Shadbhavas of Living Beings Explained

Now Bhishma answers his fourth question, which was:
'Kam archathaha manusyahashubham prapnoth?'
'Tameva charchayan nithyam, tam purusham avyayam eva nithyam bhaktya archayan.'

Avyayaha – One who does not have an end, the imperishable.

How should he be worshipped? Nityam – every day, always, with devotion (bhaktya). Also, by dhayan, meditating upon him; stuvann, praising him; and namasyan, offering namaskaras to him.

By doing all this, the yajamana (worshipper) attains liberation from all sorrows (sarva dhukatigo bhaveth).

Now Bhishma answers Yudhisthira’s third question:
'Kam sthuvanthaha manusyaya sugham prapneth?'
Anathi nithanam Vishnum… अनादि निधनं षड्भाव विकार शून्यम्

There are six aspects present in all living beings, called shad bhavas:

1. Living beings take birth – They are born at some point in time; they come into existence.
2. They exist – They remain over a certain period. A living being is not like a lightning flash; they exist for hours, days, or years.
3. They grow – A baby weighing about 3 kg grows into an adult weighing 20 to 30 times that weight. Plants grow, and animals grow.
4. They transform themselves – A delicate child transforms into an adult with muscles and a moustache. A person can be fat today and slim tomorrow. Living beings are capable of transformation.
5. They decay – With age, beings start decaying. Weight is lost, the body shrinks, wrinkles appear, and skin sags. Decay is the opposite of growth.
6. They die – Finally, they leave the earth.

These are the six bhavas inherent in all living beings.

He, however, is beyond them:

• He doesn’t take birth – He is eternal, always existing.
• He doesn’t grow – He has encompassed everything. Why would he grow?
• He doesn’t exist in a limited sense – His existence is infinite.

We might ask, 'Is your father at home?' This question inherently implies a time frame – now, today, or these days. All are finite and limited. In contrast, he exists beyond such limitations.

• He doesn’t transform – Transformation implies being something now and something else later, like a student becoming a teacher. When he himself is both the student and the teacher, there is no transformation.
• He doesn’t decay, perish, or diminish.
• He doesn’t die.

अनादि निधनं षड्भाव विकार शून्यम् – Devoid of the six bhavas.

Vishnum vyapannsheelam – He has pervaded everything, is in everything, and is spread across all.
Sarva loka maheswaram – The lord of all lokas and devas; the Maheswara of all Iswaras.
Lokadyaksham – He oversees and supervises the lokas, hence called Lokadyakshaka.

By nithyam sthuvann, praising him always, one becomes free from all sorrows (sarva dhukhatigo bhaveth).

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi