Akshara Brahma Yoga

Arjuna said, O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What exists in the individual plane? What is action? What is said to exist in the physical plane? And what is said to exist in the divine plane?

O Madhusudana, how is the entity existing in the sacrifice here in this body, and who is it? And how are You to be known by people of concentrated minds at the time of death?

The Blessed Lord said, "The Immutable is the supreme Brahman; selfhood is said to be the entity present in the individual plane. By action is meant the offerings that bring about the origin of existence of things."

That which exists in the physical plane is the mutable entity, and what exists in the divine plane is the Person. O best among the embodied beings, I Myself am the entity that exists in the sacrifice within this body.

And at the time of death, anyone who departs, giving up the body while thinking of Me alone, attains My state; there is no doubt about this.

O son of Kunti, thinking of any entity, whichever it may be, one gives up the body at the end; he attains that very one, having been always engrossed in its thought.

Therefore, think of Me at all times and fight; there is no doubt that by dedicating your mind and intellect to Me, you will attain only Me.

O son of Prtha, by meditating with a mind engaged in the yoga of practice and not straying away to anything else, one reaches the supreme Person existing in the effulgent region.

He who meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler, subtler than the subtle, the Ordainer of everything, of inconceivable form, effulgent like the sun, and beyond darkness—he attains the Supreme Person.

At the time of death, having fully fixed the Prana (vital force) between the eyebrows with an unwavering mind, and being imbued with devotion as well as the strength of concentration, he reaches that resplendent Supreme Person.

I will briefly speak to you of that immutable Goal, which the knowers of the Vedas declare; into which diligent ones, free from attachment, enter, and for which people practice celibacy, aspiring.

Having controlled all the senses, confined the mind in the heart, and fixed his own vital force in the head, he should remain steadfast in yoga.

He who departs, leaving the body while uttering the single syllable, viz. "Om," which is Brahman, and thinking of Me, attains the supreme Goal.

O son of Prtha, to that yogi of constant concentration and single-minded attention, who remembers Me uninterruptedly and for a long time, I am easy to attain.

As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection do not get birth, which is an abode of sorrows and is impermanent.

O Arjuna, all the worlds together with the world of Brahma are subject to return. But, O son of Kunti, there is no rebirth after reaching Me.

Those people who know what day and night are, know the day of Brahma which ends in a thousand yugas [The four yugas (in the human worlds), viz Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali are made up of 4,320,000 years. This period multiplied by a thousand constitutes one day of Brahma. His night also extends over a similar period. See M.S. and V.S.A.], and His night which also ends in a thousand yugas.

With the coming of day, all manifested things emerge from the Unmanifest, and when night comes, they merge into that which is called the Unmanifested.

O son of Prtha, after being born again and again, that very multitude of beings disappears of its own accord at the approach of night. It comes to life again at the approach of day.

But distinct from that Unmanifested is the other eternal, unmanifest Reality, who does not get destroyed when all beings are destroyed.

They call Him who has been mentioned as the Unmanifested, the Immutable, the supreme Goal. That is the supreme abode of Mine, from which they do not return once they reach it.

O son of Prtha, that supreme Person—in whom all beings are included and by whom all this is pervaded—is indeed reached through one-pointed devotion.

O best of the Bharata dynasty, I shall now speak of that time by which the yogis depart and attain the State of Non-return, and also the State of Return.

Fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, the six months of the northern solstice—by following this path, persons who are knowers of Brahman attain Brahman when they die.

Following this Path, the yogi, having reached the lunar light, returns, smoke, night, as also the dark fortnight and the six months of the Southern solstice.

These two paths of the world, which are white and black, are indeed considered eternal. Through one, a person goes to the state of non-return; through the other, they return again.

O son of Prtha, no yogi—one steadfast in meditation—whosoever has known these two courses becomes deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna, be steadfast in yoga at all times.

Having known this, the yogi transcends all the results of righteous deeds declared in the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities, and charities, and reaches the primordial, supreme state.