Bhagavad-Gītā (texte anonyme, attribué à Vyāsa)
The self is neither born nor dies: it leaves worn bodies as one leaves old clothes.
Life
The Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the Blessed One") is a 700-verse Sanskrit poem set within the Mahabharata, India's great epic. It stages a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna, just before a battle. Tradition attributes it to the sage Vyasa, but scholars think it was composed by several hands most often dated between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE (dates uncertain). It sets out the eternal self, duty, and three paths to liberation: action, knowledge and devotion.
Main works
A dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna: the self does not die, one must act according to duty without attachment to its fruits, and find the goal in knowledge and devotion (approximate date).
In his own words
« He is not born, nor does he ever die, nor, having existed, does he exist no more. Unborn, everlasting, unchangeable, and very ancient, he is not killed when the body is killed. »
« As a man, casting off old clothes, puts on others and new ones, so the embodied (self), casting off old bodies, goes to others and new ones. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceKrishna presents himself as the supreme being and says, "I am the self, O Gudakesa! seated in the hearts of all beings".
Bhagavad-Gītā, chap. 10, v. 20
The self (atman) is distinct from the body, is not born and does not die, and passes from body to body.
Bhagavad-Gītā, chap. 2, v. 12-30
Arjuna must do his duty (dharma) without attachment to its fruits; right action is defined by duty, not by results.
Bhagavad-Gītā, chap. 2, v. 31-47
Life has an objective aim, release from the cycle of birth and death, reached through knowledge, devotion and disinterested action.
Bhagavad-Gītā, chap. 2 ; chap. 12