Arjuna addresses Lord Krishna; O Krishna! What is the Brahman (Cosmic Spirit)? What is the Spirit? What is action? What is the realm of the elements? What is the realm of the Gods? (VIII; 1)
What is the realm of sacrifice in this body? How does the one adept in self-control know you at the time of departure from the body? (VIII;2)
Lord Krishna responds:
The Supreme word is Brahman (Cosmic Spirit). Its innate nature is called the Spirit. In man the catalyst that triggers sacrifice is Karma. (VIII;3)
It may be observed that, for some mysterious reason, Lord Krishna does not explain the realm of the Gods. However, references can be found in ancient scriptures that speak of the incarnation of Lord Rama, who predated Lord Krishna by 2000 years.
Furthermore, the seven hundred verses of Markandeya Purana draw the vision of ultimate reality in the universe in the persona of the Mother Goddess. Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes identifies certain figures within the collective unconscious that provide cultural and mythological archetypes. Like all Jungian archetypes, the Mother Goddess is fundamental to our consciousness and reflects in our heart as motherly love.
According to ancient prophecies, the power of Kalki would manifest in modern times to destroy evil. In ancient times, Satan was an open identity, but today, he has assumed the subtle form of perversions that have entered the human brain.
The Cosmic Spirit is the all-pervading power of Divine love. Shri Adi Shankaracharya elucidates its multiple dimensions as being unsupported, eternal, indivisible, indestructible, causeless, the cause of all causes, undifferentiated, unborn, deathless, the supreme creator, the greatest bliss, the ultimate power, immeasurable, and timeless.
If there is an address of the supreme creator, it is the Spirit. If there is an address of the Spirit, it is a place remembered within.
O Arjuna! The bedrock of all created beings is the transient nature, the bedrock of the divine elements is the Cosmic Spirit, the bedrock of all sacrifices in this body is myself.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 4)
Just as the blueprint of the Divine is encoded in the Spirit, likewise, the blueprint of the Spirit is encoded in the cell. Hence, whatever sacrifices we make source from the Divine. It goes to show that there is nothing in the world that is not of Divine origin.
At the time of death, the one who leaves his body with his attention absorbed in me, abides in me, of this there is no doubt.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 5)
Where there is time, death is inevitable. But ironically, we do not prepare for it. However, it is possible to prepare for it. For instance, the one who dies while living never dies. That is, as his ego dies, his Spirit comes alive, and the Spirit never dies.
Thus, if our attention rests on the Spirit at the time of leaving the body, then in the afterlife, we abide in the Cosmic Spirit.
O Arjuna! On whatever his attention rests at the time of departure from his body, to the same being he attains.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 6)
Our next birth is determined by our attention at the time of death. Our unfulfilled desires are the magnet that attracts our next birth. However, it is possible to overcome the magnetic attraction of desires if we keep our attention trained on the Spirit.
Therefore, at all times, keep your attention absorbed in me, and fight. When your mind and intellect are absorbed in me, then undoubtedly to me alone will you attain.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 7)
In the battlefield, the warrior knows that he may die at any moment. The crisis pushes his awareness beyond life and death, time past, and time to come. Hence, it is possible for a crisis to transform a warrior in a way that might take a monk a lifetime to achieve. Thus, at this moment of crisis, Lord Krishna offers Arjuna an opportunity to transform his war zone into a peace zone.
If Arjuna fights with his attention absorbed in Lord Krishna, he would lose his individual identity in Lord Krishna’s consciousness. In such a state of collective consciousness, Arjuna would be absolved of all the consequences of his actions—even if he kills.
O Arjuna! The one who meditates on the Supreme Being with total concentration through regular practice of yoga, without the mind wavering, reaches the Supreme Being.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 8)
Lord Krishna guides Arjuna towards attaining the Supreme Being through meditation. The Supreme Being is an ocean of love and compassion. Hence, without love for the Lord in our hearts, meditation is merely a mental function. Every simple task can be meditation—whether it is cooking, washing, or sweeping—if we feel love in our heart and enjoy it.
How much we meditate depends on how much we love. During meditation, we transmit waves of love. In the light of Lord Krishna’s advice, it is hard to guess how a crash course package sold in supermarkets can transmit waves of love. Perhaps they could be psychological fixes, but the real psychology lies in discovering who we are.
He who meditates on the Supreme Being, who is eternal, subtler than the subtlest, sustainer of all beings, whose form is beyond conception, radiant like the Sun, goes beyond the darkness of ignorance.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 9)
When departing from the body, with equanimity of mind, through devotion and yogic practice, focusing his life force between the eyebrows, he attains the Supreme Being.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 10)
There seems to be a mistaken interpretation that the focus should be between the eyebrows (third eye). Having tried this method, I suffered intense pain and mental confusion. When I went to Shri Mataji, She told me that the third eye was damaged by this practice. After She healed the third eye, the pain and confusion vanished. Many people have suffered from mental disorders by focusing on the third eye. This has led such people to disbelieve the Gita.
This leads me to believe that this suggestion is an error of interpretation from the original. However, if in such an authentic scripture there are a few errors of interpretation, its whole body cannot be discarded. The common sense test of meditation is inner peace and good health—not the reverse.
I shall reveal to you the state which those versed in Vedas call the indestructible, where the ascetics free from passions enter, and seeking which they lead a life of self-discipline.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 11)
Controlling the gates of the body, subduing the mind, centering the life force in the head, with yogic meditation.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 12)
The body is described as the city of nine gates, as explained in the previous chapter. The crown of the head is the limbic area and has been described as the Brahmarandhra. But the door of this chakra is very narrow and cannot be opened without the Kundalini.
Says Kabira:
“The door of liberation is very narrow,
less than the width of a mustard seed.
Your mind is larger than an elephant.
How will it pass through?”
When the Kundalini is awakened, it ascends from the base of the spine (sacrum bone) and passes through the central channel called the Susumna Nadi. It passes through six chakras and enters the limbic area, where it gives the blissful experience of collective consciousness.
He who recites the monosyllable AUM, meditating upon me, when he departs from the body, attains the highest state.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 13)
AUM is the primordial sound (Nada), composed of innate Divine vibrations. It is the Bija (seed) mantra; all mantras emanate from it. It is the integrated power of the Holy Spirit, expressed as “Amen” in the word of John’s gospel.
- ‘A’ represents the aspect of tamo guna, the quality of desire and existence.
- ‘U’ represents the aspect of rajo guna, the quality of action and creation.
- ‘M’ represents the aspect of sattwa guna, the quality of evolution and awareness.
O Arjuna! He who exclusively and continuously meditates on me, thinking of none other, steadfast in yoga, spontaneously attains to My Being.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 14)
In our challenging times, it is difficult to satisfy this condition because most people meditate for reasons other than exclusively seeking the Lord. Therefore, to suit people’s tastes and needs, entrepreneurs trade in all kinds of techniques that go by the terminology of meditation. Seekers are attracted by new brands. But new is new only for a day, and as the excitement wears off, the seeker hankers after the next ‘new’.
Upon abiding in me, these noble souls are not bound by rebirth, which is transient and an abode of suffering, because they have attained the highest state.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 15)
O Arjuna! From the realm of Brahma, all worlds are bound by rebirth, but upon attaining me, there is no rebirth.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 16)
The one who knows that a day of Brahma (creator) is of a thousand eons (yugas) and his night ends after a thousand eons, such a yogi understands the wheel of time.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 17)
At the dawn of Brahma’s (creator) day, all sentient and insentient beings spring forth from his unmanifest state, and at the fall of Brahma’s night, they recede back into his unmanifest state.
(Bhagavad Gita, VIII; 18)
It is hard to accept that something can be created out of nothing. We know space cannot exist without matter or energy. For instance, during the Big Bang, the energy of an unmanifest entity mutated into plasma. Plasma evolved into gas. Gas turned to liquid. Liquid turned into solid—the mass of the five elements.
From Einstein, we learned that mass is constantly being converted into energy. This suggests that mass and energy are mutually convertible. Conversely, the same energy can recede back to its zero state. That goes to show that a single entity created the universe, maintains and governs the fundamentals of everything in it, and recedes back to its zero state at the time of dissolution.
O Arjuna!
The same collective, after repeatedly springing forth, is bound by nature and recedes back at the fall of night, and again springs forth at the dawn of day. (VIII; 19)
The cycle of creation and dissolution is unending. Out of life comes death, and out of death comes life. But the life force or the Spirit never dies and continues through the cycle of creation and dissolution, propelled by the wheel of time (Kal).
But beyond this unmanifest lies another eternal non-manifested Being who does not perish when all creation dissolves. (VIII; 20)
That which is unborn cannot die. That which is causeless cannot have a source because it is the source itself. Hence, how can it perish?
Upon the body’s expiry date, the Spirit departs and continues its onward journey. It draws a parallel with Einstein’s principle of the conversion of energy, according to which mass is indestructible; it only transforms from one form to another. Similarly, the Spirit does not die but passes on from one body to another. Just as when an electric bulb fuses, the light is extinguished but the current remains, and the light manifests when the bulb is replaced. The current that remains is none other than the eternal non-manifest Being who does not blow a fuse when all the bulbs fuse.
The non-manifest is described as the immutable and is said to be the highest state. Those who achieve such a state do not return. This is My Supreme Being. (VIII; 21)
O Arjuna!
The Supreme Being is to be attained by ardent devotion. All creatures reside in Him, and He pervades all creation. (VIII; 22)
O Arjuna!
Now I shall reveal to you the time when a yogi departs from the body and does not return, and also the time when he departs to return again. (VIII; 23)
The yogi who departs in the fortnight of fire, light, day, the luminous (fortnight of waxing moon), during the six months of the northern movement of the sun, attains the Supreme Being. (VIII; 24)
The yogi who departs in the fortnight of smoke, night, the dark (fortnight of waning moon), during the six months of the southern movement of the sun, receives the lunar light and returns. (VIII; 25)
The light and dark are the pathways of the world. By the former, he departs not to return; by the latter, he returns. (VIII; 26)
The Moon symbolizes the Yin temperament, also known as the Feminine Principle. The Sun is symbolic of the Yang temperament. The Moon is subtler than the Sun in the sense that it acts on temperaments and tides.
The waning Moon is not considered an auspicious time for the Spirit’s departure from the body because, like the low tide, the Feminine power is at low ebb. Conversely, the waxing phase of the Moon is considered an auspicious time because, like the high tide, it reflects the ascent of the Feminine Principle. The Spirit resonates with the Feminine Principle, and hence, the one who becomes the Spirit does not return.
O Arjuna!
Knowing these paths, the yogi is never deluded; therefore, at all times, remain attuned in yoga. (VIII; 27)
The departed Spirit takes the power of life with her and wanders in the land of dreams according to the phases of the Moon. There is also something Moon-like within us called the tamas or the subconscious.
The tamas is fueled by the Moon or Ida Nadi, which nurtures our emotions. If our attention is stuck in this channel at the time of death, then the Spirit roams in the realm of the Collective Subconscious. It stays there till it finds the right womb for satisfying its unfulfilled emotions.
Conversely, the rajas or Supra-conscious is fueled by the Sun or the Pingala Nadi. It is the impetus for action, planning, creativity, and futuristic planning. If, at the time of death, we are worried about the future, then the Spirit exits from this channel and roams in the Collective Supra-Conscious. It hovers there till it finds a suitable womb to satisfy its futuristic plans.
In the sattwa state, the attention rests at the crown center or the Sahasrara. At the time of death, the Spirit exits from the limbic area of the brain. The Kundalini passes through the central channel (Sushumna Nadi) and carries with it the content of the chakras and the Spirit. Thereafter, the Spirit merges with the collective consciousness. Such a realized person has the choice to take or not to take rebirth.
Upon receiving enlightenment, the yogi transcends all sacrifices, austerities, offerings, and fruits of meritorious deeds anointed by the Vedas, and ascends to the Supreme Being. (VIII; 28)
Giving gifts in charity or bathing in sacred waters does not wash the inner dirt. But if a seeker washes away the inner dirt, he transcends the fruits of meritorious deeds and basks in the trans-conscious Supreme Being.
Says Tulsi Das:
“From the practice of virtue springs dispassion;
From the practice of yoga, spiritual wisdom bestows liberation;
So declare the Vedas.
But, brother! That which melts my heart quickly is devotion,
Which is the delight of my stay.
On it depends all knowledge, spiritual or profane.
Devotion, dear brother, is incomparable and the very source of bliss,
But it can only be acquired by the favor of virtues.”