(A synthesis of the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishadic wisdom, and Zen paradoxes)
I. Krishna’s Teachings: The Eternal Atman
Krishna (smiling, flute in hand):
BG 2.20:
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे॥
“The soul is neither born nor dies. Unborn, eternal, perpetual, ancient—it is not slain when the body is slain.”
Moses (staff glowing, Sinai’s shadow in his eyes):
“But Lord, if the soul is deathless, why did Pharaoh’s chariots drown? Why do mothers weep for sons lost to war?”
Krishna (gesturing to the battlefield):
BG 2.22:
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही॥
“As a man casts off worn-out garments and dons new ones, so the embodied Self discards decrepit bodies and enters new ones.”
Moses (recalling the Burning Bush):
*“Your words echo the fire that spoke without consuming. But how does this *atman* relate to Your Commandments?”*
Krishna:
Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.7:
यथा सृजति जालं वृश्चिकस्तन्तुभिः स्वयम्।
तथा विश्वमिदं ब्रह्म निःसृतं स्वेन तेजसा॥
“As the spider spins its web and withdraws it, so the universe arises from Brahman, the deathless Source.”
II. Zen Koans for Moses
- The Parted Sea:
A disciple asks: “Master, when you split the sea, did the water die or awaken?”
Moses pauses, staff trembling. “The sea obeyed the One. But the One is neither in the sea nor the staff.” - The Burning Bush:
“If the Bush was aflame yet unconsumed, is the soul fire or ash?”
Moses: “The flame is the Commandment; the bush, the body. Neither burns the Truth.” - The Stone Tablet:
“Carve these words into water. What remains?”
Moses: “The ripples fade, but the Law flows eternal.”
III. Upanishadic Revelations
Krishna (eyes like galaxies):
Shvetashvatara Upanishad 5.11:
अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषोऽन्तरात्मा सदा जनानां हृदये संनिविष्टः।
तं स्वाच्छरीरात्प्रवृहेन्मुज्जल्लेवोदकाद्बिलम्॥
“The Self, the size of a thumb, dwells in the heart. Pluck it out like a reed from its sheath—pure, immortal, unbound.”
Moses (voice trembling):
*“This *Atman… is it the same ‘I AM’ that spoke from Sinai’s smoke?”
Krishna (nodding):
Isha Upanishad 7:
यस्मिन्सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः।
तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः॥
“When one sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, what delusion or grief can remain?”
IV. Synthesis: Dharma & Torah
Moses (holding stone tablets):
*“Your *dharma* speaks of action without attachment. Yet the Law demands strict obedience. How reconcile these?”*
Krishna:
BG 3.7:
यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन।
कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते॥
“One who controls the senses with the mind, performing karma-yoga without attachment—they excel.”
Moses (staff alight):
*“Then the Commandments are not chains, but *karma-yoga* for the soul?”*
Krishna:
“Yes, Moses. Your Law is the chariot; love, the charioteer.”
Epilogue: The Koan of Liberation
Zen Riddle for Moses:
*“Carry the Red Sea in your palm. Does it drown the *atman* or baptize it?”*
Moses, atop Nebo, whispers:
“The sea was never water. The Law was never stone.”
Key Citations
- Bhagavad Gita: Chapters 2, 3, 18 .
- Upanishads: Mundaka, Shvetashvatara, Isha .
- Zen Koans: Inspired by paradoxical dialogues .
This dialogue collapses temporal and doctrinal boundaries, framing Moses as a seeker straddling Torah’s absolutes and Vedanta’s fluid eternity—a bridge between commandment and dharma.