planets. However, the Bhagavad-gītā makes it clear that life is not limited to our current understanding. The soul can take on bodies suited to different environments, allowing life to exist in conditions beyond human experience.
This means that living bodies, along with their necessary conditions for survival, can vary widely because life itself is adaptable. Since the soul is unaffected by material elements, it simply takes on an appropriate body—just like putting on a suitable dress. The soul can exist in any situation, taking forms suited to different environments.
From this perspective, sarva-gataḥ and acalaḥ mean that the soul is capable of going and living anywhere, unrestricted by material limitations. At the same time, the soul is not forcibly pulled by any material force to a particular place. Rather, the soul moves according to its own free will and desires. However, in certain cases, external forces influence its movement. For example, when the Yamadūtas come to take a soul, they use the Yama-pāśa (the noose of Yama) to seize the subtle body and drag it away. Since the soul remains attached to the subtle body, it follows wherever the subtle body is taken.
Suppose a person is deeply absorbed in watching TV, and a thief suddenly steals it. So engrossed in the show, the person instinctively runs after the thief—not necessarily to stop them but simply to keep watching the screen, wherever it goes.
Similarly, the soul is not inherently bound by material forces, but because it is attached to the subtle body, it moves wherever the subtle body is taken. In this way, the soul becomes entangled in the cycle of movement and transmigration. Otherwise, in its true nature, the soul is immovable (acalaḥ).
So, again, the point of discussing sarva-gataḥ and acalaḥ, when understood in context, is not to suggest that the soul is all-pervading in the literal sense. Rather, Kṛṣṇa is emphasizing how the soul remains unaffected by material conditions. Just as the soul is not killed by any material weapon, nor pierced by swords or burned by fire, similarly, the distinction between spirit and matter is emphasized by the term sarva-gataḥ—indicating that no material conditions can prevent the soul from going anywhere. At the same time, no material force can compel the soul to move.
When understood in this way, sarva-gataḥ and acalaḥ make logical sense, both in their internal consistency and in their relevance to the broader context. The soul is capable of going everywhere because it can survive anywhere, remaining unaffected by material conditions. At the same time, because the soul is beyond material influence, nothing can forcibly push or pull it in any direction. In this sense, it is acalaḥ—immovable.
Thus, in this verse, Kṛṣṇa positively describes the characteristics of the soul, emphasizing how it remains unaffected by various material influences, forces, and conditions.
Thank you.
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