🕉️ Akshara Brahma Yoga (Akṣhar Brahma Yog)

अर्जुन उवाच | किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम | अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ||८-१||

arjuna uvāca . kiṃ tad brahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama . adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktamadhidaivaṃ kimucyate ||8-1||

Sri Ramanuja did not comment on this sloka

अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन | प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ||८-२||

adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko.atra dehe.asminmadhusūdana . prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo.asi niyatātmabhiḥ ||8-2||

8.1 8.2 Arjuna said What are that brahman, Adhyatma and Karma which have been mentioned as what should be known by those who aspire for release from old age and death while they take refuge with the Lord? What are Adhibuta and Adhidaiva, which should be known by the aspirants for wealth? Who is Adhiyajna that is to be known by the three groups as their dying hour. In what manner are You to be known by these three groups who are self-controlled?

श्रीभगवानुवाच | अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते | भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ||८-३||

śrībhagavānuvāca . akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo.adhyātmamucyate . bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṃjñitaḥ ||8-3||

8.3 The Lord said That which is the Supreme Imperishable (Aksara) has been named 'that brahman' The Aksara is that which cannot be destroyed and forms the totality of all individual selves. The Srutis say to this effect: 'The Avyakta is dissolved into the Aksara, the Aksara is dissolved into Tamas' (Su. U., 2). The supreme Aksara is the essential form of the self, separated from Prakrti. One's own material nature (the body) is spoken of as Adhyatma or that which dwells with the self. This material nature (Svabhava) is Prakrti. It does not form the self but attaches itself to the self in the form of subtle elements, impressions etc. This has been taught in the Vidya of Five Fires (Cha. U., 5). Both these (the Aksara and the Adhyatma) should be known by the aspirants for liberation (Kaivalya) - the former as what should be attained and the latter as what should be relinished. Karma is that force which produces the origination of mundane beings. 'Beings' here means beings such as the human beings. The creative force which produces their origination is contact with woman. It has been described in the Sruti passage thus: 'The waters sacrificed in the fifth oblations become those who are named Purusas' (Cha. U., 5.3.3). That creative force is called Karma. All the acts associated with that should be considered by aspirants after release as calling for abstention. This abstention will also be inculcated immediately in the text, 'Desiring which they practise the vow of continence' (8.11).

अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् | अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ||८-४||

adhibhūtaṃ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam . adhiyajño.ahamevātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara ||8-4||

8.4 The perishable existences which have been declared as fit to be known by the seekers of wealth, power etc., form the Adhibhuta. They are superior material entities that remain in ether or space and other elements. They are the evolutes of material elements and are perishable in their nature. They are also of the nature of sound, touch etc., supported by their basic subtle elements but different from, and finer than, ordinary sound etc., and are of many kinds. Sound, touch, form, taste and smell on this kind, which are manifold and rooted in their several bases, are to be gained by the seekers after prosperity and should be contemplated upon by them. Adhidaivata connotes Purusa. The Purusa is superior to divinities like Indra, Prajapati and others, and is the experiencer of sound etc., which are different from, and superior to, the multitude of enjoyments of Indra, Prajapati etc. The condition of being such an enjoyer is to be contemplated upon by the seekers after prosperity, as the end to be attained. I alone am connoted by the term Adhiyajna (sacrifice). Adhiyajna denotes one who is propitiated in sacrifices. Indra and others, to whom sacrifices are made, form My body. I dwell as their Self and I alone am the object of worship by sacrifice. In this manner the three groups of alified devotees should contemplate at the time of the practice of periodical and occasional rituals like the great sacrificies. This is also common to all the three groups of devotees.

अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् | यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ||८-५||

antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram . yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ ||8-5||

8.5 He who, at the last moment, while leaving the body, departs remembering Me alone, attains My being; he attains My condition. In whatever way he meditates on Me, he attains that very form, in the same manner as the royal sage Bharata attained the form of the deer remembered by him at death. Such is the meaning. Sri Krsna further elucidates that it is the nature of one's last thought that leads to the attainment of a similar form by the meditator:

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् | तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ||८-६||

yaṃ yaṃ vāpi smaranbhāvaṃ tyajatyante kalevaram . taṃ tamevaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ ||8-6||

8.6 'At the end,' at the time of death, remembering whatsoever thought one abandones the body, to that alone one goes after death. The final thought arises only with reference to objects pervioulsy ruminated upon in one's thought. As the final thought results only about an object previously contemplated upon,

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च | मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयः (orसंशयम्) ||८-७||

tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmara yudhya ca . mayyarpitamanobuddhirmāmevaiṣyasyasaṃśayaḥ ||8-7||

8.7 Therefore, at all times, until your departure, remember Me, day after day. Engage yourself in actions appropriate to your station and stage in life, which would make you remember Me. These actions are prescribed by the Srutis and Smrtis and comprise the periodical and occasional rites. Thus, by this means, with your mind and intellect set on Me, you will remember Me at the time of death and thus attain to Me in the manner desired by you. There is no doubt about this. Thus, having laid down the common principle that the attainment of one's end is dependent on one's last thought, Sri Krsna proceeds to describe different modes of contemplation (Upasana) to be practised by the three groups of devotees for aciring their objectives. Of these, he first speaks about the modes of contemplation to be adopted by the seekers of enjoyments and power and the type of the last thought consistent with their contemplation.

अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना | परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ||८-८||

orsaṃśayama abhyāsayogayuktena cetasā nānyagāminā . paramaṃ puruṣaṃ divyaṃ yāti pārthānucintayan ||8-8||

8.8 Contemplating on Me, the Supreme Divine Person, in the way to be specified further, at the last moment, with a mind trained by constant practice and Yoga, and not moving towards anything else, one reaches Me alone, i.e., attains a form similar to that of Mine, by virtue of the attributes of enjoyment and the prosperity contemplated upon, like the royal sage Bharata who acired the form of a deer on account of contemplating on it at the last moment. Abhyasa is the training of the mind to be often in touch with the object of meditation at all times without obstruction to the performance of the prescribed periodical and occasional rituals. Yoga is the meditation practised day by day at the time of Yoga practice in the manner prescribed.

कविं पुराणमनुशासितार- मणोरणीयंसमनुस्मरेद्यः | सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप- मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ||८-९||

kaviṃ purāṇamanuśāsitāraṃ aṇoraṇīyaṃsamanusmaredyaḥ . sarvasya dhātāramacintyarūpaṃ ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt ||8-9||

8.9 - 8.10 He who focusses his life-breath between the eyrows at the time of death with a mind rendered unswerving through its purification achieved by the strength of Yoga conjoined with Bhakti practised day after day; and he who contemplates on the 'Kavi' i.e., the Omniscient, the 'Primeval', i.e., who existed always, 'the Ruler,' i.e., who governs the universe, 'who is subtler than the subtle,' i.e., who is subtler than the individual self, 'who is the Dhata' of all, i.e., the creator of all, 'whose nature is inconceivable,' i.e., whose nature is other than everything else, 'who is sun-coloured and beyond darkness,' i.e., who possesses a divine form peculiar to Himself - he who concentrates on Him, the Divine Person described above, between the eyrows, attains Him alone. He attains His state and comes to have power and glory similar to His. Such is the meaning. Then He describes the mode of meditation to be adopted by the seeker of Kaivalya or the Jijnasu (i.e., of one who seeks to know his own self or Atman in contrast to one whose object is God-realisation).

प्रयाणकाले मनसाऽचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव | भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ||८-१०||

prayāṇakāle manasā.acalena bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva . bhruvormadhye prāṇamāveśya samyak sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣamupaiti divyam ||8-10||

8.9 - 8.10 He who focusses his life-breath between the eyrows at the time of death with a mind rendered unswerving through its purification achieved by the strength of Yoga conjoined with Bhakti practised day after day; and he who contemplates on the 'Kavi' i.e., the Omniscient, the 'Primeval', i.e., who existed always, 'the Ruler,' i.e., who governs the universe, 'who is subtler than the subtle,' i.e., who is subtler than the individual self, 'who is the Dhata' of all, i.e., the creator of all, 'whose nature is inconceivable,' i.e., whose nature is other than everything else, 'who is sun-coloured and beyond darkness,' i.e., who possesses a divine form peculiar to Himself - he who concentrates on Him, the Divine Person described above, between the eyrows, attains Him alone. He attains His state and comes to have power and glory similar to His. Such is the meaning. Then He describes the mode of meditation to be adopted by the seeker of Kaivalya or the Jijnasu (i.e., of one who seeks to know his own self or Atman in contrast to one whose object is God-realisation).

यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः | यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ||८-११||

yadakṣaraṃ vedavido vadanti viśanti yadyatayo vītarāgāḥ . yadicchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti tatte padaṃ saṃgraheṇa pravakṣye ||8-11||

8.11 I shall show you briefly that goal which the knowers of the Veda call 'the imperishable,' i.e., as endowed with attributes like non-grossness etc., - that imperishable which 'the ascetics freed from passion enter'; that imperishable 'desiring to attain which men practise continence'. What is attained by the mind as its goal is called 'pada'. I shall tell you briefly My essential nature which is beyond all description and which is explained in the whole of Vedanta and which is to be meditated upon. Such is the meaning.

सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च | मूध्न्यार्धायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ||८-१२||

sarvadvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca . mūdhnyā^^rdhāyātmanaḥ prāṇamāsthito yogadhāraṇām ||8-12||

8.12 - 8.13 Subduing all the senses like ear etc., which constitute the 'doorways' for sense impressions, i.e., withdrawing them from their natural functions; holding the mind in Me, the imperishable 'seated within the lotus of the heart'; practising 'steady abstraction of mind (Dharana) which is called concentration or Yoga,' i.e., abiding in Me alone in a steady manner; uttering the sacred 'syllable Om,' the brahman which connotes Me; remembering Me, who am expressed by the syllable Om; and fixing his 'life-breath within the head' - whosoever abandons the body and departs in this way reaches the highest state. He reaches the pure self freed from Prakrti, which is akin to My form. From that state there is no return. Such is the meaning. Later on Sri Krsna will elucidate: 'They describe that as the highest goal of the Atman, which is not destroyed when all things are destroyed, which is unmanifest and imperishable' (8.2021). Thus, the modes of contemplation on the Lord by the aspirants after prosperity and Kaivalya (Atmann-consciousness) have been taught according to the goal they lead to. Now, Sri Krsna teaches the way of meditation on the Lord by the Jnanin and the mode of attainment by him.

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् | यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ||८-१३||

omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran . yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim ||8-13||

8.12 - 8.13 Subduing all the senses like ear etc., which constitute the 'doorways' for sense impressions, i.e., withdrawing them from their natural functions; holding the mind in Me, the imperishable 'seated within the lotus of the heart'; practising 'steady abstraction of mind (Dharana) which is called concentration or Yoga,' i.e., abiding in Me alone in a steady manner; uttering the sacred 'syllable Om,' the brahman which connotes Me; remembering Me, who am expressed by the syllable Om; and fixing his 'life-breath within the head' - whosoever abandons the body and departs in this way reaches the highest state. He reaches the pure self freed from Prakrti, which is akin to My form. From that state there is no return. Such is the meaning. Later on Sri Krsna will elucidate: 'They describe that as the highest goal of the Atman, which is not destroyed when all things are destroyed, which is unmanifest and imperishable' (8.2021). Thus, the modes of contemplation on the Lord by the aspirants after prosperity and Kaivalya (Atmann-consciousness) have been taught according to the goal they lead to. Now, Sri Krsna teaches the way of meditation on the Lord by the Jnanin and the mode of attainment by him.

अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः | तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ||८-१४||

ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ . tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ ||8-14||

8.14 I am easy to access to that Yogin who is 'ever integrated with Me,' i.e., who wants constant contact with Me, who recollects Me; and whose mind is not in 'anything else without break' (Nityasah), i.e., at the time of meditation and also during all other times (Satatam). As I am exceedingly dear to him, he is unable to sustain himself without remembering Me and cherishing My memory which is incomparably dear to him. I am the only object he wants to attain and not any mode of My being like sovereignty, etc. I Myself grant him the capacity to attain full maturity in devotional practice necessary for attaining Me - namely, the annulment of all obstacles and the establishment of the state of mind that renders Me exceedingly dear to oneself. The Sruti also says: 'He whom this (Self) chooses, by him He can be obtained' (Mun. U., 3.2.3 and Ka. U., 2.22). And Sri Krsna Himself will teach: "To those, ceaselessly united, who worship Me, I bestow that discernment by which they come to Me. Out of mercy for them, I, abiding in their heart, dispel the darkness born of ignorance, by the brilliant lamp of knowledge" (10.10;11). In the remaining part of this chapter, He teaches that the Jnanis and the aspirants after Kaivalya do not deturn, and that the seekers after power and prosperity return.

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् | नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ||८-१५||

māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam . nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ ||8-15||

8.15 Having attained Me, they are not subject to rirth, which leads to a condition that is transient and an abode of sorrow. These great souls, i.e., men of noble minds, worship and attains Me as the sorrow object of attainment; because they possess knowledge of My essential nature as it really is; they are unable to maintain or sustain themselves without Me, as I am exceedingly dear to them. With their minds deeply attached to Me and completely dependent on Me, they reach Me as the supreme goal. Sri Krsna next teaches the reason for the return to Samsara of those aspirants for Aisvarya (prosperity) and for the non-return to Samsara of those who have reached the Lord:

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन | मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ||८-१६||

ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino.arjuna . māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||8-16||

8.16 All the worlds, from the realm of Brahma included in the Brahmanda (cosmic sphere), are spheres in which experiences conferring Aisvarya (prosperity and power) can be obtained. But they are destructible and those who attain them are subject to return. Therefore destruction, i.e., return is unavoidable for the aspirants for Aisvarya, as the regions where it is attained perish. On the contrary there is no rirth to those who attain Me, the Omniscient, who has true resolves, whose sport is creation, sustentation and dissolution of the entire universe, who is supremely compassionate and who is always of the same form. For these reasons there is no destruction in the case of those who attain Me. He now elucidates the time-period settled by the Supreme Person's will in regard to the evolution and dissolution of the worlds upto the cosmic sphere of Brahma and of those who are within them.

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः | रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ||८-१७||

sahasrayugaparyantamaharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ . rātriṃ yugasahasrāntāṃ te.ahorātravido janāḥ ||8-17||

8.17 These men who know the order of the day and night as established by My will in regard to all beings, beginning with man and ending with Brahma - they understand that what forms Brahma's day is a unit comprising in it a thousand periods of four Yugas (Catur-yugas) and anight is a unit of eal duration.

अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे | रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके ||८-१८||

avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyaharāgame . rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyaktasaṃjñake ||8-18||

8.18 Thus, at the dawn of a day of Brahma, the manifest entities existing in the three worlds, possessing body, senses, objects, and places of enjoyment appear from the non-manifest (Avyakta), which is the condition of Brahma's body in that state, and at the beginning of the night they are dissolved into the condition of the unevolved (Avyakta) which forms the body of Brahma then.

भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते | रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ||८-१९||

bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate . rātryāgame.avaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame ||8-19||

8.19 The same multitude of beings, controlled by Karma, evolves again and again, undergoing dissolution at the coming of night. Again at the coming of the day it comes forth. Similarly, at the end of the life span of Brahma which consists of a hundred years of three hundred and sixty days each, each Brahma-day being a thousand Caturyugas, all the worlds including that of Brahma and Brahma himself dissolve into Me in accordance with the order thus described in the Srutis: 'The earth is dissolved into the waters, the waters are dissolved into light' etc., (Su. U., 2). The process of involution ends, after passing through all the other stages of dissolution, with the Avyakta, Akasa and Tamas. Therefore, for every other entity except Myself, origination and annihilation are unavoidable. So for those who seek Aisvarya (prosperity and power) birth and dissolution according to the above mentioned time arrangement are unavoidable. But in the case of those who attain to Me, there is no return again to Samsara. [The immense duration of time, according to ancient thinkers, is as follows: Catur-yuga, or a unit of the four yugas of Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, has a cumulative duration of 4,320,000 human years. A thousand such periods constitute a day time of Brahma and a similar period his night. Periodic creation and dissolution of the universe take place in these two periods respectively. One year of Brahma consists of 360 such diurnal period. A Brahma has a life-span of 100 such years - i.e., 311, 040, 000,000,000 human years. At the end of it, there is a Mahapralaya, and a new Brahma comes into being. Time thus goes on endlessly]. Now Sri Krsna teaches that there is no return to Samsara even for those who have attained Kaivalya (isolation of the self).

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः | यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ||८-२०||

parastasmāttu bhāvo.anyo.avyakto.avyaktātsanātanaḥ . yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati ||8-20||

8.20 - 8.21 Superior, as an object of human end, to this unmanifest (Avyakta), which is inanimate Prakrti, there is another state of being, of a kind different from this, but also called Avyakta. It has only knowledge-form and is also unmanifest. It is the self, Atman. It is unmanifest because It cannot be apprehended by any means of knowledge (Pramanas). The meaning is that Its nature is unie and that It can be known only to Itself. That is, It can be understood only vaguely in the ordinary ways of knowing. It is eternal, namely, ever-enduring, because It is not subject to origination and annihilation. In texts like 'For those who meditate on the imperishable, undefinable, the unmanifest' (12.3) and 'The imperishable is called the unchanging' (15.16) - that being the self. It has been called the unmanifest (Avyakta) and imperishable (Aksara); when all material elements like ether, etc., with their causes and effects are annihilated, the self is not annihilated in spite of It being found alone with all the elements. [The elements are what constitute the bodies of beings.] The knowers of the Vedas declare It as the highest end. The meaning is that the imperishable entity which has been denoted by the term 'highest goal' in the passage, 'Whosoever abandons the body and departs (in the manner described) reaches the highest state (Dhama)' (8.13), is the self (Atman) abiding in Its essential nature free from the contact with the Prakrti. This self, which abides thus in Its essential nature, by attaining which It does not return, - this is My 'highest abode,' i.e., is the highest object of My control. The inanimate Prakrti is one object of My control. The animate Prakrti associated with this inanimate Prakrti is the second object of My control. The pristine nature of the freed self, free from contact with inanimate matter, is the highest object of My rule. Such is the meaning. This state is also one of non-return to Samsara. Or the term 'dhama' may signify 'luminosity'. And luminosity connotes knowledge. The essential nature of the freed self is boundless knowledge, or supreme light, which stands in contrast to the shrunken knowledge of the self, when involved in Prakrti. [The description given above is that of Kaivalya, the state of self-luminous existence as the pure self]. Sri Krsna now teaches that the object of attainment for the Jnanin, is totally different from this:

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् | यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ||८-२१||

avyakto.akṣara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim . yaṃ prāpya na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ||8-21||

8.20 - 8.21 Superior, as an object of human end, to this unmanifest (Avyakta), which is inanimate Prakrti, there is another state of being, of a kind different from this, but also called Avyakta. It has only knowledge-form and is also unmanifest. It is the self, Atman. It is unmanifest because It cannot be apprehended by any means of knowledge (Pramanas). The meaning is that Its nature is unie and that It can be known only to Itself. That is, It can be understood only vaguely in the ordinary ways of knowing. It is eternal, namely, ever-enduring, because It is not subject to origination and annihilation. In texts like 'For those who meditate on the imperishable, undefinable, the unmanifest' (12.3) and 'The imperishable is called the unchanging' (15.16) - that being the self. It has been called the unmanifest (Avyakta) and imperishable (Aksara); when all material elements like ether, etc., with their causes and effects are annihilated, the self is not annihilated in spite of It being found alone with all the elements. [The elements are what constitute the bodies of beings.] The knowers of the Vedas declare It as the highest end. The meaning is that the imperishable entity which has been denoted by the term 'highest goal' in the passage, 'Whosoever abandons the body and departs (in the manner described) reaches the highest state (Dhama)' (8.13), is the self (Atman) abiding in Its essential nature free from the contact with the Prakrti. This self, which abides thus in Its essential nature, by attaining which It does not return, - this is My 'highest abode,' i.e., is the highest object of My control. The inanimate Prakrti is one object of My control. The animate Prakrti associated with this inanimate Prakrti is the second object of My control. The pristine nature of the freed self, free from contact with inanimate matter, is the highest object of My rule. Such is the meaning. This state is also one of non-return to Samsara. Or the term 'dhama' may signify 'luminosity'. And luminosity connotes knowledge. The essential nature of the freed self is boundless knowledge, or supreme light, which stands in contrast to the shrunken knowledge of the self, when involved in Prakrti. [The description given above is that of Kaivalya, the state of self-luminous existence as the pure self]. Sri Krsna now teaches that the object of attainment for the Jnanin, is totally different from this:

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया | यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ||८-२२||

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyastvananyayā . yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvamidaṃ tatam ||8-22||

8.22 That Supreme Person has been declared in such texts as 'There is nothing higher than Myself, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, as rows of gems are on a thread' (7.7), and 'Who am beyond them and immutable' (7.13) - He is the Supreme Person in whom all beings abide and by whom all this is pervaded. He is to be attained by undivided devotion as described in 'Whose mind is not in anything else' (8.14). Now, Sri Krsna teaches the 'path of light,' described in the Srutis which is common to the knowers of the true nature of the self and to the persons who are devoted to the Supreme Person. The nature of this path is alified as one of 'non-return to Samsara.' In the case of a person journeying through the 'path of light,' as described in the text of the worship of Five Fires is as follows: 'So those who know It (i.e., the eternal nature of the individual self) thus, as taught in the Vidya of the Five Fires, and those too who worhip in the forest with faith and Tapas go to the deity ruling over the rays of light, and from there to the deity of the day' (Cha. U., 5.10.1). The attainment of the Supreme Brahman and the non-return to birth are declared with reference to those who go by the path of light, etc., by the teaching that 'He the Supreme Being leads them to Brahman ৷৷. Those who reach by this path do not return to the (wordly) life of man' (Cha. U., 4.15.5). This declaration of the goal in the text, 'Those who know it thus etc.,' is not with reference to the attainment of the Atman which constitutes ony the limb of the science of Brahman as taught in the beginning of Prajapati's teaching. For there will then arise purposelessness for the separate teaching of the same in regard to the principal science of the Supreme in the text. 'Those who are in the forest worship by means of faith and austerity etc.,' (Cha. U., 5.10.1). It is taught in the Vidya (meditation) of Five Fires: 'Thus, indeed, in the fifth oblation the waters become Purusa' (Cha. U., 5.9.1) and 'Those with a balance of good Karmas ৷৷. and those with a balance of bad Karmas' (Ibid., 5.10.7). What is to be understood here is that the state of existence as men and other beings, which has its origin in good and evil Karmas, refer to the 'waters' which alone are mixed with other elements (i.e., to the body-mind); as for the self, there is only contact with them and not identification. Thus, is declared the difference between intelligent self and inanimate matter. Then, by the texts, 'Those who know this' (Ibid., 5.10.1), 'Those who go to the rays of light' (Ibid.), and 'They who proceed by it return not to the human condition here,' it is instructed that those who know this concerning the sentient and inanimate entities - the one to be attained and the other to be rejected , they jourey along the path described by the terms 'beginning with light and do not return to Samsara'. On account of the passage, 'He leads them to the Brahman' (Ibid., 4.15.5), which holds that the Brahman is attained by both the knower of real nature of the self and the devotees of the Supreme Person and also because of the axiom of 'results according to efforts' (Tat-kratu-nyaya), the entity self, separated from the inanimate matter, should be constantly meditated upon as having its sole joy in absolute subservience to the Supreme Brahman who is Its self. The self's nature of finding only joy consists in absolute subservience to the Surpeme Person. This is proved from the Srutis like 'He who dwells within the self ৷৷. whose body is the self' (Sa. Bra., 14.6.5.5.30).

यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ||८-२३||

yatra kāle tvanāvṛttimāvṛttiṃ caiva yoginaḥ . prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha ||8-23||

8.23 - 8.24 Here, the term 'time' denotes a path, having many deities beginning with day and ending with year. The deities preside over divisions of time. The meaning is - I declare to you the path departing in which Yogins do not return and also the path departing in which the doers of good actions return. By the clause, 'Light in the form of fire, the day, bright fortnight, six months of the northern course,' year also is denoted.

अग्निर्जोतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् | तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः ||८-२४||

agnirjotirahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam . tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ ||8-24||

8.23 - 8.24 Here, the term 'time' denotes a path, having many deities beginning with day and ending with year. The deities preside over divisions of time. The meaning is - I declare to you the path departing in which Yogins do not return and also the path departing in which the doers of good actions return. By the clause, 'Light in the form of fire, the day, bright fortnight, six months of the northern course,' year also is denoted.

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् | तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ||८-२५||

dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam . tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotiryogī prāpya nivartate ||8-25||

8.25 This denotes the world of the manes etc., described by the term 'starting with smoke.' Here the term Yogin connotes one associated with good actions.

शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते | एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ||८-२६||

śuklakṛṣṇe gatī hyete jagataḥ śāśvate mate . ekayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayāvartate punaḥ ||8-26||

8.26 The bright path is characterised by the terms 'starting with light.' The dark path is characterised by the 'terms starting with smoke.' By the bright path a man goes to the plane of no-return, but he who goes by the dark path returns again. In the Sruti both the bright and dark paths are said to be eternal in relation to Jnanis and doers of good actions of many kinds. This is corroborated in the text: 'Those who know this and those who worship with faith do Tapas in the forest etc., they go to the light' (Cha. U., 5.10.1), and 'But those who in the village perform Vedic and secular acts of a meritorious nature and the giving of alms - they pass to the smoke' (ibid., 5.10.3).

नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन | तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन ||८-२७||

naite sṛtī pārtha jānanyogī muhyati kaścana . tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna ||8-27||

8.27 Having known these two paths, no Yogin is deluded. On the contrary, he goes by the path of gods, his own path. Therefore, be integrated every day with Yoga called meditation on the path described by the terms starting with light. Next Sri Krsna speaks of the fruit of knowing the import of the Sastras, as taught in the two chapters 7 and 8.

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् | अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम् ||८-२८||

vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva dāneṣu yatpuṇyaphalaṃ pradiṣṭam . atyeti tatsarvamidaṃ viditvā yogī paraṃ sthānamupaiti cādyam ||8-28||

8.28 Whatever fruit is said to accrue for meritorious actions in the form of the regular study of the Vedas Rg, Yajus, Saman and Atharvan as also for the performance of sacrifices, austerities, gifts - all these does not transcend on knowing this, namely the greatness of the Lord as taught in the two chapters (7 and 8). By immense joy arising from the knowledge of this, he regards all these results as negligible as straw. Be being a Yogin, viz., a Jnanin, he reaches the supreme, primal abode which is without beginning and is attainable by such a Jnanin.