Text 11

sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam
prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca
nanusocanti panditah

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, “You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned—one who knows what is body and what is soul—does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.” As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

"O Arjuna, this lamentation of yours caused by attachment to friends and relatives is the cause of bewilderment. Your power of discernment arising from your concerns starting in verse four with 'How can I fight against Bhisma and Drona?' are the cause of lack of wisdom." That is stated in this verse.

"You are continually lamenting (anu socah) for what is not worthy of grief (asocyan). Thus you are uttering words of wisdom to me, who am trying to enlighten you. You speak words (vadan) of wisdom (prajna) as in verse four." The intention behind the Lord's words is the opposite: "Actually you have no wisdom."

"This is because those who are wise (panditah) do not lament for that from which life has passed (gata asun)~the gross bodies, since the bodies are destructible by their very nature. Neither do they lament for the subtle bodies from which the life airs have not passed (agata asun), for those subtle bodies will certainly be destroyed before liberation. They do not lament because they accept the inherent natures of all of the gross and subtle bodies. But fools lament at the passing of life airs (subtle bodies) from the gross bodies of fathers and others, and do not at all lament for their subtle bodies. That, unfortunately, is the extent of their recognition. All these, including Bhisma, are souls equipped with gross and subtle bodies. Because of the eternal nature of their souls, there is no cause for lamentation. Previously you said that dharma sastra was stronger than artha sastra. But I say here that jnana sastra is stronger than dharma sastra."