Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 - Samkhya Yoga - Sloka 27

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of  The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

The materialistic standpoint - 26-28 

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 2 - Samkhya Yoga - Sloka 27

Jatasya hi dhruva mrutyuh dhruvam janma mrutasya cha I

Tasmad apari harye arthe na tvam shochitum arhasi II sloka 27

जातस्य हि ध्रुवः   मृत्युः ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।

तस्मात  अपरी हार्ये अर्थे न त्वं शोचितुम अर्हसि ।।श्लोक २७ 

Death is certain of that which is born; birth is certain of that which is dead; You shouldnot therefore lament over the inevitable

When the body fails to function properly it disintegrates and undergoes the modification called death. But other bodies crop up from the same modified matter. They contain inherent propelling force called desire, which drives them on to activities of life. Birth and death are thus a matter of course.

A school of nihilism believes in an individual retaining his individuality as long as the motive power of karma lasts. His individuality continues through births and deaths. The exhausting of his karma is like the end of oil in a burning lamp. The flame then becomes extinct. Even so a man ceases to be when his karma comes to an end. 

Another school of atheism holds on to the view that a man's assuming a body and then annihilating it is a matter of course in nature, even as a lump of clay in a river continues to change its form and shape. Changes of form are called births and deaths. Mourning over this modification is meaningless, according to this school of thought.