Free Mahabharata: Vol. 5 by Bibek Debroy

Confused about what is dharma, I am asking you. Tell me that which is decidedly
     best for me. I am your disciple. I have sought refuge in you. Instruct me. This
     grief is exploiting my senses and I don’t see what will remedy that, even
     if I win lordship over the gods, or this earth, without any enemies and
     prosperous.’”
    ‘Sanjaya said,
     “Having said this to Hrishikesha, Gudakesha, the scorcher of foes, told
     Govinda, ‘I will not fight,’ and fell silent. O descendant of
     the Bharata lineage! To the person who was immersed in grief between the two armies,
     as if with a smile, Hrishikesha spoke the following words.
    ‘“The lord said,
     ‘You speak as if you are wise, but you are grieving over those that one
     should not sorrow over. The wise don’t sorrow over those who are dead or
     those who are alive. It is not the case that I, or you, or these kings, did not
     exist before this. Nor is it the case that we won’t exist in the future,
     all of us will be there. The soul passes through childhood, youth and age in this
     body, and likewise, attains another body. The wise don’t get bewildered by
     this. O Kounteya! Because of contact between senses and objects, feelings of warmth
     and cold, pleasure and pain result. But these are temporaryand
     are created and disappear. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Therefore, tolerate
     these. O best among men! The wise person who is not affected by these and who looks
     upon happiness and unhappiness equally, attains the right to immortality. That which
     is untrue doesn’t have an existence. That which is true has no
     destruction. But those who know the truth realize the ends of both these. 100 But know that which pervades all of this is never destroyed. No one can destroy
     that which is without change. 101 It has been said that all these bodies inhabited by the soul are capable of
     destruction. But the soul is eternal, incapable of destruction and incapable of
     being established through proof. Therefore, O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
     Fight. He who knows this 102 as a slayer and he who thinks of this as something that is slain, both of them
     do not know. This is not a slayer, nor can it be slain. This is never born, nor does
     it ever die. This does not come into existence because it has been born. This has no
     birth, it is eternal and without destruction. It has no end. When the body is
     killed, this is not killed. 103 O Partha! He who knows this to be without destruction, eternal, without birth
     and incapable of change, how can that person cause anyone to be slain? Or how can he
     slay anyone? Like a person discards worn-out clothes and accepts others that are
     new, like that, the soul discards worn-outbodies and attains
     others that are new. Weapons cannot cut this. 104 Fire cannot burn this. Nor can water wet this. And the wind cannot dry this.
     This cannot be cut. This cannot be burnt. This cannot be wetted. And this cannot be
     dried. This is eternal and is everywhere. This is stable and does not move. This has
     no beginning. It has been said that this has no manifestation, that this cannot be
     thought of and that this has no transformation. 105 Therefore, knowing this to be like that, you should not grieve.
    ‘“‘O
     mighty-armed warrior! But if you think this to be subject to continual birth and
     continual death, even then, you should not grieve for this. Because death is
     inevitable for anyone who is born and birth is inevitable for anyone who is dead.
     Therefore, because this is inevitable, you should not grieve. O descendant of the
     Bharata lineage! Beings are not manifest in the beginning. They are manifest in the
     middle and are not manifest again after death. What is there to sorrow over? 106 Some people see this 107 as a wonder. Like that, some others speak of this as a wonder. And some others
     hear of this as a wonder. But having heard, they are unable to understand this. 108 O descendant of the Bharata