BG 8: Attaining the Supreme

BG 8: Attaining the Supreme

1

arjuna uvāca

kiḿ tad brahma kim adhyātmaḿ

kiḿ karma puruṣottama

adhibhūtaḿ ca kiḿ proktam

adhidaivaḿ kim ucyate

TRANSLATION
Arjuna inquired: O my Lord, O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the self? What are fruitive activities? What is this material manifestation? And what are the demigods? Please explain this to me.

2

adhiyajñaḥ kathaḿ ko 'tra

dehe 'smin madhusūdana

prayāṇa-kāle ca kathaḿ

jñeyo 'si niyatātmabhiḥ

TRANSLATION
Who is the Lord of sacrifice, and how does He live in the body, O Madhusūdana? And how can those engaged in devotional service know You at the time of death?

3

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

akṣaraḿ brahma paramaḿ

svabhāvo 'dhyātmam ucyate

bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo

visargaḥ karma-saḿjñitaḥ

TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called adhyātma, the self. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called karma, or fruitive activities.

4

adhibhūtaḿ kṣaro bhāvaḥ

puruṣaś cādhidaivatam

adhiyajño 'ham evātra

dehe deha-bhṛtāḿ vara

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

5

anta-kāle ca mām eva

smaran muktvā kalevaram

yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaḿ

yāti nāsty atra saḿśayaḥ

TRANSLATION
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.

6

yaḿ yaḿ vāpi smaran bhāvaḿ

tyajaty ante kalevaram

taḿ tam evaiti kaunteya

sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ

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

7

tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu

mām anusmara yudhya ca

mayy arpita-mano-buddhir

mām evaiṣyasy asaḿśayaḥ

TRANSLATION
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.

8

abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena

cetasā nānya-gāminā

paramaḿ puruṣaḿ divyaḿ

yāti pārthānucintayan

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

9

kaviḿ purāṇam anuśāsitāram

aṇor aṇīyāḿsam anusmared yaḥ

sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam

āditya-varṇaḿ tamasaḥ parastāt

TRANSLATION
One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is 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 inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun, and He is transcendental, beyond this material nature.

10

prayāṇa-kāle manasācalena

bhaktyā yukto yoga-balena caiva

bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak

sa taḿ paraḿ puruṣam upaiti divyam

TRANSLATION
One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows and, by the strength of yoga, with an undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord in full devotion, will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

11

yad akṣaraḿ veda-vido vadanti

viśanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ

yad icchanto brahmacaryaḿ caranti

tat te padaḿ sańgraheṇa pravakṣye

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

12

sarva-dvārāṇi saḿyamya

mano hṛdi nirudhya ca

mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam

āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām

TRANSLATION
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 the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga.

13

oḿ ity ekākṣaraḿ brahma

vyāharan mām anusmaran

yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaḿ

sa yāti paramāḿ gatim

TRANSLATION
After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable oḿ, 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.

14

ananya-cetāḥ satataḿ

yo māḿ smarati nityaśaḥ

tasyāhaḿ sulabhaḥ pārtha

nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ

TRANSLATION
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.

15

mām upetya punar janma

duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam

nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ

saḿsiddhiḿ paramāḿ gatāḥ

TRANSLATION
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.

16

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ

punar āvartino 'rjuna

mām upetya tu kaunteya

punar janma na vidyate

TRANSLATION
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.

17

sahasra-yuga-paryantam

ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ

rātriḿ yuga-sahasrāntāḿ

te 'ho-rātra-vido janāḥ

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

18

avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ

prabhavanty ahar-āgame

rātry-āgame pralīyante

tatraivāvyakta-saḿjñake

TRANSLATION
At the beginning of Brahmā's day, all living entities become manifest from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again.

19

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaḿ

bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate

rātry-āgame 'vaśaḥ pārtha

prabhavaty ahar-āgame

TRANSLATION
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.

20

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo

'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ

yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu

naśyatsu na vinaśyati

TRANSLATION
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.

21

avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas

tam āhuḥ paramāḿ gatim

yaḿ prāpya na nivartante

tad dhāma paramaḿ mama

TRANSLATION
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.

22

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha

bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā

yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni

yena sarvam idaḿ tatam

TRANSLATION
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.

23

yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim

āvṛttiḿ caiva yoginaḥ

prayātā yānti taḿ kālaḿ

vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha

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

24

agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam

tatra prayātā gacchanti

brahma brahma-vido janāḥ

TRANSLATION
Those who know the Supreme Brahman attain that Supreme by passing 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.

25

dhūmo rātris tathā kṛṣṇaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam

tatra cāndramasaḿ jyotir

yogī prāpya nivartate

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

26

śukla-kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete

jagataḥ śāśvate mate

ekayā yāty anāvṛttim

anyayāvartate punaḥ

TRANSLATION
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.

27

naite sṛtī pārtha jānan

yogī muhyati kaścana

tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu

yoga-yukto bhavārjuna

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

28

vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva

dāneṣu yat puṇya-phalaḿ pradiṣṭam

atyeti tat sarvam idaḿ viditvā

yogī paraḿ sthānam upaiti cādyam

TRANSLATION
A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, 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.