2.25 This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing This to be such, thou shouldst not grieve.

2.23-25 Nainam etc. upto arhasi. The weapons etc., that cause destruction, haldly do anything to This. For, being, by nature, exclusively pure Consciousness, remaining without support, having no component parts and being independent, this cannot be destroyed through the process of either assumption of an altogether different nature, or the destruction of the support, or the mutual separation of the component parts, or the rise of an opponent, and so on. Nor the act to going to another body is a new thing for This. For, even when This is [apparently] with a single body, This travels always to different body; for the body does not remain the same even for a moment. By understanding this Self to be as such, you should not lament This.

**2.25.** This embodied Self (dehī) is not manifest to the senses, is not an object of thought, and is said to be immutable. Therefore, knowing the Self to be such, one ought not to grieve. **Commentary:** 'Unmanifest is He' – Just as the body and the world are perceived in a gross form, this indweller of the body (śarīrī) is not perceived in a gross form; because He is devoid of the gross creation. 'Unthinkable is He' – The mind, intellect, etc., though not perceived by the senses, do indeed come within the realm of thought; that is, they are all objects of contemplation. However, this embodied Self is not even an object of thought; because He is devoid of the subtle creation. 'Immutable is He, it is said' – This embodied Self is said to be changeless, meaning there is not even the slightest modification in Him ever. The cause of all is Prakṛti (Nature); even in that causal Prakṛti, modifications occur. But in this embodied Self, there is no modification of any kind; because He is devoid of the causal creation. Here, in verses twenty-four and twenty-five, through the eight adjectives – 'indestructible', 'incombustible', 'insoluble', 'un-dryable', 'immovable', 'unmanifest', 'unthinkable', and 'immutable' – the description of this embodied Self is given via negation (neti neti). And through the four adjectives – 'eternal', 'all-pervading', 'stable', and 'primeval' – the description is given via affirmation. However, in truth, It cannot be described because It is not an object of speech. How can speech, etc., which are illumined by that Self, illumine the very Self by which they are illumined? Therefore, to realize this Self as such is itself Its description. 'Therefore, knowing Him thus, you should not grieve' – Therefore, knowing or realizing this embodied Self as indestructible, un-dryable, eternal, primeval, immutable, etc., then grief simply cannot arise. **Connection:** Even if one were to consider the embodied Self as mutable rather than immutable (which is contrary to the established truth), even then grief is not justified. This point is stated in the next two verses.