Shrimad Bhagavad Gita · 28 verses
Chapter 8: The Imperishable Absolute
The meaning of Brahman, the self and action. What fills the mind at the time of death shapes what follows, so remember God at all times.
All verses, with meaning
8.1Arjuna's seven questionsArjuna asks: O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the inner Self (adhyatma)? What is…8.2Knowing God at deathWho is the Lord of sacrifice (adhiyajna) in this body, and how, Krishna? And how are you t…8.3Brahman, Self and actionKrishna says: The imperishable Supreme is Brahman. Its presence as the individual self is …8.4The three realms explainedThe perishable world is adhibhuta; the cosmic Person is adhidaiva; and I myself, dwelling …8.5Remembering God at the endWhoever leaves the body at the time of death remembering me alone attains my being — there…8.6As you think, so you goWhatever state of being one remembers when leaving the body at the end, Arjuna, that one r…8.7Remember me and actSo remember me at all times, and fight (do your duty). With mind and intellect offered to …8.8Reaching God by practiceOne who meditates on the supreme divine Person with a mind trained by practice and not str…8.9The nature of the SupremeOne who remembers the all-knowing, ancient ruler, subtler than the subtlest, sustainer of …8.10Practice at departure— and at the time of departure, with a steady mind, filled with devotion and the strength …8.11The imperishable goalThat which knowers of the Veda call the Imperishable, which ascetics free from passion ent…8.12Yogic concentrationClosing all the gates of the body, holding the mind in the heart, drawing the life-breath …8.13Chanting Om— one who departs leaving the body while chanting the single syllable Om, which is Brahman…8.14God is easy to reachFor the yogi who remembers me constantly, every day, with a mind on nothing else, I am eas…8.15Freedom from rebirthHaving reached me, great souls do not return to rebirth, that passing home of sorrow, for …8.16All worlds bring returnFrom all worlds, up to the world of Brahma, beings return again, Arjuna. But one who reach…8.17Brahma's day and nightThose who know that a day of Brahma lasts a thousand ages, and his night too lasts a thous…8.18Creation and dissolutionWhen Brahma's day dawns, all manifest things come forth from the unmanifest; when his nigh…8.19The endless cycleThis same multitude of beings, coming forth again and again, dissolves helplessly when nig…8.20The eternal unmanifestBut beyond that unmanifest is another, eternal unmanifest reality, which does not perish e…8.21The supreme abodeThat unmanifest is called the Imperishable, and is said to be the highest goal. Reaching i…8.22Undivided devotionThat Supreme Person, in whom all beings dwell and by whom all this is pervaded, is reached…8.23The two pathsNow I will tell you, best of the Bharatas, the times at which yogis who depart do not retu…8.24The path of lightFire, light, day, the bright fortnight, the six months of the sun's northern course — depa…8.25The path of smokeSmoke, night, the dark fortnight, the six months of the sun's southern course — the yogi d…8.26Bright and dark pathsThese two paths of the world, the bright and the dark, are considered eternal. By one, a p…8.27Stay in yoga alwaysKnowing these two paths, Partha, no yogi is ever confused. So, Arjuna, be steady in yoga a…8.28Beyond all meritWhatever merit is said to come from the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities and charity, the yo…