Chapter 8: Akṣhar Brahma Yog – Path of the Eternal God
अक्षरब्रह्मयोग · 28 verses
Chapter Summary
The eighth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Akshara Brahma Yoga". In this chapter, Krishna reveals the importance of the last thought before death. If we can remember Krishna at the time of death, we will certainly attain him. Thus, it is very important to be in constant awareness of the Lord at all times, thinking of Him and chanting His names at all times. By perfectly absorbing their mind in Him through constant devotion, one can go beyond this material existence to Lord's Supreme abode.
Verses
- 8.1 — Arjuna said: O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the individual self (Adhyatma)? What is fruitive…
- 8.2 — Who is the Adhiyajna here in this body, O Madhusudana, and how does He dwell in this body? And how are You,…
- 8.3 — The Supreme Lord Shri Krishna said: Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; its essential nature is called…
- 8.4 — Adhibhuta—knowledge of the perishable elements—pertains to My perishable nature, the Purusha is the…
- 8.5 — And whoever, leaving their body, departs while remembering Me alone at the time of death, they attain My…
- 8.6 — O son of Kunti (Arjuna), whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body at the end of life,…
- 8.7 — Therefore, at all times, remember Me and perform your duty; with your mind and intellect surrendered unto…
- 8.8 — He who meditates on the Supreme Divine Person with a mind made steadfast by the practice of yoga, without…
- 8.9 — He who meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Controller of all, who is subtler than the smallest…
- 8.10 — At the time of death, with an unwavering mind, endowed with devotion, by the power of Yoga, fixing the whole…
- 8.11 — I shall briefly describe to you that goal which the knowers of the Vedas term as the Imperishable (Akshara),…
- 8.12 — Having restrained all the doors of the senses, confining the mind within the heart, and fixing the…
- 8.13 — Uttering the one-syllabled Om, the Brahman, and remembering Me, he who departs, leaving the body, attains…
- 8.14 — O Partha, I am easily attained by that constant yogi who remembers Me daily with single-minded devotion,…
- 8.15 — Having attained Me, these great souls, who are mahatmas, do not take birth again in this world, which is a…
- 8.16 — From the realm of Brahma down to the lowest, all worlds in this universe are subject to repeated rebirth, O…
- 8.17 — Those who know that the day of Brahma lasts a thousand Yugas and that the night of Brahma also lasts a…
- 8.18 — From the Unmanifested, all the manifested worlds proceed upon the arrival of the 'day'; upon the arrival of…
- 8.19 — O Arjuna, this very same multitude of beings, repeatedly coming into existence, helplessly dissolves at the…
- 8.20 — But truly, there exists another Unmanifested, which is eternal and higher than this unmanifest; it is not…
- 8.21 — That which is described as the Unmanifest and the Imperishable is known as the ultimate goal. Reaching It,…
- 8.22 — O Arjuna, that Supreme Purusha, within whom all beings reside and by whom this entire universe is pervaded,…
- 8.23 — O best of the Bharatas, I shall now declare to you the times departing at which, the Yogis either return or…
- 8.24 — Fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, and the six months of the northern solstice—those who depart…
- 8.25 — Attaining the lunar light through smoke, the night, the dark fortnight, and the six months of the southern…
- 8.26 — The bright and dark paths of this world are considered eternal; by the one, a soul attains liberation from…
- 8.27 — Knowing these two paths, O Arjuna, no yogi becomes deluded; therefore, at all times, be steadfast in yoga.
- 8.28 — Having realized this truth, the Yogi transcends all the meritorious fruits derived from the study of the…