Parul PuriBhagavad Gītā readerAwaiting User Responseपाठक का प्रश्न
Does this sloka not justify an evil minded person to kill someone and then justifying his act by saying that "Self can't be killed. I just killed the body which inevitably will vanish one day"
- व्यवस्थापक का उत्तर
The śloka is not telling us to kill others. It does not justify killing. It is teaching us the principle that the ātmā does not die.
If your question is whether an evil-minded person can use this śloka to justify killing someone, saying "the ātmā cannot die", then they would be right about the part that the ātmā cannot die. But because they do not actually believe the teaching (if they did, they would worry about the consequences of their evil action which they must face in this life or the next), they will have to face terrible consequences for misusing śāstra for their own ends. Śāstra itself teaches this principle.
The Gītā's teachings are not spoken to justify adharma - quite the opposite. Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the fourth chapter that He comes to establish dharma. So taking verses out of context is very risky.
These teachings are powerful because they describe reality, but they are also dangerous if misused. That is why śāstra must be learned from a teacher and respectfully and carefully applied in one's life. They should never be misused by going against Śrī Kṛṣṇa's intended meaning.