Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 8 - Akshara Brahma Yogah - Yoga Of Imperishable Brahman

 

Contents

 

• PREAMBLE
• SRI KRISHNA ANSWERS
• CONSTANT PRACTICE IS NECESSARY TO REALIZE GOD
• MEDITATING AND ATTAINING PURUSHA
• MEDITATION ON THE SUPREME PERSON THROUGH ‘OM’
• WHO CAN EASILY ATTAIN THE LORD?
• RESULT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE LORD
• ALL THESE WORLDS ARE LIMITED BY TIME
• WHAT HAPPENS DURING BRAHMA’S DAY AND NIGHT?
• MEANS TO ATTAIN THAT SUPREME ABODE
• GLORY OF YOGA
• CONCEPTS & ISSUES
• LIVE AS THE GITA TEACHES YOU TO LIVE
• POINTS TO PONDER

Preamble

In the preceding Chapter Bhagavan  explained about His integral Self and spoke of the deluded ones seeking finite fruit  while the wise seek Brahman along with knowing Adhyatma, Karma,  Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna. Arjuna could not grasp the intricacies  of these terms and the secret of knowing God. Hence he puts seven questions to  the Lord to know about these six terms and how to realize God. The ‘Akshara’  means indestructible or imperishable. As this Chapter deals with the  imperishable and absolute nature of God and the Pranava Mantra ‘OM’, which  symbolizes it, it is entitled Akshara  Brahma Yoga.
 
  In this chapter Bhagavan elucidates about the methodology  to gain Brahman - how one can reach Brahman through concentrated yoga and  single-pointed meditation. This is the path which leads one to the supreme  abode wherefrom there is no return. The chapter also mentions the path of  return, a realm of temporary bliss, to which one is transported, only to be brought  back to the world of limitation.

The imperishable Brahman whose nature is transcendental  and immanent pervades this perishable world of things and beings. Whatever one pursues  in this world one gains that alone. By pursuing the Self one realizes the Self.  Krishna advises mankind to surrender the mind and intellect to the Self while  the body is engaged in action which will lead the seeker to the ultimate state  of Brahman.

He further advices to turn the attention from the mundane  world to the Supreme Self within and to control the senses and mind through  spiritual practices and thereafter to let the intellect direct such controlled  mind to single-pointed meditation upon the pranava mantra OM. By continuous and sustained meditation one will  reach the supreme abode of Brahman.

arjuna uvaacha
    kim tadbrahma kimadhyaatman kim karma purushottama
    adhibhootam cha kim proktamadhidaivam kimuchyate // 8.1 //

Arjuna said
    What is Brahman? What is the  individual soul? What is action, O the Supreme Person? What is it that is said  to underlie all the elements? 

adhiyajnah katham kotra dehesmin madhusoodhana
    prayaanakaale cha katham jneyosi niyataatmabhih  // 8.2 //

And what is it that is said to  underlie all the Gods? And who sustains all the sacrifices here in the body, O  Madhusudana? And in what way? And how, again, are You to be known at the time  of death by those who have practiced self-control?

SRI KRISHNA ANSWERS

sri bhagavaan uvaacha
    aksharam brahma paramam swabhaavodhyaatmamuchyate
    bhootabhaavodbhavakaro visargah karma samjnitah // 8.3 //

Sri Bhagavan said
    Brahman is the Imperishable,  the Supreme. Dwelling in each body, Brahman is called the individual soul. The  offering of the oblation, which, brings into existence all beings and supports  them, is called action.

Imperishable is the Supreme Brahman : Brahman indicates the one  changeless and imperishable Essence behind the phenomenal world. It is the Self  or the Principle of Consciousness which illumines the body, mind and intellect.  Its presence in each individual body is called Adhyatma, the individual  soul. “At the command of this Imperishable, O Gargi, heaven and earth are held  in their proper places”. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (III.viii.9). The Supreme  Brahman alone exists in every individual body as the pratyagatman, the  ego, the inmost Self and is known as the Adhyatma. At the culmination of the  spiritual discipline, the inmost Self is realized as one with Brahman. Though  the Self is formless and subtle and therefore all pervading, its power is felt  by every living embodiment. The Self expressing through a given embodiment, as  though conditioned by it, is called the Adhyatma.

Action (Karma) : According to the Vedas, the  offering of oblations to the gods brings about the birth of all creatures; the  oblations cause rain and the rain causes food, and food causes created beings.  The offering of oblations in sacrifice is called karma or action.

adhibhootam ksharo bhaavah purushashchaadhidaivatam
    adhiyajno 'hamevaatra dehe dehabhritaam vara // 8.4 //

That which underlies all the  elements is the perishable entity (Adhibhoota); and that which underlies all  the Devatas is the Purusha, the Cosmic Spirit (Adhidaivata). And He who  sustains all the sacrifices is Myself, here in the body (Adhiyajna), O the best  of men.

Adhibhootha is the  perishable existence. It comprises all material objects, everything that comes  into existence.

Adhidaivata is that which  underlies all the Devatas, the presiding deities of the sense organs, mind and  intellect.

Adhiyajna As oblations  are poured in the Yajnas, the sense objects are offered into the act of  perception, feeling and thought when the Devata or the particular faculty in it  is invoked and as a blessing of this act we gain the fruit thereof viz. the  knowledge of the perception.That which underlies the Devatas is  Purusha, the Cosmic Spirit, Adhidaivata.

The implication of these  definitions is that the Eternal Self alone is the Real and all the rest is  delusory and super-impositions upon It. Thus to know the Self is to know  everything and having known It  as one's  own real nature one is free to act or not to act in any of the fields of  Not-Self.

As the Inner Controller of the  body - antaryamin - Sri Krishna is the presiding Deity directing the  various physical functions which are described as acts of sacrifice. Though He  rests in the body, He is not attached to it and is completely different from  the senses.

One who is aware of this play of  the Self at all levels of his personality - physical, mental and intellectual -  experiences  himself as a Witness of the  process of his relations with the Not-Self.

antakaale cha maam eva smaran muktwaa kalevaram
    yah prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati naastyatra samshayah // 8.5 //

Whosoever at the time of death  leaves his body remembering Me alone and goes forth - he attains My Being;  there is no doubt about this.

yam yam vaapi smaran bhaavam tyajatyante kalevaram
    tam tamevaiti kaunteya sadaa tadbhaavabhaavitah // 8.6 //

For whatever object a man  thinks of at the final moment, when he leaves his body - that alone does he  attain, O Son of Kunti, being ever absorbed in the thought thereof.

The most prominent thought of  one's life occupies the mind at the time of death. The last thoughts of a dying  person determine the quality of his next birth. The soul goes to that on which  its mind is set during the last moments. What we think we become. Our past  thoughts determine our present birth and our present ones will determine the  future.

Therefore, Sri Krishna tells that  one who leaves the body with his mind completely turned towards the Self will  naturally reach the Eternal and the Immortal - the Supreme abode, reaching  which there is no return. We can think of God in the last moments only if we  are devoted to Him previously also.

The Lord explains that whatever  object one remembers while leaving the body, he reaches that alone because of  his constant thought of that object. It is not the casual fancy of the last  moment but a persistent endeavor of the whole life that determines the future  birth.





    tasmaat sarveshu kaaleshu maamanusmara yudhya cha
          mayyarpitamanobuddhir maamevaishyasyasamshayah // 8.7 //

Therefore, at all times,  constantly remember Me and fight.  With your  mind and intellect absorbed in Me, you shall doubtless come to Me alone.

Sri Krishna, advises Arjuna to  constantly keep his mind fixed on Him and at the same time perform his  Swadharma (to fight). The mind is purified when a man performs his own dharma,  regarding himself as an instrument of God. Only a pure mind can constantly  remember God.

CONSTANT PRACTICE IS NECESSARY TO REALIZE GOD

abhyaasayogayuktena chetasaa naanyagaaminaa
    paramam purusham divyam yaati paarthaanuchintayan // 8.8 //

Engaged in the Yoga of  constant practice and not allowing the mind to wander away to anything else, he  who meditates on the supreme, resplendent Purusha reaches Him, O son of Pritha.

Constant practice is the  uninterrupted repetition of one and the same idea, with reference to the Lord  as the sole object of meditation. Such practice by which one surrenders his  heart and soul to the Lord alone is known as Yoga.

Resplendent Purusha means the  presiding deity of the solar orb which is considered as the manifestation of  the Absolute as the Cosmic Spirit. He is also known as Saguna Brahman.

MEDITATING AND ATTAINING PURUSHA

kavim puraanam anushaasitaaram
    anoraneeyaamsam anusmaredyah
    sarvasya dhaataaram achintyaroopam
    aadityavarnam tamasah parastaat //8.9//

Whosoever meditates upon the  Omniscient, the ancient, the ruler (of the whole world), who is subtler than  the subtle, the supporter of all, whose form is inconceivable, effulgent like  the sun and beyond the darkness (of ignorance),

prayaanakaale manasaa'chalena
    bhaktyaa yukto yogabalena chaiva
    bhruvormadhye praanamaaveshya samyak
    sa tam param purushamupaiti divyam // 8.10 //

At the time of death, with an unshaken mind full of  devotion, by the power of 'yoga' fixing the whole 'prana' (breath) between the two eyebrows, he (the seeker) reaches the Supreme Resplendent 'purusha. '

In these two verses Sri Krishna  gives Arjuna exhaustive guidance that will help in undertaking meditation by  all. The meaning of the various terms used here is as follows.

Verse - 9

Omniscient (Kavi) - Just  as the sun is said to be seeing everything because it illuminates all the  objects of the world, so too is the Principle of Awareness without which no  knowledge whatsoever is possible. Thus, in terms of the limited knowledge we  presently experience, the Self is considered as the Supreme Knower who knows  everything i.e. Omniscient and without whom no knowledge is ever possible.

Ancient (Puranam) - The  Self is considered as the most ancient because the Eternal Truth which was  there before all creation remains the same always.

The ruler of the whole world (Anushaasitaaram)  - It indicates that if the principle of awareness were not present in our  faculties of perception, feeling and comprehension, harmonization of our  physical, mental and intellectual experiences would not have been possible to  lead a meaningful existence. Hence the Knowing Principle or Consciousness is  the very essence of life just as without the mud the mud-pot cannot exist. The  mud is the ruler in the world of mud pots so too is the Self the over-ruler of  the Universe.

Minuter than the Atom (Anoraneeyaam)  - The smallest divisible particle of any element maintaining the properties of  that element is called its atom. It indicates that the Self is the subtlest of  the subtle.

The more a thing is subtle the  more is its pervasiveness. Water is subtler than the ice and hence water is  said to be more pervasive than the ice and similarly steam is more pervasive  than water. So also, the Self is the subtlest of the subtle which pervades all  but nothing pervades it.

The nourisher of all (Sarvasya  Dhaataram) - Nourishment here means the support which sustains everything.  Just like the canvas supports ever so many different paintings of an artist,  the Consciousness illuminates constantly the ever changing things and happenings,  around and within us, from birth to death, through all situations which results  in homogeneous oneness of life.

Of inconceivable form (Achintyaroopam)  - Various descriptions of the Self given above should not lead to the wrong  conclusion that It can be thought about and understood as any finite object or  idea. We should be clear that the Infinite cannot be comprehended by the finite  instruments of perception, feeling or understanding.  Although the Self is in the form  inconceivable, It is not inexperienceable since an individual can apprehend It  to be of his own real nature during the process of Divine awakening.

Effulgent like the sun (Aadityavarnam)  - So long as a man identifies himself with his limited auxiliaries in his body  he lives in the external world of multiplicities wherein the Self is  in-conceivable, inexperienceable and in-comprehensible. Once these auxiliaries  are crossed through a process of contemplation of the Self, he realizes his own  nature of Pure Being.

To see the sun no other light is  necessary or a dreamer cannot know the waker, because to know the waker the  dreamer has to end his dream state and become the waker. So too, on ending the  egocentric existence during spiritual awakening, one realizes that he is  nothing but the Self at all times.

Beyond all the darkness (Tamasah  parastaat) - The sun is variable in nature like its brightness during the  day with various degrees of intensity and its total absence during the night.  It may be erroneously concluded that the Self is also variable in its intensity  or there are times when It is totally absent. To remove this possible  misunderstanding The Lord says that the Self is beyond darkness of ignorance.

Thus, the one who meditates upon  the Self as omniscient, ancient, over-ruler, subtlest of the subtle, nourisher  of all, of in-conceivable form, self illuminating as the sun and beyond all ---

Verse - 10

At the time of death (Prayaanakaale)  - These words do not mean `the physical death' but they are to be understood as  `at the moment of the death of the ego' when all identifications with the body,  mind and intellect are consciously withdrawn during meditation.

Endowed with full devotion (Bhakti)  - It means selfless love for the Divine without any expectation which implies  identification of the ego with its real nature. The idea is that the meditation  should be accompanied by the meditator's readiness to identify himself with the  principle of awareness as earlier indicated.

By the power of Yoga (Yogabalena)  - This is the inward strength that grows in the mind of the meditator when he  meditates upon the Supreme for long periods of time when the mind is withdrawn  from its agitations and the intellect rests on contemplation of the Absolute.  When one is thus engaged in meditation, all his pranas get concentrated  at the point of his concentration between the eyebrows which represents the  seat of steady thought.

Fixing the whole prana between the eyebrows - This is the process of controlling the breath. Life  expressing itself at the various functions in a living body is called the Prana  which can be classified under five categories viz. Prana: faculty of  sense perception, Apana: the excretory system, Vyana: the  digestive system, Samaana: the circulatory system and Udana:  capacity to visualize some greater concepts beyond the present world of  knowledge. When an individual gets himself merged with the Self, at that moment  all these faculties are temporarily arrested.

Reaches the resplendent Supreme  person - Such a person in whom the mind becomes completely silent and calm, all  manifestations of life's presence through his body are halted. At this stage he  goes to the Supreme Resplendent Self (Purusha) i.e. completely  identifies himself with his point of contemplation, the Self.

MEDITATION ON THE SUPREME PERSON THROUGH ‘OM’

yadaksharam vedavido vadanti
    vishanti yadyatayo veetaraagaah
    yadicchanto brahmacharyam charanti
    tatte padam samgrahena pravakshye   // 8.11 //

What the knowers of the Vedas  speak of as Imperishable, what the self-controlled (Sannyaasins) freed from  attachment enter and to gain which goal they live the life of a Brahmachari,  that state I shall declare to you in brief.

Sri Krishna now starts giving  guidance for meditating upon the monosyllable ` OM 'or the Pranava which is the  ultimate goal for man. Worship of the syllable OM  is advised in almost all the Upanishads as a prelude to the meditation for an  easier concentration of the mind. OM is  considered as an expression of the Supreme Self or Its symbol like an idol.

Freed from attachment means  detachment from the world of objects with full understanding of the goal of  life. Men of least desires will have the maximum success in traveling the Path  of Knowledge. Brahmachari is a religious student who takes the vow of  continence etc. Every moment of this stage is one of hard discipline and  asceticism.

sarvadwaaraani samyamya mano  hridi nirudhya cha
    moordhnyaadhaayaatmanah praanamaasthito yogadhaaranaam // 8.12 //

Having closed all the gates  (controlled all the senses), having confined the mind in the heart, having  fixed the life-breath in the `head', engaged in the practice of concentration,

Omityekaaksharam brahma vyaaharan maamanusmaran
    yah prayaati tyajan deham sa yaati paramaam gatim // 8.13 //

Uttering the monosyllable OM-the Brahman-and remembering Me, he who so departs,  leaving the body, attains the supreme goal.

The conditions to be fulfilled in  the meditator for achieving effective concentration are narrated in these  verses in the same order in which they are to be practiced.

Closing all the gates - The sense  organs Viz. skin, ear, nose, eyes and the tongue are the five entry points  through which the external stimuli reach the mind and cause agitations in it.  To close these five entrances through discrimination and detachment means  controlling all the senses.

Confining the mind in the heart -  Although  external stimuli can be prevented  through controlling senses , it is always possible for the mind to get  disturbed on account of the accumulation of past impressions gathered from the  external world of change and pleasure.   It is therefore advised that the mind which is the tool for emotion and  feeling should be confined to the heart. Here heart does not mean the physical  part of the body but an imaginary centre of the mind from which all positive  thoughts like love, kindness, devotion, surrender etc. emanate which means the  mind whose functions are checked.

Drawing Prana into the Head and  occupied in the practice of concentration - The mental condition wherein the  intellect is withdrawn from its identification with all the perceptions and  engaging it in the total contemplation of the Self. In this condition of mental  and intellectual equipoise the seeker is fit for meditating upon the  monosyllable OM.

He who departs, leaving the body  - This does not mean `at the time of death'. While chanting and meditating on OM, the seeker gets so much detached from his  identification with the world of objects that the ego gets tuned towards a  higher objective. This is called death - leaving the body - when he attains the  Supreme goal.

 

WHO CAN EASILY ATTAIN THE LORD?

ananyachetaah satatam yo maam smarati nityashah
    tasyaaham sulabhah paartha nityayuktasya yoginah // 8.14 //

I am easily attainable by that  ever-steadfast yogi who constantly and daily remembers Me not thinking of  anything else, O Partha.

Ever-steadfast, Constantly: One  who does not allow his mind wanders freely among sense objects. The meditator  who constantly keeps himself aware of the Self is the successful practitioner.

Daily: One has to remember The  Lord daily till the end of his life and not merely at fixed times of the day or  on fixed days of the week. No part-time behaviorism or weekly engagements in  religion are advised. Divine consciousness must be maintained by the seeker constantly and continuously like a 24 hour TV channel.

Not thinking of anything else:  One is not to think of any other object except his Deity. If these conditions are negated none can hope for an easy success in Meditation

RESULT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE LORD

maamupetya punarjanma  duhkhaalayamashaashwatam
    naapnuvanti mahaatmaanah samsiddhim  paramaam gataah // 8.15 //

Having attained Me, these  great souls are no more subject to rebirth (herein this mortal world) which is  the abode of pain and transitory for they have reached the highest perfection  (liberation).

The question why should one  struggle so hard to realize the Self is answered. The benefit accruing on realization  of the Self is that having attained Me, The Lord, the Mahatmas are no more  subject to rebirth because the world of rebirth is the starting point for all  pains and miseries and also impermanent .

Those who die without realizing  the Lord come back again to the earth. Life on earth, in spite of many moments  of happiness, is intrinsically painful. On account of the intense love of God,  the devotees do not experience suffering on earth and after death they attain  Him.

aabrahmabhuvanaanllokaah punaraavartino'rjuna
    maamupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate // 8.16 //

The dwellers in all the worlds, O Arjuna, including the realm of Brahma, are subject to return to  rebirth, but for those who reach Me, O Son of Kunti, there is no rebirth.

Even after reaching the Brahmaloka, the realm of the Creator, all cannot achieve total liberation  because of their remaining Vasanas for exhausting which they have to take  rebirth. But to those who rediscovered their Essential Eternal Nature and realized  themselves to be the One, All Pervading Self (after attaining Me) there is no  rebirth, the Samsar, the plane of limited existence.

Complete liberation, attended by  cessation of birth and death, is possible only for a man who has realized his  identity with Brahman. All other worlds, whether sub-human or super-human, are  places of transitory enjoyments, where men departing from earth,  experience the fruit of their actions and  after exhausting such fruits are re-born on this  earth.

But one can directly attain  liberation from re-birth through love of God alone without waiting till the end  of the cosmic cycle.

ALL THESE WORLDS ARE LIMITED BY TIME

sahasrayugaparyantam aharyad brahmano viduh
    raatrim yugasahasraantaam te'horaatravido janaah // 8.17 //

Those who know that the day of  Brahma lasts for thousand Yugas (ages) and that the night of Brahma lasts thousand  Yugas again, are indeed people who know day and night.

Brahma is the first manifestation  of the Absolute, Brahman in time and space. He is also known as Prajapati and  Viraj.

Day means evolution or projection  of the universe. It is the period of cosmic manifestation.  Night means cosmic involution or dissolution  of the universe. It is the period of non-manifestation. According to the Hindu  philosophy time is the measurement of interval between two different  experiences.

In a given single experience  there is no perception of time just as in one point there is no concept of  distance for distances can be measured between two points only.

The worlds are conditioned by  time and hence they manifest again and again although the duration of their  cycles vary and are very long - each cycle lasting for crores of years (in terms  of our present understanding of 365 days). A thousand such cycles makes a day  of Brahma and another such cycle is the night of Brahma. Those who can see and  live through the day and night of Brahma can really know what a day is and what  a night is meaning thereby that such yogis can visualize many Brahmas arising  and disintegrating in the Ocean of great Cause. Thus they do not feel any  attachment even to the happiness of the highest heaven, how much less to that  of earth.

In this and the following two verses  Gita points out the life of the Cosmic Man and his concept of time. It points  out the non-distinction between microcosm (vyashti) and macrocosm (samashti).

The God principle (Hiranyagarbha  - the source of all objects) is a concept which represents the total mind and  intellect of all the living creatures living at any given point of time in the  world. To understand the ways of the mind projecting the world of its own  objects is to understand not only the all powerful nature but also the  limitations of God-principle as conceived to be a Creator, Sustainer and  Annihilator. Sri Krishna brings out this subtle idea clearly in the mind of  Arjuna in these three verses.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING BRAHMA’S DAY AND NIGHT? 

avyaktaadvyaktayah sarvaah prabhavantyaharaagame

    raaatryaagame praleeyante tatraivaavyaktasamjnake // 8.18 //

At the approach of the day all  manifest objects come forth from the unmanifested and at the approach of the  night they merge again into that which is called the unamanifest.

bhootagraamah sa evaayaam bhootwaa bhootwaa praleeyate
    raatryaagamevashah paartha prabhavatyaharaagame // 8.19 //

The same multitude of beings,  coming forth again and again, merge in spite of themselves, O Partha, at the  approach of the night and remanifest themselves at the approach of the day.

How the Creator keeps Himself  occupied during His day and night each of which is of long duration is  explained. It is indicated that the Creator creates during His day and the  entire creation ends during His night by merging itself in the unmanifested.  Creation is the crystallization of the unmanifested dormant existence into the  manifested existence with names, forms and qualities.  That is, creation is only the production of a  name, form with some specific qualities, out of the raw material in which the  same name, form and quality already exist in an unmanifested condition. When a  pot is created out of the mud the potness is already prevalent in the mud  because no other thing than a pot can be created out of mud.

The thought impressions in the  mind (vasanas) which lie unmanifested to the sense-organs and the mental and  intellectual perceptions become manifested as gross actions, thoughts and words  making the life either tough or smooth depending on the quality of the thoughts  manifested. A doctor, advocate and a criminal are all same as human beings  while they are asleep which is their unmanifested state (Pralaya) but when they  wake up their respective qualities as a doctor, advocate or criminal get  manifested which in philosophy is called creation.

In the cosmic process of creation  and dissolution the Creator or the total mind during the waking hours of long  ages project out the already existing vasanas and at the night they merge into  the unmanifested. The declaration that the very same beings are born again and  again and merge in spite of themselves shows that Hinduism does not believe in  a creation preceded by the condition of absolute non-existence.

The same multitude meant that  which comprised of the moving and non-moving who existed in the preceding cycle  or age and who did not attain liberation. They repeatedly come forth and  dissolve by the effect of their own karma. “In spite of themselves” implies the  law of karma is inexorable. In this world of Maya there is no freedom as long  as one is caught in the wheel of karma. The only way of liberation is to free  oneself from Maya.

parastasmaat tu bhavo'nyo'vyakto’vyaktaatsanaatanah
    yah sa sarveshu bhooteshu nashyatsu na vinashyati // 8.20 //

But beyond this unmanifested,  there is yet another Unmanifested Eternal Being, who does not perish when all  beings perish.

This unmanifested means the seed  state of the whole multitude of created things; the night of Brahma. Another  unmanifested eternal Being refers to the imperishable Brahman, which is  imperceptible to senses and which is altogether of a different kind. It is  supra-cosmic and beyond ignorance. It does not perish because it is beyond  time, space and causality. All beings perish implies that everything from  Brahma downwards all beings.

That which is The Truth, the  ignorance of which projects the manifested, is the factor that is changeless  substratum. The idea is that the Ultimate Reality, the Self, is that which lies  beyond the delusory experiences of creation, dissolution and repeated  re-creations.

avyaktokshara ityuktastamaahuh paramaam gatim
    yam praapya na nivartante taddhaama paramam mama // 8.21 //

The unmanifested is called the  imperishable; It is said to be the ultimate Goal from which those who reach it  never come back. That is My Supreme abode.

What has been indicated in the  previous verse as `the other Unmanifest - which is the Eternal Existence -  which does not persish’ is explained here as the Imperishable mentioned in  Verses 3 & 13 of this Chapter.  The  Imperishable was defined therein as the Brahman, the substratum for the entire  universe and that we should meditate on `OM' as the symbol of this  Imperishable.

The Self which is Pure Awareness  gives existence and dynamism to the unmanifested vasanas and makes them to  project out to form the manifested world of activities and behaviors. This  eternal Unmanifested Factor, the Imperishable Self, is the highest goal for man  to achieve.

The knower of such Imperishable,  Eternal Brahman never again falls under the spell of Maya or ignorance (never  comes back). The abode of Brahman is called Supreme because the relative  universe is the inferior manifestation of Brahman.

The ultimate goal referred to in  the text does not indicate any state or condition but the Imperishable Brahman  Itself, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss absolute, sat-chit-ananda.

MEANS TO ATTAIN THAT SUPREME ABODE

purushaha sa parah paartha bhaktya labhyastwananyayaa
    yasyaanthahsthaani bhootaani yena sarvamidam tatam // 8.22 //

That Supreme Purusha, in whom  all beings abide and by whom the entire universe is pervaded, can be attained,  O Partha, by undistracted devotion directed to Him alone.

The technique by which the  Unmanifest, the Imperishable - the Supreme Purusha is attainable is explained. Single  pointed devotion with the total detachment from the world of body, mind and  intellect is the means to achieve the Supreme Purusha. The detachment from the  false is achieved by the growing attachment with the Real. Total Identification  of oneself with the experience of the Self or the realization that nothing  exists except the Lord, is undistracted devotion.

In whom all beings abide - All  the beings (which are the effects) dwell within the Purusha, the Supreme Person  (which is the cause) because every effect rests in its cause just as all mud  pots (which are the effects) exist in the mud (which is the cause). The mud  pervades all mud-pots irrespective of their size and shape. The essential  nature of the mud-pot is nothing but the mud from which it is born. So also all  beings and the world rest within their cause, the Purusha and hence the whole  world is pervaded by the Purusha.

But for the cotton the beauty of  the design woven in the cloth made out of that cotton cannot get projected.  When Pure Awareness acts through vasanas It becomes the multiple worlds of  names and forms. Therefore when one realizes the Self, he understands the very  core out of which the world of multiplicity called Samsar has arisen.

Brahman is called Purusha (Person)  because It dwells in every body (pura) or It is full (poornam).

THE TWO PATHS

yatra kale twanaavrittim aavrittim chaiva yoginah
    prayaataa yaanti tam kaalam vakshyaami bharatarshabha // 8.23 //


    Now I will tell you, O Chief  of Bharatas, the time in which the yogis depart never to return and also the  time in which they depart to return.

Sri Krishna now tells about the  routes taken by the seekers to reach the two different destinations viz. the  one from which there is a return and the other from which there is no return. The  former is a Divine Mission seeking the Imperishable by ending the ego and  re-discovering ones own Real Nature as none other than the Eternal  Consciousness, the Changeless Substratum of the whole universe. The latter path  is the life of satisfying the ego by gaining the experiences of joy among sense  objects each of which ultimately brings forth sorrow.

These two worlds differ from each  other since the one leads to a return again and again to a finite embodiment  for living a life of limitations and the other assures a goal, having reached  which, there is no return and where one enjoys Absolute Bliss.

If there are two different  destinations there will be two separate routes guiding the respective types of  seekers to reach their correct places. The Lord promises Arjuna that He will  explain both the `Path of return' and the `Path of no return'. Here, the word `Kale' means the time of departure as well as the path pursued by different types of  seekers at the end of their present manifestations.

agnirjyotirahah shuklah shanmaasaa uttaraayanam
    tatra prayaataa gacchanti brahma brahmavido janaah // 8.24 //

Fire, flame, day-time, the  bright fortnight, the six months of the northern passage of the sun, departing  when the men who know Brahman go to Brahman.

dhoomo raatristathaa krishnah shanmaasaa dakshinaayanam
    tatra chaandramasam jyotir yogee praapya nivartate // 8.25 //

Attaining to the lunar light  by smoke, night-time, the dark fortnight, or the six months of the southern  passage of the sun, the yogi returns.

The verses 24 and 25 have been  commented upon differently by different commentators. Fire, flame, day-time, the  bright fortnight, the six months of the northern passage of the sun - all these  indicate the path of the Gods presided over by the sun while the path of the  ancestors is described in the verse 25 which is presided over by the moon. The  path of Gods is the path of illumination that leads to liberation from where  there is no return for the departed souls. On the other hand the path of  ancestors is the path of darkness which leads to rebirth.

These two verses indicate that a  seeker trying to raise himself above the various matter-envelopments and his  identifications with them, can reach the higher spiritual realms of the  Ultimate in his life time itself. But in case he happens to run after pleasure  and sensuality, he comes back again to the field of action here wherein he can  again make or unmake himself.





    shuklakrishne gatee hyete jagatah shaashwate mate
        ekayaa yaatyanaavrittim anyayaavartate punah // 8.26 //

Truly these bright and dark  paths of the world are considered eternal; one leads to non-return, and the  other one returns.

Both these paths are eternal  because worldly existence of finitude and change or Samsara is eternal. But as  per Vedanta the Samsara can be ended for the individual through sincere  meditation.

Life is a conflict between light  and darkness. The former makes for release and the latter for rebirth. The Lord  here uses the ancient belief to illustrate the great spiritual truth that those  who are lost in the darkness of ignorance go by the path of the ancestors and  are subject to rebirth and those who live in the day of illumination and walk  on the path of knowledge obtain release from rebirth. This attainment of  liberation through Self-Knowledge, while living in a physical body, is the goal  of human life. The other courses, paths etc. are described in order to spur men  to strive for Self-Knowledge and for attainment of liberation here on earth.

naite sruti paartha jaanan yogee muhyati kashchana
    tasmaat sarveshu kaaleshu yogayukto bhavaarjuna //8.27 //

O son of Partha, no Yogi is  deluded after knowing these paths. Therefore Arjuna, at all times you be  steadfast in Yoga.

Knowing that one of the paths  leads to Samsara and the other to Moksha, the Yogi takes up the one leading to  illumination and rejects the other. Here Yogi is the one who has withdrawn  himself from his false-identifications and entered into contemplation of the  Self with single-pointed mind.

In short, this entire Chapter is Krishna’s  advice to Arjuna that he should, even while acting in this world, strive constantly  to be the one living in the awareness of the Divine, through selfless  identification with the Eternal, the Imperishable Purusha. The guiding  principle is that whatever work one undertakes, he should not lose sight of the  Eternal.

GLORY OF YOGA

vedeshu yajneshu tapahsu chaiva
    daaneshu yat punyaphalam pradishtam
    atyeti tatsarvam idam viditwaa
    yogee param sthaanamupaiti chaadyam // 8.28 //

The Yogi who knows this  transcends all rewards laid down for the study of the Vedas, for sacrifices,  for austerities, for making charities; he reaches the supreme, Primal abode.


  Sri Krishna means a true Yogi - a  sincere meditator - goes beyond whatever meritorious results are promised in  the Scriptures from the study of Vedas, performance of yajnas, practice of  austerities and from charities to reach the final goal, the Primeval, Supreme  Abode

The word ‘this’ in the verse  means the answers given by the Lord to the seven questions of Arjuna. One  should not only understand but also follow the teachings contained in these  answers of the Lord.

om tat sat
 iti srimadbhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaayaam yogashaastre 
    sri krishnaarjuna  samvaade akshara brahma yogo naama ashtamo'dhyaayah

Thus in the Upanishads  of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of  the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and  Arjuna, ends the  eighth discourse  entitled : The Yoga of Imperishable Brahman.


 

Concepts and Issues

Arjuna asks Sri Krishna seven  questions with a view to understand the technical and philosophical terms used  by Him in the previous Chapter. The questions and The Lord's answers are as  follows.

 

   

 

As the moment of departure from  the physical body is not known to anybody Sri Krishna advises Arjuna that one  should always keep the mind and intellect absorbed in Him when he will come to  Him alone. Sri Krishna emphasizes the need to practice Yoga at all times. If  one practices meditation through out one’s life fixing the mind on God,  God-consciousness will remain steady even at the time of death instead of on  worldly objects.

 

Just as in the disturbed waters  of a lake pebbles lying at the bottom cannot be seen, the Self that is  indwelling in one's body cannot be experienced due to agitated mind. Sri  Krishna therefore suggests a way out by the practice of which this problem  could be got over. He suggests meditating on `OM'  which is the symbol of the Supreme Purusha, Brahman. The repetition of `Om' creates a harmony in the nervous system and the  entire personality of the practitioner will feel single-pointed consciousness  which will lead to the experience of the Supreme Consciousness.

Live as the Gita Teaches You to Live
In this Chapter Sri Krishna  explains the glory of human existence. Scriptures say that one has to pass  through several cycles of births and deaths to take a human birth. In such a  rare human birth if one fails to utilize the opportunity of attaining The  Supreme and instead, spends his entire life in satisfying sensual desires it  will not be possible for him to remember The Eternal Purusha at the time of  death and hence it will lead him to enter this world again and again.

      The Supreme Lord who creates the  Universe is Brahma. The Lord describes the day and night of Brahma each of  which lasts for thousands of ages. He says those who know the day and night of  Brahma they really understand the terms day and night. From the unmanifested  all the manifested worlds proceed at the coming of the `day' and at the coming  of the ‘night' they dissolve into that alone which is called the unmanifested.

But the Supreme Purusha stands as  a witness apart from this process of evolution and dissolution. Therefore,  those who remember and meditate on the Supreme Being as the eternal witness, at  the time of death, will never have re-birth in this world but will reach the  Supreme itself, which is beyond space, time and causation.

Sri Krishna explains how Yogis realize  the Supreme Self at the time of death. He mentions the two paths by which the  souls of the Yogis travel. The realized Yogis following the path of Light will  merge in the Supreme Being and will have no return; they attain Liberation. The  others who have attachment for the material world will go through the path of  darkness and will take birth in the mortal world to go through the cycle of  birth and death afresh.

A Yogi knowing these two paths  will not follow ritualistic practices expecting to enjoy their fruits  because  he understands that everything  other than the Self is a source of pain and is transient. Hence he is always  immersed in the awareness of Eternal Consciousness. He ultimately attains the  Primeval Abode.

Live as the Gita Teaches You to Live

  The basic advice given by the  Lord is that this mortal world is the place of pain and sorrow and is  non-eternal and hence the one with God-Consciousness will alone reach the  highest perfection i.e. Liberation. Therefore, The Lord emphasizes that one  should constantly practice Yoga and meditation so that even at the time of  death God-thought alone will come instead of the thoughts of attachment to this  materialistic world.

Points to Ponder

    1.  What are the questions asked by Arjuna?
    2.  What is re-birth and how does one get it?
    3.  What is the easy way of attaining liberation?

    4.  Who is the Supreme Purusha, what  are His characteristics and how to attain Him?
    5.  How can one develop  single-pointed concentration?

    Write short notes on:
         1. Paths of Return and Non-Return
         2. Necessity for Meditation
         3. Unmanifest, Manifest and Unmanifested Eternal Being

Harih Om