With Chapter 7 we enter the second triad of Geeta describing "That" in the Mahavakya "That Thou Art". Here the Lord starts describing the "Goal of the Spiritual Science" the Supreme Self. In the beginning, Sri Krishna promises Arjuna that He would explain the entire science of Spirituality, both theoretical & practical aspects, to clear all his doubts. Then He proceeds to explain the two Prakrities, Para & Apara, of the Self. He describes the 8-fold lower Prakriti, the Apara, consisting of the 5 elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Space, & mind, intellect & ego. Beyond all these is the Lords Para Prakriti, the Spark of Life, Pure Consciousness, which supports all life in the universe. The two aspects of the Self, as Purusha & Prakriti create the whole 'Jagat'- the world-of-change. The One Self forms the core of all life, & everything is hung on It as pearls in a neckless. Then the Lord describes Himself as the Dharma-the Law-of-Being of everything. All matter exist in the Spirit, but the Spirit is not in Matter. Matter is just Super-imposed on Spirit, to be alive. Maya with its 'Veiling" & 'Projecting' action prevents all from recognizing the Self within them.

1. THE HOLY GEETA
COMMENTARY by
swami Chinmayananda
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA, INDIA
Presentation adapted from
THE HOLY GEETA, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, July 2013
Mumbai

2. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 8
AKSHARA-BRAHMA YOGA
IMPERISHABLE BRAHMAN

3. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
INTRODUCTION- Chapter 8 - IMPERISHABLE BRAHMAN
Continuing the ideas in the last Chapter, Krishna starts with the glorification of the man-
of-Wisdom. Besides the knowledge & experience of the Self, he is a well integrated
personality at all levels of existence. In the last chapter, a mention was made that there
is a practical aspect of Vedanta. Here a technique for following the Vedantic ideals in
practice is fully explained, & the relationship between the Eternal Spirit & the delusory
realm of names & forms, the lower Prakriti, is clearly indicated. Exemplary definitions
indicating the Inexpressible, the Absolute Truth are given here. Lord Krishna clarifies the
idea, introduced in the last chapter, that the man-of-Wisdom not only realises the
Absolute, but that he also comes to master the world-of-objects, the organs of
perception & action, & the instruments of comprehension, so that he becomes a
‘dynamic doer’ in all spheres of activity. The Self being the Reality upon which all
actions, the instruments-of-action, & the world-of-perceptions are superimposed, by
knowing the Self, everything is known.

4. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ARJUNA’S DOUBT
Arjuna said:
8.1 What is that BRAHMAN? What is the ADHYATMA? What is action? O best among men,
what is declared to be the ADHIBHUTA? And what is ADHIDAIVA said to be?
8.2 Who, & how, is ADHIYAJNA here in this body, O destroyer of Madhu? And how, at the
time of death, are you to be known by the self-controlled?
The chapter opens with the seeker questioning his teacher as to the exact definition for
each new term used in His learned discourse. The new technical terms used by Krishna in
the end of last chapter, which are to be known so that such men-of-Wisdom “Continue to
know Me even at the time of Death, steadfast in mind”. Arjuna asks the Lord not only the
meaning of these terms, but also is anxious to know how exactly one can realise the Self at
the time of death, after attaining perfect self-control through spiritual practices.

5. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
LORD KRISHNA REPLIES: BRAHMAN, ADHYATMA & WORK
The Blessed Lord said:
8.3 BRAHMAN is Imperishable, the Supreme; His essential nature is called Self-Knowledge, the creative force
that causes beings to spring forth into manifestation is called ‘work’.
Sri Krishna starts answering the questions raised by Arjuna, explaining each new term He introduced in the end of last
chapter.
Imperishable Supreme Brahman: Brahman indicates the one changeless & imperishable subjective Essence behind the
phenomenal world. It becomes the Self, the Conscious Principle which illumines the body, mind & intellect, throughout
their life.
Adhyatma: The presence of the Self in each individual body is Adhyatma. Though the Self is formless & subtle & all-
pervading, Its glory & might, power & grace, are felt, experienced & lived by each physical structure; the Self, expressing
Itself through a given embodiment, as though conditioned by it, is called the Adhyatma. According to Adi Sankara,
Adhyatma is the “Principle that graces all bodies as their Essential Self”.
Work: It is not only the turnover brought about by sheer labour, but also connotes something deeper, subtler, diviner. The
creative urge that is behind every active intellect, which ultimately fulfils itself in the creation of beings & things, that
subtle spiritual strength is called ‘Karma’; all else is mere sweat & toil, dust & blood.

6. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ADHIBHUTA, ADHIDAIVA & ADHIYAJNA
8.4 ADHIBHUTA (or elements) constitute My Perishable nature, & the Indweller (or the essence) is the
ADHIDAIVATA; I alone am the ADHIYAJNA here, in this body, O best of the embodied.
The ADHIBHUTA is the perishable existence– as a contrast to the Imperishable (Akshara) is the perishable- equipment
(Kshara), the world of Prakriti, through which the potential dynamism, vigour & glory of the Infinite Self express
themselves. The Kshara & Akshara are like the steam engine & the steam or a running car & the horsepower of petrol.
The equipment of cognition, feeling, & perception constitute, in the main, the destructible or the perishable factors in us.
ADHIDAIVA is the Indweller- the special faculty that presides over each apparatus of knowledge & activity in the living
creatures (the Purusha). The presiding deities of the sense organs, the mind, & the intellect, are called the Devatas, which
are nothing other than the faculty of vision in the eyes, the faculty of audition in the ears, & so on.
ADHIYAJNA, here in the body, I alone am----Yajna here means the ‘act of perception, feeling or thought’. As in the Yajna,
here also oblations, the sense-objects, are poured into the Yajna-altar, the sense-organs; when the Devata, the particular
faculty in it gets propitiated & invoked, as a blessing from it we gain the ‘fruit’ of Yajna, the knowledge of the perception.
In this Adhiyajna, the One vital factor that dominates the entire activity is the Self, the Principle-of-Life.
Through these definitions, the Lord is on the whole suggesting that the Eternal Self alone is the Real, & that all else are
delusory superimpositions upon It. Therefore, to know the Self is to know everything.

7. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
REMEMBER ME AT THE TIME OF DEATH
8.5 And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, at the time of his
death, he attains My being, there is no doubt about this.
Vyasa repeats the cardinal philosophical idea in Vedanta that a Jiva continues identifying with a given
physical body only so long as it needs that body to fulfil its quota of desires. Once it is over, it leaves the body.
At the time of leaving the body, its thoughts would be about the most predominant desire, either gathered in
its past embodiments or acquired in its present life. Meditation & devotion are arts of tutoring the mind to
keep in it an unflickering flame of aspiration, so carefully maintained that such a seeker, “ At the time of
death, meditating on Me alone, goes forth leaving the body”.
The last thought decides its destinies in the future. One who is immersed in fulfilment of sensuous-pleasures,
will naturally take a form, lower in the evolutionary scale, so that its acquired animal instincts may be
fulfilled. On the other hand, when an individual aspires to release himself from the thraldom of the flesh, he
surely moves higher up on the ladder of evolution, after death. As per this logical & reasonable theory, Lord
Krishna declares here that the last thoughts of a dying man order his future embodiments & their
environments. So the one who leaves the body with his mind completely turned towards the Self will
naturally reach the Eternal & Immortal Supreme Abode.

8. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
WHAT YOU THINK AT THE TIME OF DEATH, YOU BECOME
8.6 Whosoever, at the end, leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only he
goes, O Kaunteya, because of his constant thought of that being.
Lord Krishna declares here unequivocally: “Whatever object one remembers while
leaving the body, that alone is reached by him”-be it a dog or a god.
“As you think, so you become” is an obvious truth. Thoughts guide all actions, & at any
moment the run of thoughts in a person is governed & ordered by the channel of
thinking, created by his previous thoughts & actions. A person struggling throughout
his life to detach from all his bodily attachments, & to fix in the contemplation of the
Real & Eternal, would be creating new channels of divine aspirations. The time of death
is not the time to plan the travel beyond. At such a moment, instinctively, the person’s
thoughts would run through his habitual channels, & the flight of thoughts at that
moment would determine the direction of the ego’s pilgrimage.

9. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THEREFORE REMEMBER ME AT ALL TIMES
8.7 Therefore, at all times, remember Me, & fight, with mind & intellect fixed (or absorbed)
in Me; you shall doubtless come to Me alone.
Here is a simple instruction, applicable in both secular fields of living & in the divine realms, by which not
only the ‘Standard of living’ could be raised but also the ‘Standard of life’ could be divinised. Krishna advises
here that a truly successful man, striving to achieve the highest, both in the outer world of plurality & in the
realms within, should rest his mind at the gracious & peaceful feet of Truth. Then he can utilise the entire
wealth of his capacities into the work in hand, & thereby assure for himself the highest success both here &
in the hereafter. Even while living through the turmoil of existence, a true seeker must keep his mind
continuously upon the awareness of his Real Nature. In Hinduism, religion is not separated from life; if they
are separated, both will die away. An actor can perform his role well only when he constantly remembers his
own identity. A man of constant Awareness will act in the world as a mastermind-all his actions soaked in
selflessness, all his thoughts flavoured with love, & all his feelings matured in kindness. Krishna says here
that a man who lives a life of battle to win righteousness, & constantly remembers the Lord while doing so,
his “Mind & Intellect get absorbed in Me” & “he shall come to Me”.

10. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
MEDITATING ON THE SELF THE YOGI GOES
8.8 With the mind not moving towards any other thing, made steadfast by the
method of habitual meditation, & constantly meditating on the Supreme
Purusha, the Resplendent, O Partha, he goes (to Him).
After the sublimation of the limited ego, one can live in full Godly Awareness as a
liberated God-man, in this very life. Such a person, training his mind constantly to rest
upon contemplation of the Self, becomes single-pointed in his concentration, which
integrates his intellect. With such well-tuned up instruments of perception &
comprehension, the Self becomes an easy experience. With integrated mind, whatever
the person meditates upon intensively, he gains it soon. With prepared mind &
intellect, one can, with steadfastness, meditate upon Me, “the Supreme resplendent
Purusha” & attain the Self.

11. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ATTRIBUTES OF THE PURUSHA
8.9 Whosoever, meditates upon the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler (of the whole world), minuter than the atom, the
Supporter of all, of Form inconceivable, Effulgent like the Sun & beyond the darkness (of ignorance).
Here Lord Krishna explains the meaning of the term “ The Supreme Resplendent Purusha” on which the devotee was asked to meditate, in the last
Verse.
Kavih (Omniscient): The Self is the Supreme Knower who knows everything, & without whom no knowledge is ever possible.
Puranah (Ancient): The Self is considered as the most ancient because, the Eternal Truth is that which existed before all creation, which remains
the same all through the ages. It is the substratum of all, even for the concept of time.
Anushasita (The Over-Ruler): The Over-lordship indicates that the Knowing Principle of Consciousness is the very essence but for which life( a
continuous series of experiences) in any form is never possible. Gold is the Over-Ruler for all gold ornaments. Similarly, the Self is the Over-Ruler
of the universe of names & forms.
Anoraniyam ( Minuter than an atom): The Self is the subtlest of the subtle, like the atom is the smallest physical entity with specific properties.
Subtler a thing, greater is its pervasiveness. The Self thus pervades all.
Sarvasya Dhatarah (The Nourisher of all): The One Consciousness constantly illumines the ever-changing flux of things & happenings in the world
& within us, just as the cinema screen which supports the entire movie projected on to it.
Achintya Roopa (Of Inconceivable Form): The Self cannot be thought of & comprehended, as any other finite object or idea, by our limited
faculties. Only by transcending our equipment, the Self may be subjectively comprehended as our own Essential Nature.
Aditya Varna (Luminous like the Sun): As the Sun is the source of all light, no other light is needed to see it. In the spiritual realm, the Self, as the
Knower of all, doesn't require any other knowledge to comprehend It.
Tamasah Parasthat (Beyond all darkness): The Sun doesn’t illumine our world during the night time. The Self is not variable like the Sun. To make
this distinction, Krishna uses this qualification , “Beyond all darkness”. The Self is beyond all ignorance.

12. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
‘DEATH’ OF A YOGI
8.10 At the time of death, with an unshaken mind full of devotion, by the power of ‘Yoga’ fixing the whole
Prana (breath) between the two eyebrows, he (the seeker) reaches the Supreme Resplendent ‘PURUSHA’.
The expression “At the time of death” is to be understood here as “At the moment of the death of the Ego”. When all
identifications with the body-mind-intellect are consciously withdrawn through the process of meditation, with the mind
unmoving, the meditator attains the Purusha- the Self.
‘Bhakti’ here means, Selfless Love, directed towards the divine with firm faith, seeking a fulfilment in itself. The
meditation should be accompanied by a readiness to identify oneself intensely with the Principle of Awareness. He must
come to live the Self, within himself, at that still moment of inward silence, which rings the death-knell of the deluded-
ego. "The Power of Yoga” mentioned here, is the strength acquired by the meditator by his regular meditation upon the
Supreme for a long period. When a seeker is thus engaged in meditation, all his ‘Pranas’ are concentrated at the point of
his meditation, between the eye brows- the seat of steady thought. Prana here means all the different expressions of
life’s vitality, through the various instruments & organs of the body. The 5 Pranas are the faculties of sense perception,
excretion, digestion, blood circulation, & contemplation of higher things. These are the channels through which the vital
attention in us get exhausted. At the moment of his merger with the Self, the meditator arrests all these faculties,
temporarily. Such a seeker “Goes to that Supreme Resplendent Self”

13. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
PROMISE TO REVEAL THE SUPREME DESTINATION
8.11 That which is declared Imperishable by the Veda-knowers, that into which, the self-
controlled & desire-freed enter; That desiring for which Brahmacharya is practised– That
Goal I will declare to thee in brief.
This verse indicates how one can proceed easily with meditation, avoiding all extrovert desires &
by practising consistent self-control. Krishna emphasises here that the Imperishable Truth can be
realised, when the men of self-control, unagitated by desires, withdraw successfully from the
perishable in themselves.
Freed from attachment: Geeta propagates a healthy detachment through right knowledge. The
renunciation of desires is not a psychological suppression, but one that occurs with a blossoming of
the intellect. Indian spirituality emphasises renunciation as that sprung up from discrimination of
what is good for progress. Here the above phrase means one who has grown out of his passionate
attachments to the finite world, in his understanding of the nature & the goal of his life. It is
advised that men of least desire have the maximum chance of success in the path-of-Knowledge.

14. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE PRACTICE OF CONCENTRATION
8.12 Having closed all the gates, having confined the mind in the heart, having fixed the
life-breath in the ‘head’, engage in the practice of concentration.
Three necessary conditions have to be fulfilled by the meditator for practicing effective concentration. They
& their sequence are indicated here:
Controlling all the senses: Each sense organ is a gate in the physical body through which the external stimuli
reach the mental zone. To shut the five gates, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue & the skin, through
discrimination & detachment is the first process, before the meditator can enter the field of meditation. Once
these tunnels of disturbance are blocked, the mind becomes quieter.
Confining the mind in the heart: Even without external disturbances, the mind can be disturbed by previous
impressions, gathered in its past experiences. So the mind, the instrument of emotion & feelings, is to be
confined in the ‘heart’. In Vedanta, heart is a conceptual centre in the mind from where all positive & noble
thoughts constantly spring up. So the seeker is advised to divinise his thoughts, & keep the mind least
disturbed.
Withdrawing all the Vital Breaths into the intellect: This means the total withdrawal of the intellect from all
its identifications with the lower, gained by dissociation from our perceptions etc. This is accomplished with
the total engagement of our mind-intellect in the contemplation of the Self.
This mental condition is called the “Practice of Concentration”.

15. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CONTEMPLATION ON OM
8.13 Uttering the one syllabled ‘OM’—the symbol of BRAHMAN-- &
remembering Me, he who departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme
Goal.
The Yogi, who is continuing with the practice of concentration, surcharged with joy &
contentment, with his mind under total control of his discriminative intellect, mentally
chants OM, with ease & enthusiasm.
He who departs, leaving the body: While chanting & contemplating upon the
significance of OM, the seeker becomes completely detached from all his delusory
identifications with the false matter-envelopments, & his ego gets sublimated; this is
the true death, Leaving the body. In his single-pointed contemplation on OM-as the
substratum on which is played the drama of life & death, projected by the mischievous
mind– the seeker attains the Supreme Goal.

16. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TRUE SEEKERS EASILY ATTAIN THE SELF
8.14 I am easily attainable by that ever-steadfast Yogi who constantly
remembers Me daily, not thinking of anything else, O Partha.
Prayer is no insecticide to be sprayed now & then; nor should the Divine Altar be
considered as a bathroom, where one enters dirty & walks out clean! Here
Krishna carefully insists that the Divine Consciousness must be maintained by
the seeker constantly & continuously “All through the day, daily”. To such an
individual, “I am easily attainable”.
Here, the Lord summarises all the statements in the previous verses. To the one
who is ever steadfast in the Life Divine, with a mind unshattered, & remembers
the Self “Always & Daily”, to him the Self is easily attainable.

17. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
MOKSHA FOR THE MAHATMAS
8.15 Having attained Me, these MAHATMAS (great souls) do not again take birth, which is
the house of pain & is non-eternal, they having reached the Highest Perfection, MOKSHA.
“Having attained Me, the High-Souled ones are no more subject to rebirth” says the Lord. The man-of-
Perfection, through the realisation of the Self, attains the Highest, Moksha. Krishna points out here that
rebirth is the starting point of all pains & imperfections. It is the “ House of Pain & Non-eternal”. In the
Upanishads, the Goal of Life was considered as “the absence of death (Amritatwa)” initially, but as given
here, later on it became the “ Absence of rebirth (Na Punarjana)”. Death was initially considered the
unavoidable & most horrid experience. Later on with advancement of knowledge, the Sages realised that
death was just one of the happenings in the life of the Atman, & the Goal should be to avoid rebirth or attain
dissolution in this birth, itself.
The dream of rebirth & its destinies belongs to the delusory ego which is the Self identifying with the matter-
envelopments. Once the ego comes to rediscover that it is nothing other than the Self, it drops all its
attachments with material embodiments, it ends its march through the thorny paths of pain & finitude. Such
great souls will no more have any need to manifest in the plane of plurality. Krishna says here that, those
who through their meditation & self-control, have attained the Self, the Eternal, shall no more come back
into a limited embodiment to live a life of pain & sorrow.

18. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
WORLDS UP TO THE BRAHMALOK ARE IMPERMANENT
8.16 Worlds up to the ‘ world of Brahma (The Creator)’ are subject to rebirth, O Arjuna; but
he who reaches Me, O Kaunteya, has no birth.
Krishna points out here that “Up to the realm of Brahma, all are subject to rebirth”. This is
contrasted with the statement “ But after attaining Me, the Self, there is no rebirth”.
The ‘theory of gradual liberation’ in Vedanta says that ritualism accompanied by
meditation, takes the ego to the realm of the Creator (Brahmalok) where, at the end of the
Kalpa (the cycle of creation& dissolution), it merges with the Supreme. Even in the
Brahmalok, it is necessary that the ego must, through self-effort, as per the direction of the
Creator, & through constant contemplation upon the Self, come to deserve the total
liberation. Those who go to lower worlds, at the end of Kalpa, have to come back & take
rebirth, according to their remaining Vasanas. Keeping this in mind, Lord Krishna says that
rebirth is for everyone, even to those who reached realms up to the Brahmalok.
But to those who have awakened to the rediscovery of their essential, Eternal Nature, &
realised themselves to be the One, All-pervading Self, to them, thereafter, there is no
return to the plane of limited existence.

19. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
BRAHMA’S DAY & NIGHT
8.17 Those people who know (the length of) the day-of-BRAHMA which ends in a thousand
Yugas (aeons), & the night which (also) ends in a thousand Yugas, they know day-and-
night.
It is now an accepted scientific fact that the concepts of time & space depend upon individual factors governing their
measurements. Time moves very slowly when one is agitated & anxiously waiting for something, but time flies when he
is happy & enjoying. Hindu philosophy considers time as a true measure of the interval between two different
experiences. In a single given experience there is no perception of time. The greater the number of experiences to agitate
the mind, the slower will the time move; the longer one experience continues, the faster moves the time. Our Puranic
poets conceived that their gods had a larger dial for their divine clocks! Upanishads also give a scale of relative intensity
of Bliss-experience, from a moral, healthy young man up to the very Creator Himself. This ascending scale of joy,
experienced in different realms of Consciousness, shows the relative mental equipoise & tranquillity at those different
levels of existence.
Here, Krishna says that a thousand ‘cycles’ constitute the daytime of the Creator; and an equally long night time. In terms
of our 365- day year, each ‘cycle’ consists of 4 aeons(Yugas)(a total of 4,349,000 years) & a thousand ‘cycles’ constitute the
daytime of the Creator(4.349 Billion years). Just as the individual mind creates & acts during its waking hours(day), the
Cosmic mind (the Creator) is also conceived as creating the gross world only during His waking hours.

20. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CREATION & DISSOLUTION BY BRAHMA
8.18 From the unmanifested all the manifested proceed at the coming of the ‘day’; at the coming of ‘night’
they dissolve verily in that alone which is called the unmanifest.
8.19 The same multiple of beings are being born again & again, & are dissolved; helplessly, O Partha, at the
coming of ‘night’, & they come forth again at the coming of ‘day’.
Here we have a description of how the Creator works. He creates during the day, & the entire created world, at the
approach of His night, merges into the ‘unmanifest’. The act of creation is only the production of a name & form, with
some specific qualities, out of a raw material in which the same name, form & qualities exist in an unmanifest condition.
Anyone on a given day, is but the product of numerous yesterdays of intellectual thoughts, emotional feelings & physical
actions. Just as there is a consistency of species in procreation, so also, there is a consistency in the multiplication of
thoughts. Just as frog breeds frogs & men breed men, so too, good thoughts create good thought-currents which create
more good thoughts. These thought impressions in our mind (Vasanas), that lie unmanifest, become manifested as gross
actions, thoughts & words. When we sleep, all our thoughts & Vasanas become unmanifest, , but on waking, the same
thoughts & Vasanas come to us, not somebody else's, sleeping at the same time.
“The very same multitude of Beings” arrive at different fields of activity & states of Consciousness in order to exhaust
themselves, “In spite of themselves”. None is able to disinherit himself from his past. The past always faithfully follows us
like our shadow, darkening our path when we turn our back to the light of knowledge, but accompany us submissively at
our heels when we turn towards the effulgent Self. On leaving a physical embodiment, a particular mind-intellect
equipment continues its existence in just the same way as an actor exists after removing his clothes of a particular role,
after the play.

21. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE ETERNAL UNMANIFESTED
8.20 But verily there exists, higher than that unmanifest (Avyakta), another
Unmanifested, which is Eternal, which is not destroyed when all beings are destroyed.
The changing world of the unmanifest must have one Changeless substratum, “That which
is not destroyed by the destruction of all beings”, just like a single blackboard being used
by different teachers to write down mathematical equations, geography maps or historic
descriptions. The Principle of Pure Consciousness, , Itself Unmanifest, is indicated here as
the changeless substratum of all, which the Lord declares as “ the other Eternal Existence,
the Unmanifested”.
The unmanifest (Vasanas) are the seeds of the manifest & they constitute ‘Ignorance
(Avidya) in Vedanta. Ignorance can be only of an existent something, the Truth, the Self,
serving as the Permanent & Changeless substratum. The Ultimate Reality, the Self, is being
indicated here as something that lies beyond the frontiers of the delusory experiences of
creation, dissolution & re-creation, over & over again.

22. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE GOAL OF LIFE: MY HIGHEST ABODE
8.21 That which is called the Unmanifest & the Imperishable, that, they say is the
Highest Goal (path). They who reach It never again return. That is My Highest
Abode(state).
Krishna says here that the Eternal Unmanifested Factor, Brahman, the Imperishable Self, is
the highest goal for man to achieve. Just as sleep is not the end of life, but only a
refreshing pause, so too death is not an end, but only a restful pause in the unmanifested
condition, that comes between two successive manifested existences in different bodies.
Birth, as we have already been told, is a “House of pain & finitude”, & so, complete
satisfaction can be reached only when there is no rebirth-no return.
The Self, or Pure Consciousness, is poetically described here as the dwelling place of
Krishna, “That is My Highest Dwelling Place”. In the Geeta, Krishna is THE Self, & as such
the Highest Goal is to reach the state of Pure Consciousness, the Imperishable, which is
available for the experiencer of the Self.

23. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
UNSWERVING DEVOTION LEADS TO THE GOAL
8.22 That Highest ‘Purusha’, O Partha, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone,
within whom all beings dwell, by whom all this is pervaded.
Here Krishna tells us the technique & the path by which “That Ultimate Goal of Life” is attainable. Single-
pointed devotion is the way & the means. Devotion or total selfless identification with the Supreme Purusha
can be achieved only when the devotee has learnt to dissociate himself from all his preoccupations with his
world of body, mind & intellect. This detachment from the false is gained in a growing attachment with the
Real, the Permanent. The inspired seeker identifies oneself totally with the experience of “Self I am”. Though
the seeking is subjective, in identifying with the Self, It is to be realised as the very substratum of the entire
universe. Implying this oneness with the Truth behind the entire world of phenomena, Bhagawan indicates
the nature of the Purusha as “In whom all beings abide & by whom all this is pervaded”.
Pure Awareness is the Eternal Truth in which the unmanifest comes to be projected forth as the manifest.
Pure Awareness, poured into the moulds of Vasanas, when frozen with ‘ignorance’ becomes the world of
names & forms. One who has identified oneself with the Self comes to understand the very Essence out of
which the confusing multiplicity has risen up into manifestation, as the delusory ‘Samsara’.

24. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE PATH OF NO RETURN
8.23 Now at what time (path) departing, Yogis go, never to return, that time(path) I will tell
you, O Chief of Bharatas.
8.24 Fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, the six months of the northern solstice;
following this path, men who know Brahman go to Brahman.
Here Krishna talks about the time of death & the path taken by Yogis to go & merge with the Brahman. The
Realised Sages come to enjoy the Infinite Beatitude of the Bliss Absolute, & they never take re-births.
This verse explains the path of gradual liberation (Krama-Mukti). He who lived a life of rituals & worship, will
walk the path of the gods (Devayana); entering through the Sun, he will go beyond to Brahma- loka (World of
the Creator), where he enjoys the super-sensuous Bliss till the end of the ‘cycle’ when, along with the
Creator, he gets total liberation.
“Fire, flame, daytime, bright-fortnight, northern-solstice”- these indicate the path of the gods presided over
by the Sun. An Upasaka of Truth, at the time of his departure from this world, comes to think of the object of
his contemplation of his whole life, & naturally, he goes to the world of his thoughts. This is the ascending
path of evolution, the path of the gods, indicated here. This is also called the “Northern Route”, to indicate
the path of gradual liberation.

25. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE PATH OF SURE-RETURN
8.25 Smoke, night time, the dark fortnight, also six months of the southern solstice,
attaining by these to the moon, the lunar light, the ‘Yogi’ returns.
As contrasted with the path of no-return, there is a path of sure-return which is explained here. The path-of-
return or the path of the ancestor, is presides over by the moon, which represents the world of matter. Those
who leave the world after a life of meritorious activities, like doing good to others & performing rituals, are
those who go to the world-of-ancestors, popularly known as heaven. After enjoying the pleasures there,
when their merits are exhausted, they will have to return to the world, in embodiments ordered by their
individual Vasana-balance.
“The Path through the moon” (Pitryana) goes through smoke, night time, the dark fortnight,& the southern
solstice, to the world of the ancestors. The moon, representing the world of matter, is the presiding deity of
the sense enjoyments. Such people do return after having attained through the grace of the moon, the
heavenly enjoyments for a period. A seeker struggling to raise himself above the various matter
envelopments, reaches higher spiritual realms, from where he ultimately reaches the Supreme. But one who
spent his lifetime in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, & then in developing the higher instincts, after
exhausting his meagre merits, in heaven, comes back to the field of action where he can make or unmake
himself.

26. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE TWO PATHS
8.26 The ‘Path-of-Light’ & the ‘Path-of-Darkness’ available for the world are verily thought
to be both eternal; by the one, the ‘Path-of-Light’, a man goes to return not; by the other,
the ‘Path-of-Darkness’, he returns again.
The two paths described earlier, are renamed here according to the goal to which each ‘path’ leads the
pilgrims. One takes the travellers to the brilliant heights of evolutionary success, the other into the dark abyss
of evolutionary sorrow. They may be called the ‘Path-of-Moksha’ & the ‘Path-of-Samsara’.
In any generation, we may find two categories of people; the secular & the sacred. The secular man feels that
food, clothing & shelter are the absolutes & the fulfilment of life lies in the satisfaction of the largest number
of sense-ticklers, & he feels no urge to seek anything nobler & diviner. The sacred man, on the other hand,
feels no attachments to sense-pleasures, & his intellect is ever on fire with a great seeking of something
beyond. These two paths, for the seekers of spirituality & those of materialism, are to be considered “As truly
Eternal”. These two impulses together constitute the entire Samsara & are also eternal. But Vedanta says that
Samsara for the individual can be ended. This verse secretly suggests that the aspirations for the higher life &
the temptations for the lower existence are the two opposing forces that are eternally at tug-of-war with
each other.

27. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
BE STEADFAST IN YOGA
8.27 Knowing these paths, O Partha, no Yogin is deluded; therefore, at all
times be steadfast in Yoga, O Arjuna.
After knowing that the path-of-Light & the path-of-Darkness are the two opposing forces
that function in our mortal life eternally, a true seeker will not fall into any sense of
despair, when he watches a revolt rising in his bosom. “No Yogi is deluded, knowing these
paths”.
In this penultimate verse of the chapter, Krishna summarises his thesis & purpose, saying,
“Therefore, Arjuna, you be a Yogi at all times”. He who has withdrawn himself from his
false identifications & has come to fix his single-pointed mind in the contemplation of the
Self, is called a Yogi here. The entire chapter is a divinely powerful plea recommending that
Arjuna should, even while acting in the world, continuously strive to be one living in the
awareness of the Divine, through a process of selfless identification with the Eternal,
Imperishable Purusha.

28. THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE YOGI ATTAINS TO THE SUPREME
8.28 Whether the fruit of merit is declared (in the scriptures) as springing up from study of
the Vedas, from performance of sacrifices, from practice of austerities, & from charity–
beyond all these goes the Yogin, who having known this (the two ‘paths’) attains to the
Supreme, Primeval (Essence).
Sri Krishna concludes this chapter by glorifying the Yogi, a sincere meditator. He says that the Yogi
surpasses all the other seekers, who study the Vedas, perform Yajnas, practise austerities & give
selflessly in charity. Meditation can integrate the personality a million times more easily than by
the above processes.
When thus, a meditator who has, through meditation gained the results of selfless Karma &
Upasanas, continued his practices, he comes to realise ‘This’ the Imperishable Purusha & “Attains
to the Primeval Supreme Abode” having attained which, “My Highest State”, there is no return.
END OF CHAPTER 8, THE AKSHARA BRAHMA YOGA