Chapter 8 : Aksara Brahma Yoga – अध्याय ८: अक्षरब्रह्मयोग

Arjuna said: O Supreme Person, what is that Brahman? What is the Self? What is action? What is called the material manifestation, and what is called the demigods?

Arjuna said: O Purushottama! What is that Brahman? What is the Self? What is action? What is called Adhibhuta and what is called Adhidaiva? ॥ 1 ॥

अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन । प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥

O Madhusudana! Who is Adhiyajna here? And how is he in this body? And how are you known at the time of death by men of restrained minds? ॥ 2 ॥

श्रीभगवानुवाच अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते । भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसञ्जितः ॥

The Supreme Lord said: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and its eternal nature is called the Self. Action pertaining to the development of these material bodies is called karma, or fruitive activities.

The Supreme Lord said: The supreme imperishable is 'Brahma', one's own form i.e. the soul is called 'Adhyatma' and the renunciation which gives rise to the feelings of beings is called 'Karma'. ॥ 3॥

अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् । अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ॥

O best of embodied beings, the physical nature, which is constantly changing, is called adhibhūta [the material manifestation]. The universal form of the Lord, which includes all demigods, like the sun and moon, is called adhidaiva. And I am the Lord, represented as the Supersoul in the heart of every embodied being, am called adhiyajña [the Lord of sacrifice].

All substances with the nature of origin and destruction are Adhibhuta, the golden Purusha is Adhidaiva and O best of embodied beings Arjuna! In this body, I, Vasudeva, am Adhiyajna in the form of the indwelling Lord. ॥ 4 ॥

अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्। यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥

And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

The man who leaves his body remembering Me alone even at the time of death attains My very nature - there is no doubt about this. ॥ 5 ॥

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् । तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.

O son of Kunti Arjuna! The man who leaves his body remembering whatever feeling at the time of death attains only that; because he has always been imbued with that feeling. ॥ 6 ॥

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च। मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ॥

Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

Therefore, O Arjuna! Remember Me constantly at all times and also fight. Thus, being endowed with a mind and intellect dedicated to Me, you will undoubtedly attain Me. ॥ 7 ॥

अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना । परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ॥

He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Arjuna, is sure to reach Me.

O Partha! It is a rule that a man who constantly contemplates the Supreme Effulgent Divine Person i.e. God with a mind that does not go elsewhere, endowed with the Yoga of practice of meditation on God, attains God alone. ॥ 8॥

कविं पुराणमनुशासितार- मणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप- मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥

One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is always a person, who is luminous like the sun, and who is transcendental, beyond this material nature.

The man who remembers the omniscient, beginningless, controller of all, subtler than the subtlest, sustainer of all, of inconceivable form, effulgent like the sun and beyond ignorance i.e. the pure, blissful and self-existent Supreme God. ॥ 9 ॥

प्रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव। ध्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक्- स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥

At the time of death, with mind unmoving, engaged in devotion and strength of yoga, setting life-air fully between the eyebrows, he attains to that Supreme Divine Person.

That devotee, even at the time of death, properly establishes the life-breath in the middle of the eyebrows by virtue of the power of Yoga, and then remembering Him with a steady mind, attains that Divine Supreme Person. ॥ 10 ॥

यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः । यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं सङ्ग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ॥

Persons who are learned in the Vedas, who utter oṁ-kāra, and who are great sages in the renounced order enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices celibacy. Now I shall briefly explain to you this process by which one may attain salvation.

I will briefly tell you about that supreme state which the knowers of the Vedas call imperishable, which ascetics freed from passion enter, and desiring which people practice celibacy. ॥ 11 ॥

सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च। मूर्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ॥
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् । यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥

The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sensual engagements. Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and then raising the life air to the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga.

After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable oṁ, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.

Restraining all the gates of the senses, confining the mind in the heart, then fixing the life-breath in the head by means of the conquered mind, remaining firm in the practice of Yoga, he who utters the single syllable 'Om' which is Brahma and remembers Me, while quitting the body, attains the supreme goal. ॥ 12-13 ॥

अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः । तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ॥

For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.

O Arjuna! I am easily attainable by that Yogi who is ever united with Me, who constantly remembers Me without thinking of anything else. ॥ 14 ॥

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् । नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धि परमां गताः ॥

After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.

Having attained Me, the great souls who have attained supreme perfection do not get rebirth which is an abode of misery and is transient. ॥ 15 ॥

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन । मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥

From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.

O Arjuna! All the worlds including the Brahmaloka are subject to return, but O son of Kunti! There is no rebirth after attaining Me; because I am beyond time and all these worlds of Brahma etc. are transient being limited by time. ॥ 16 ॥

सहस्त्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदुः । रात्रिं युगसहस्त्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥

By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahmā’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.

Those Yogis who know that the day of Brahma is of a thousand Yugas' duration and that his night is also of a thousand Yugas' duration, know the reality about day and night. ॥ 17 ॥

अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे। रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसञ्जके ॥

When Brahmā’s day appears, all living entities come into being from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again.

At the advent of Brahma's day, all animate and inanimate beings originate from the unmanifest i.e. from Brahma's subtle body and at the advent of Brahma's night, they merge into that unmanifest called Brahma's subtle body. ॥ 18 ॥

भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते। रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥

Again and again, when Brahmā’s day arrives, all living entities come into being; and with the arrival of Brahmā’s night, they are helplessly annihilated.

O Partha! This very multitude of beings, being born again and again, merges helplessly at the approach of night and comes forth again at the approach of day. ॥ 19 ॥

पस्स्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः । यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ॥

Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.

But distinct from that unmanifest, there exists another unmanifest eternal Being, who is not destroyed even when all beings are destroyed. ॥ 20 ॥

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् । यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥

That which the Vedāntists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns – that is My supreme abode.

That which is called the unmanifest, the imperishable, that they say is the supreme goal; attaining which they do not return, that is My supreme abode. ॥ 21 ॥

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया। यस्यान्तः स्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.

O Partha! That Supreme Purusha, within whom all beings reside and by whom all this is pervaded, is attainable by single-minded devotion. ॥ 22 ॥

यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्ति चैव योगिनः । प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ।

O best of the Bhāratas, I shall now explain to you the different times at which, passing away from this world, one does or does not come back.

O Arjuna! I will tell you about that time in which Yogis departing from this world attain freedom from return and also that in which they return. ॥ 23 ॥

अग्निज्र्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम्। तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः ॥

Those who know the Supreme Brahman pass away from the world during the influence of the fiery god, in the light, at an auspicious moment of the day, during the fortnight of the waxing moon, or during the six months when the sun travels in the north.

Those knowers of Brahma who depart by the path in which the deity of fire, the deity of light, the deity of daytime, the deity of the bright fortnight and the deities presiding over the six months of the northern solstice, lead them, attain Brahma. ॥ 24॥

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् । तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥

The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, at night, during the fortnight of the waning moon, or during the six months when the sun passes to the south, reaches the moon planet but again comes back.

The Yogi who dies by the path wherein the deities of smoke, night, the dark fortnight and the deities presiding over the six months of the southern solstice lead, attains the lunar light and returns. ॥ 25 ॥

शुक्लकृष्णे गती होते जगतः शाश्वते मते। एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥

According to Vedic opinion, there are two ways of passing from this world – one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns.

These two paths, the bright and the dark, are considered to be the world's two eternal paths; proceeding by one, one does not return; while proceeding by the other, one returns again. ॥ 26 ॥

नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन। तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन ॥

Although the devotees know these two paths, O Arjuna, they are never bewildered. Therefore be always fixed in devotion.

O Partha! Knowing these two paths, no Yogi is deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna! Be constantly endowed with Yoga at all times i.e. be constantly engaged in the practice for My attainment. ॥ 27 ॥

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् । अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम् ॥

The person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, undergoing austerities, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. Simply by performing devotional service, he attains all these, and at the end he reaches the supreme eternal abode.

The Yogi, knowing this secret, transcends all the fruits of meritorious deeds that are declared in the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities and charities and attains the supreme primeval state. ॥ 28 ॥

Om Tat Sat iti Srimad Bhagavadgitasu Upanishatsu Brahmavidyayam Yogashastre Sri Krishna Arjuna Samvade Aksharabrahmayogo Namashtamodhyayah ॥ 8 ॥