Chapter 8 Akshara Brahmayoga The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
1- The seven things to be
realised by meditation. (1-5)
1- What is that Brahman? Brahman is the Imperishable (Akshara), the Supreme.
2- What about the Individual Self (Adhyatma)? The Ego is said to be the Individual Self (Adhyatma, He who dwells in the body).
3- What is action (Karma), O Purushottama? The offering which causes the origin of physical beings is called action (Karma).
4. And what is declared to be the physical region (Adhibhuta)? The physical region (Adhymata) is the perishable existence,
5- And what is the divine region (Adhidaiva) said to be? and Purusha or the Soul is the divine region (Adhidaivata).
6- And how and who is Adhiyajna (the Entity concerned with Sacrifice) here in this body, O Aladhusudana,
The Adhiyajna (Entity concerned with Sacrifice) is Myself, here in the body, O best of the embodied.
7- and how at the time of death art Thou to be known by the self-controlled? And whoso, at the time of death, thinking of Me alone, leaves the body and goes forth, he reaches My being ; there is no doubt in this.
The normal rule is that after death a person attains that state which is in his mind at the time of death. He cannot avoid it. Just as one dreams of things which are constantly in the mind while awake, whatever one longs for in life comes to the mind at the time of death and he attains that state. Therefore make a habit of always remembering Me. Consider that whatever you hear, think, see, speak is Me throughout, then I am always with you. I assure you that if you offer your mind and intellect to Me then you will attain only Me. If you any doubts about this then experience it by practising it.
Purify your conscious mind by this practice and lead it to the spiritual path. If the mind, which takes one here and there, gets engrossed in Brahman then who cares or remembers whether the body exists or not? The mind merges with Consciousness which is solid bliss. (Dnyaneshwari; 8:69-85, transl. M.R. Yardi)
It may be of interest to consider in this relation the declaration of the ancient sages that all Souls do not depart from the body in the same way. They hold that there are seven great plexi governing other minor ones, these represent channels through which influences are received or given. Each of these channels has its own direct relation to one of the seven divisions of the system, thus showing Man to have the possibility of conscious relation with all the divisions. From this it would follow that the predominating idea of any one life would necessitate departure through some particular channel leading to its own appropriate realm of freedom or bondage. Thus Man binds himself or frees himself by reason of his spiritual power—and his connection with every department and division of great Nature. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 151-52)
7. Therefore at all times do thou meditate on Me and fight : with mind and reason fixed on Me thou shalt doubtless come to Me alone.
Whether one is dead or alive one is in reality Brahman only. Those who attained Brahman while still in the body do not bother about the body or when it is going to die. Why do they have to bother about whether the path is good or bad. Therefore Arjuna, be equipped with Yoga so that you attain Brahman. Then it does not matter when and where you shed your body, the unification with Brahman will be eternal. (Dnyaneshwari; 8:238-257, transl. M.R. Yardi)
3- The Divine Being to be meditated upon. (8-10)
8. Meditating with the mind engaged in the Yoga of constant practice, not passing over to any thing else, one goes to the Supreme Purusha, the Resplendent, O son of Pritha.
Practice consists in the repetition of one and the same idea, uninterrupted by any other thought, with reference to Me, the sole object of your thought. Such a practice is itself said to be Yoga. With the mind thus solely engaged in Yoga, not passing over to any other object, the Yogin who meditates according to the teaching of the scripture and of the teacher—of the sastra and acharya—reaches the Purusha, the Transcendental Being in the Solar Orb. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
4- Meditation of the Divine in the Pranava. (11-13)
12-13. Having closed all the gates, having confined mind in the heart, having fixed his life-breath in the head, engaged in firm Yoga, uttering Brahman, the one-syllabled 'Om,' thinking of Me, whoso departs, leaving the body, he reaches the Supreme Goal.
Having closed all the avenues of knowledge and having concentrated thought in the lotus of the heart, and with thought thus controlled, he ascends by the Nadi which passes upwards from the heart, and then fixing life-breath in the head, he utters the syllable ' Om ', the appellation of the Brahman, and meditates on me-' Leaving the body shows the mode of departure. The departure takes place by the Self leaving the body, not by the Self being destroyed. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
14. Whoso constantly thinks of Me and long, to him I am easily accessible, O son of Pritha, to the ever-devout Yogin.
He who thinks of Me, the Supreme Lord, long — i. e., not for six months or a year, but uninterruptedly throughout life,—to that Yogin who is ever steadfast in thought, I am easily accessible. This being so, therefore, without thinking of another, one should ever dwell steadfast in Me. Having attained to Me, the Isvara, having reached My being, they are not again subject to birth. Birth here is the seat of all pain arising from the body, etc., and is of an everchanging nature. Having reached the highest stage called moksha, they do not attain birth again. Those, on the other hand, who do not attain to Me, return again (to the earth). (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
5- The Day and the Night of Brahma. (17-19)
17. They—those people who know day and night—know that the day of Brahma is a thousand yugas long and the night is a thousand yugas long.
The Unmanifested (Avyakta) is the sleeping condition of the Prajapati who is asleep. Out of That, all manifestations (vyaktis), all creatures, unmoving and moving (sthavara and jangama), are manifested at the coming on of day, i. e., when Brahma awakes. So, at the coming on of night, i. e., when Brahma goes to sleep, all the manifestations dissolve there only, in what is called Avyakta, the one already spoken of. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
21. What is called the Unmanifested and the Imperishable, That, they say, is the highest goal; which having reached none return.
That is My highest place. Purusha is so called because He rests in the body, or because He is full. Than Him none is higher. He is attained by exclusive devotion, i.e., by Jnana or knowledge of the Self. All the created beings abide within the Purusha; for, every effect rests within its cause ; and by that Purusha the whole world is pervaded. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
7- The Paths of Light and Darkness (23-27)
26. These bright and dark Paths of the world are verily deemed eternal; by the one a man goes to return not, by the other he returns again.
The one is bright because it illumines knowledge; the other is because it is wanting in that light. The two paths are open to those only in the world who are engaged in action or devoted to knowledg ; they are not open to the whole world. They are eternal, because samsara is eternal. By the one: by the bright one. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
8- Excellence of Yoga. (28)
28. Whatever fruit of merit is declared to accrue from the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities and gifts,—beyond all this goes the Yogin on knowing this ; and he attains to the Supreme Primeval Abode.
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