Conversation 8
Imperishable and Eternal Brahman
Arjuna said:
8:1. What is Brahman, what is the Atman, what is action, O Purushottama? What is the material and what is the Divine?
8:2. What is sacrifice and how it is performed by the incarnated? And how, O Madhusudana, the one who cognized the Atman cognizes you at the moment of his death?
The Blessed Lord said:
8:3. The Indestructible and the Highest is Brahman. The main essence (of incarnate beings) is the Atman. What sustains life of the incarnated is called action.
8:4. The knowledge about the material concerns My perishable nature, the knowledge about the Divine concerns purusha. The knowledge about the Highest Sacrifice concerns Me in this body, O best of the embodied.
8:5. And he who parting with body at the moment of death is conscious about Me alone — he, no doubt, comes to My Existence.
8:6. Whatever state is habitual to man at the end of his existence in the body in that very state he remains, O Kaunteya.
8:7. Therefore, remember Me always and fight. Aspiring to Me with mind and consciousness will you surely enter in Me.
8:8. Having achieved peace with the help of yoga, distracting his attention to nothing else, reflecting always on the Supreme man attains the Highest Divine Spirit.
8:9. He who knows all about the Eternal Omnipresent Ruler of the world, the One subtler than the subtlest, the Foundation of everything, formless, shining like the Sun behind the darkness,
8:10. who at the moment of paring distracts not his mind and love being in Yoga, who opens the passage of energy between the eyebrows, — that one attains the Highest Divine Spirit.
8:11. That Path which the men of knowledge call Eternal, which spiritual warriors go through self-control and liberation from passion, which brahmachariyas walk — that Path I will describe to you in brief.
8:12. Having closed all gates of the body, locked mind in the heart, directing the Atman to the Supreme, and being established firmly in the Yoga,
8:13. chanting the mantra of Brahman AUM and being conscious about Me — anyone parting so with the body attains the Supreme Goal.
8:14. He who thinks of Me constantly, having no thoughts about anything else — that steady yogi, O Partha, easily attains Me.
8:15. Having come to Me these Mahatmas never get born again in the transient vales of tears: they attain the Highest Perfection.
8:16. Those dwelling in the worlds lower than the world of Brahman get born again. But they who attained Me are not subject to new births.
8:17. He who knows the Day of Brahman lasting a thousand of yugas, and His Night coming to an end after a thousand of yugas, that one knows Day and Night.
8:18. From the Unmanifest all the Manifest comes forth at the beginning of the Day. With coming of the Night It dissolves in That, Which is called Unmanifest.
8:19. All the multitude of beings that give birth one to another disappear with beginning of the Night. With beginning of the Day all beings, by the Highest Order, appear anew.
8:20. But, verily, superior to this Unmanifest there is yet another Unmanifest, Which too remains at the time when all the Manifest perishes.
8:21. This Unmanifest is called “the Most Perfect One” and is known as the Ultimate Goal. They who have attained Him do not come back. This is That Which is in My Supreme Abode.
8:22. This Highest Consciousness is attained by steadfast devotion to Him alone — to the One in Whom exists all the existing and Who pervades the whole world.
8:23. Now I am going to tell you, O best of the Bharatas, about the time at which depart the yogis that are never to return and the time at which depart the yogis that are to return again.
8:24. Dying at fire, at daylight, on the wax of the Moon, at the time of six months of the northward passage of the Sun yogis knowing Brahman go to Brahman.
8:25. Dying in smoke, at night, on the wane of the Moon, at the time of six months of the southward passage of the Sun yogis obtaining the light of the Moon come back.
8:26. Light and Darkness — these are the two eternal paths of the world. By the first path goes he who does not return, by the second goes the one who returns again.
8:27. Knowing these two paths let a yogi never go astray! So, be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna!
8:28. Studying the Vedas, performing sacrifice, ascetic exploits, and good deeds give one proper fruits. But a yogi possessing the true knowledge is superior to all these; he attains the Supreme Abode.
Thus in the upanishads of the blessed Bhagavad Gita, the Science of Eternal, the Scripture of yoga, says the eighth conversation between Shri Krishna and Arjuna, entitled:
Imperishable and Eternal Brahman.
