Gita Chapter 8 - Aksara Brahma Yoga

[nikhil1707]

Sloka 23
With this shloka, Shri Krishna commences a new topic. He provides details around the journey of the jeeva after death.

As we have seen earlier, that journey differs from person to person. It is determined solely by two things : how we have acted and how we have thought. In other words, our actions and our thoughts in this life decide what happens in our next life. In this chapter, Shri Krishna has spoken about two kinds of people.

The first category of people are those who perform good actions in their lives. The second category of people are those who are solely devoted to Ishvara, in addition to performing good actions. This is Shri Krishna speaks about two paths in this shloka. Each category travels on a different path after death.

In the next two shlokas, each of these paths is explained in further detail. One path leads to liberation, which means that those who attain this path do not come back, they are not born again. The other path leads to rebirth or return.

[nikhil1707]

Sloka 24

Shri Krishna describes the journey that the individual soul or jeeva takes after death in this and the next shloka. Each jeeva is allocated one of two paths based on its actions while on this earth. Here, he speaks about the path taken by those who have practiced single-pointed devotion to Ishvara, indicated by the phrase “knowers of brahman”.

It is said that Ishvara has appointed special deities to guide the jeeva to the abode of Lord Brahma after its body has ceased to function. Agni, jyoti, shukla and uttaraayan are symbols that indicate the deities who preside over fire, light, the lunar fortnight and the six month period between winter and summer. The jeeva resides in Lord Brahma’s abode until dissolution, after which it is liberated. In other words, it “attains brahman”.

In India, Uttaraayana is considered highly auspicious. Its beginning is celebrated with the Makar Sankraanti festival. The lunar fortnight of each month is also the time in which most Indian festivals are celebrated including Navaratri and Guru Purnima.

Next, Shri Krishna described the second path that jeevas take after death.

[nikhil1707]

Sloka 25

We saw earlier that jeevas who have practised single-pointed devotion travel on the path of light, attain the abode of Lord Brahma, and eventually achieve liberation. Now, Shri Krishna describes the path of the jeeva who has performed good deeds in its lifetime, but had not practiced devotion. This path is called the path of the moon or the lunar path.

The jeeva is guided on this path by the deities who preside over the smoke of the pyre, night, the dark lunar fortnight and the six months between summer and winter. Having travelled through the lunar path, these jeevas attain a lower realm called Chandraloka or the abode of the moon. In modern language, this is nothing but heaven. The jeeva enjoys heavenly pleasures, which are the fruits of its earthly actions. Unlike the jeeva in Lord Brahma’s abode, this jeeva returns to earth once the fruits of its good actions have depleted.

Both the dark lunar fortnight and the period between summer and winter are relatively less auspicious than their brighter counterparts. But many festivals including Maha Shivraatri and Krishna Janmaashtami are celebrated during the dark lunar fortnight.

[nikhil1707]

Sloka 26

Shri Krishna spoke about two paths that the jeeva takes after death: the “bright” path that goes to the abode of Lord Brahma, and the “dark” path that goes to the abode of the moon. He now reaffirms the difference between these two paths by saying that those who travel by the bright path are liberated, whereas those who take the dark path are born again after spending time in the abode of the moon. He also states that these paths have been established since time immemorial.

These two paths take care of two categories of people. One category is those who perform good actions as well as single pointed devotion – they attain the abode of Lord Brahma. The other is those who only perform good actions – they attain heaven. But absent from this list are those who perform negative actions that harm others and themselves. What happens to them?

Shri Krishna has omitted the path of such people, probably because he assumes that one who is interested in following the path of karma yoga is putting forth effort to eliminate negative and destructive actions from his life. More information on the path taken by such people is provided in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

So then, what is the significance of these two paths to us? This is taken up next.

[nikhil1707]

Sloka27

Shri Krishna starts to conclude the topic of the jeeva’s journey after death. He says that those who have knowledge of the fate of the jeeva after death is not deluded or misinformed. With this knowledge, we can change his behavior on earth in order to qualify for the right path after our death.

Of the two paths mentioned in this chapter, there was one that led to liberation. Shri Krishna advises us to follow the path of selfless action combined with single pointed devotion, in other words, karma yoga and bhakti yoga. This is indicated by the phrase “remain engaged in yoga” in this shloka.

All of this knowledge has already been explained to us. Karma yoga was the theme of the first six chapters, and bhakti yoga is the theme of chapters six through twelve. We have a choice. We can either read those chapters with an intellectual bent, or we can actually put the teachings to practice in our lives by remaining engaged in yoga “at all times”. The choice is up to us.

[nikhil1707]

Sloka 28

Shri Krishna concludes the eighth chapter with this shloka. He tells us that he has spelled out an entire “flowchart for the afterlife”. With this knowledge, we have the means to achieve anything including heaven, rebirth and liberation. The outcome solely depends upon our behaviour while we are alive.

Traditionally, seekers used the instructions in the Vedas to perform rituals, austerities and charity. Many of them did so with the goal of attaining a better state in the afterlife. In our case, even though we may not perform rituals per se, our goal is similar. We try to do good actions and charity so that we can earn “punya” or merit for the afterlife. However, we know know that mere performance of good actions will get us to heaven, but we will eventually come back once our merits are exhausted.

Therefore, Shri Krishna recommends the bright path of devotion and action that leads us to the abode of Lord Brahma, and eventually into liberation. This path of graduated liberation, indicated by the phrase “supreme primal state” is also known as “krama mukti”. One who achieves this path transcends, or goes beyond the results of heaven, because he attains liberation which frees him from finitude.

[Arvind]

Sloka 28
वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्‌ ।
अत्येत तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्‌ ॥

Word to Word Meaning:
वेदेषु = in the Vedas
यज्ञेषु = in sacrifices
तपःसु = in austerities
चैव = and also
दानेषु = in gifts
यत्पुण्यफलं = whatever fruit of merit
प्रदिष्टम्‌ = is declared
अत्येत तत्सर्वमिदं = (he) transcends them all
विदित्वा = (this) having known
योगी = the Yogi
परं = the Supreme
स्थानमुपैति = abode he attains
चाद्यम्‌ = the primeval

Sloka Meaning:
Whatever fruit of merit is declared (in the scriptures) as springing up from study of the Vedas, from performance of austerities, and from charity- beyond all these goes the Yogin, who having known this (the two 'paths') attains to the Supreme, Primeval (Essence).

[murugans61]

Hari OM

Be Ever a Yogi is the advice of The Lord through verses 27 and 28. Knowing these two paths , no yogi is deluded. Therefore, one needs to be steadfast in yoga at all times. All the activities in life may be transformed into several aspects of yoga. In doing so the yogi pursues the path of light.
The regular chanting of the Vedas, the correct performance of ritualistic yagnas, ardent performance of austerities and Dana are all acts conducive to attainment of heave and preparation of the mind.But this high state also comes within the wheel of birth and death. On the other hand, the intellectual grasp of Aksara Brahman steadily leads one towards that Supreme Goal.

Pranams

[madan]

Verse23 - Ch 8
By which path one goes to reach Bhagwan after death?. It is Shukla path also known as path of the gods. the other one is the Krishn path also known as the path of the manes,dhum path etc; this path leads one to swarg lok etc where from one returns back to this world after the exhaustion of the punya karma. Shukla, dhum etc. are the presiding deities. Yatra kale,Yasmin kale, here Kal is kala abhimani devata, presiding deity of that path, and not the Time Kal could mean day,night, shukla,krishna paksha, deities which are identified with the deity of that Kal or Path having abhiman (ego) I am this, I-ness. The means (upaya) to achieve the paths could be Karma, it could be Upasana , could be both. Karma Yogi (2) Upasana Yogi yanti, attain anavrittim,the state of non-return; and avrittim, the state of return; chaiva, (which ever path they have practiced). Though in the text,
......all the places of enjoyment,together with the world of Brahma,are subject to return (8.16).
It was stated that those who departed even along the path of the gods return again, still those went along the path of the manes surely return; none of them is fit for gradual liberation.However, some among those who proceeded along the path of the gods return- those who are worshippers of symbols, having reached the ' world of lightning' do return after enjoyment there;those who are performers of meditation on the five fires etc. without being worshippers of Sagun(qualified) Brahman, they, even though led by a non-human person up to Hirnyagarbha, do return after enjoyment there (
see Chandogya Upanisad., 4.15.5; 5.10.2)-, still those who are meditators on Brahman in the 'dahara(small space with in the heart;(see Ch. Upanisad 8.1.2 ),etc.get liberated gradually after enjoyment.Thus not all of them return.

Verse 24,
Going through the path of the gods where in the deities mentioned are carriers of the individuals, they do not return. There are the Shrutis,
..... they reach the deity of Flame. From flame they reach day, from day to bright fortnight; from bright fortnight to the six months during which the sun moves northward; from those six months to the year; from the deities of the year to the world of the gods,air,sun, moon, lightning,as also(the gods) Varuna, Indra,and Prajapati. There a non-human person leads them to Brahma. This is the divine path (Chandogya., 5.10.2;Kau.,1.3; Br.,6.2.15 and S's Commentary on B.S.,4.3.2).
This is the path of Brahma. Proceeding along this path, they do not return to this world (Chandogya Up., 4.15.5). Thus, they reach to the conditioned Brahman and through gradual liberation they reach to the unconditioned Brahman at the end of the cycle, on the teachings of the Brahma.

Verse 25
Departing by that path of Manes- smoke, night, dark fortnight, southern solstice-,and reaching the lunar light, the Yogi returns.
Smoke, night etc., are deities who take control of the respective paths. There is the Sruti,
....they reach smoke, from smoke to night,from night to dark fortnight,from fortnight to southern solstice,then to world of manes,from manes to akash,from akash to moon. This is the king of Soma.That is food for gods.Him the gods eat. They enjoy there and after exhaustion of the fruits of good actions, again return along the very path by which they had gone (Chandogya Up,5.10.3-5).
Thus path of non-return is better than this path of return.

Verse 26
Very famous in Shruti and Smriti these two paths are eternal,because transmigratory existence has no begining.By the one of the two, by the white someone goes to the state of non-return;by the other, which is black, all the rest without exception return again. White has effulgent deities while black has dark deities.Other way white stands for Knowledge and the black stands for absence of Knowledge.

Verse 27
Knowing these two paths that one gives libertion and the other to transmigration again no Yogi-Karma yogi and Upashana yogi- gets deluded. He does not pursue selfish actions which lead to the path of smoke. Therefore, O Arjuna, be all time focused .

[lakssg]

Verse 28
All the merits one accrue by doing charity, good deeds , austerity and living a virtuous life will bring some punya-.Karma Kanda of Vedas consists mainly of various rituals and the results thereof . Various methods for getting punya as described in our scriptures are
- by Vedas- by swadyaya
-.by yagna-when performed unto perfection
-. By tapa- various austerities
-.by dhana- when done in the proper attitude and to the right person
All these leads one to swarga-highest realm possible - desired by those engaged in rituals . But it is only in the realm of finitude.

In case of an upasaka with single pointed devotion and ananya bhakthi result obtained is far superior and produce a cumulative result which is far greater than results of all the charities, tapas and swadya put together. Such a yogi transcends all other lokas, and attains that place, that abode, which is lord himself

[Schandra]

Hari Om,

In the preceding slokas, Bhaghavan Sri Krishna emphasizes on the liberation for one following the path of light and the eternal cyclic turmoil for one that chooses the path of darkness. Anyone who meditates in contemplation of the Self, is a yogi and will go on to reach the Supreme. He therefore advises Arjuna to be steadfast and not get deluded by the two paths and be a "yogi".
Arjuna who is well-versed with the vedas and what is expounds is certainly not going to be fully convinced that pure meditation alone can lead one to the Brahman. According to the vedas, karma and upasana are precursors to meditation. However, the Lord wants to impress upon Arjuna that even attempts at meditation can lead to much faster results than the slower processes like yagnas, austerities, charity, etc. that are mentioned in the vedas. This is said with the understanding that the meditator had reached the required level of dispassion and discrimination, which also increase with regular and sincere meditation.
Thus, a meditator who through meditation has gained the results of the practices described in the vedas, goes higher and higher till he reaches the Supreme. Once he has reached the Supreme Purusa, there is no return.

[Arvind]

Sloka 28
वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्‌ ।
अत्येत तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्‌ ॥

विदित्वा- Having known. Having known what the Lord had said in this Chapter, in response to the 7 questions of Arjuna in Slokas 1 and 2. He comes to know the goal, the means as well as the goal. He comes to know the nature of the Truth, as well as what needs to be done to attain it as well as what one must not do. So विदित्वा, having known all this.
योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्‌ - The Yogi attains the supreme Truth that is ancient and primeval. The attainment we have already seen is only in understanding, not a physical attainment.
Such a person अत्येत तत्सर्वमिदं- transcends all these. What are "these" he transcends? The fruits promised in the Vedas - yajna, dana and tapa. When done with desire these take us to heaven- meaning a better birth. When done without desire it leads to purity of mind, which becomes the means for knowledge. But both are in the realm of cause and effect. The Paramatma, not being a product of cause and effect, it is quite logical that when one attains Him he has transcended the chain of cause and effect.
Hence one must always regularly attempt the higher sadhanas - like meditation provided the desired dispassion has been arrived at. Even if not, attempts must be made. For these speed up the aspirant compared to the slower processes of evolution - like yajna, dana and tapa.

[Arvind]

Hari Om,

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful reflections on these Slokas of Chapter 8.

Before proceeding to Chapter 9, let us pause and summarize this Chapter. Though we have
seen the Slokas independently when we summarize the whole chapter it will help us consolidate
the thoughts and help us understand the chapter holistically.

There are several ways to look at it. You can either summarize by Sloka, or give thought flow
or just list out the concepts covered. I leave it to to the members to reflect and come with their
best ways of summarizing the chapter.

So everyone please post the summary for this Chapter. Once that is done we proceed to Chapter 9.

Pranaams
Arvind

[Arvind]

Summary of Chapter 8

Chapter 8 discusses the topics arising from the last two Slokas of Chapter 7. Chapter 7 onwards the discussion of "tat" starts (nature of the Lord or Reality) . So we find that even in this Chapter topic of devotion and nature of Lord is discussed.
In Chapter 7 towards the end the Lord had declared that those who are my devotees will come to know Me- in adhidaiva, adhyatma and adhibhautika,adhiyajna aspects. And those who know Me with these, at time of death they will reach Me.
Hence from arises the question of Arjuna.
In Verses 3 and 4 The Lord answers Arjuna's six questions.

The rest of the Chapter is exposition of the 7th question, as to how The Lord is to be known at time of death.
The Lord in a nut shell said that keep remembering me all life, for what we remember all life alone comes us to us at the time of death. Therefore to practice remembrance the Lord talks about various kinds of upasana.
In Verses 8,9,10 the first type of upasana is explained, as to how to think of the Lord with the mind not going anywhere else. The way as to how to think of the Supreme Purusha was explained in Verse 9 by various pointers- at the end of which a composite thought of the Lord must arise in one's mind.
In Verses 11,12,13 a second kind of alternate upasana was suggested. In this upasana the seeker follows the instructions of the earlier upasana, but adds an additional support of Omkara which is a name of Brahman. The Yogi at the time of death raises the Prana and mentally chants Om, remembering The Lord by the pointers indicated in Verse 9. (Idea is the sadhaka practises this upasana all life, therefore at time of death he can easily do it).
For those who find both these upasanas difficult, The Lord suggests an easier method in Verse 14, which is plain path of devotion. Sheer bhakti is sufficient, for what we love we always remember effortlessly. Hence by cultivating devotion to The Lord, is the third method.
Hence all these three methods are for purpose of bring to pur remembarance the thought of The Lord at the time of death, thereby we can then attain Him.

Verse 15 indicated the purpose of why one must put forth effort to reach The Lord. Reaching the Lord there is no return, whereas reaching other worlds we have to transmigrate.
There are two things said in Verse 15. One is that on reaching the Lord there is no return. The second is that reaching other worlds there is return. The second point is explained in Verses 17-19, the first point is explained in Verses 20,21.

Verses 17-19 talk about the ephemeral nature of all words, including that of Brahmaji. To do this the Lord indicates to us the life span of Brahmaji to show their epemeral nature. Hence this is done to arose dispassion in the mind of the seeker, and to cement the logic that why one must put forth all effort to reach the Lord.

The Lord had said that reaching Him there is no return (in Verse 16). This is explained in Verses 20,21 as to how this is. Higher than avyakta is another avyakta (higher than Maya is the Lord), and this Higher avyakta is The Lord who does not perish even when Brahmaji and his world perishes. Both Maya and Brahman are avyakta (un-manifested). But one ends (Maya), but the other does not.
Verses 23-27 Lord gives further clarity to us about the paths a jiva takes after death. One is a dark path, the path of return. The other is the Bright path, the path of non-return, which is the path of gradual liberation. There are presiding dieties who govern these paths. Anyone who knows these two paths they will put forth effort to go by the bright path, the path attained by devotion. Therefore be endowed with that devotion that will enable you to go by the shukla marga, seems to be what The Lord wants to impress upon us.

The Lord concludes by saying that those who do this upasana (yoga or devotion as explained), the fruit he attains is greater than what one can get by study of vedas, yajna, dana and tapas. Therefore, the idea is one must be a Yogi always.

[madan]

Verse 28
Whatever the fruits of Dharma(virtuous deeds), such as heaven, that has been prescribed in the study of vedas, yagya, tapa and daan, with regard to the study of vedas and their practice,by performing yagya well, by the various austerities one takes up and daan is well performed, all that; the Yogi steadfast in dhyan; transcends;viditva, by having known- by having correctly understood them, down to their performance,and having performed them; this,which has been stated during the course of answering the seven questions mentioned in verse 1 and 2 of this chapter.
The fruits that all one can get by doing study,yagya, tapa and daan together- one who remembers Lord at the time of death excels far. This is the crux.He reaches the state of Lord which is supreme,and primordial,the source of all. He realizes Brahman itself,the cause of all.
Thus, by this chapter is explained the meaning of word 'tat,that'(in Thou are That) for being meditated on.

[lakssg]

Summary of 8 th chapter
Main topic here is BHAKTHI/UPASANA various aspects of the bhakthi are explained in detail. Lord wanted to teach Athma Tatwa to Arjuna but first he wanted to show the importance of devotion to walk the path of knowledge. Lord glorifies ananya bhakthi –total identification with the lord -as supreme devotion .

In continuation of the 7 th chapter where lord has explained results of bhakthi- Arjuna wanted to know them in detail and he also wanted to know how does one remember lord at the time of death and its significance

In response to arjunas questions Lord tells that a bhaktha comes to know the higest truth- Imperishable Brahman described in upanishad as Akshara is the goal and the individual is not different from the Brahman and the means to reach this paramam padam.
Out of the 7 questions asked by Arjuna importance is given to the last question- how one remembers lord at the time of death

Result of remembering lord at the moment of death-based on” As you think so you become” Your next birth depends on what you think at the moment of death.if one thinks about some beings dear to him whether an animal or any human he will take a similar form..One who thinks of lord reaches lord certainly.

What decides the last thought- at the time of death we cannot determine what we think - body being weak mind is not in our control.the last thought is a cumulative effect of all thoughts entertained by one in his life. we have to be very cautious in thinking, feeling, and willing-


How does one do this- worship is technique by which the entire thought waves in the worshipper are turned to flow in a single direction . When practised for a long time mind dwells in thoughts of the lord exclusive of all other thoughts. This can be achieved by only bhakthi in some while others have to take assistance from rajayoga and omkara upasana
What is nature of purusha one thinks? This forms an alambana to hold on to the attributeless self.lakshanas – a few concepts whereby one comes to experience the purusha who is otherwise is indescribable.-Thus purusha is meditated as.sarvajna,substratum for all etc

One may think why should one put so much of effort to reach lord after death as mentioned in the different types of upasanas. Lord now promises that once one reaches him there is no more coming back- no more birth to him because he attains liberation for ever.all lokas including brahma loka are impermanent so one has to come back to this samsara again and again.
To show the superiority of upasana over karma (punya karma) lord also explains path taken by upasaka and those who do punya karma.Paths taken by the jeeva at end of tenure of this body also differs for an upasaka.upasaka goes through the shukla marga and reaches the supreme by kramamukthi .one who does only rituals goes through the Krishna marga and comes back to this samsara after exhaustion of punya in swarga.


An upasaka with single pointed devotion and ananya bhakthi is far superior and he has a cumulative result which is far greater than results of all the charities, tapas and swadyaya put together. Such a yogi transcends all other lokas, and attains that place, that abode, which is lord himself.

Final culmination of bhakthi is pointed out as attaining imperishable Brahman and for a bhaktha this is achieved by kramamukthi through Saguna brahma upasana

[madan]

After Hari om,
Summary of Ch. 8
Topic of Devotion starts in ch. 7, Sh. Krishna, the Lord expands further idea on Devotion. the seed of this chapter is in last one and half slokas of ch. 7. After listening 7th ch. carefully Arjuna puts seven question before the Lord for answer. The questions are- What is; That Brahman, adhyatma, karma, adhibhut, adhidaiva, adhiyagya and at the time of death how would You(God) become Known to him(sadhak).
The Lord replies that;'That Brahman' is Supreme 'Akshar which is non-perishable and pervades every thing and is not same as Om, Svabhav is adhyatma which is Me as Jeev in individual, bisarg is termed as karma which nourishes all beings- all 'sadhana' towards mankind is karma that is to say final Lakshya of all sadhana comes to Know Jeev and Brahman is fruits of devotion and Upasana, adhibhut is Me as perishable matter(My apara prakriti), adhidaiva is Me as Hiranyagarbha,first born purus,presiding over deities which also enables individual's organs function, adhiyagya is Me as Antaryami- yam yati sitting in the heart of every body as voice of God guiding the people whether they listen to or not.
As regards 7th question, Lord says, remembering Me alone, at the time of death,one who gives up the body he reaches to Me,there is no doubt in it. Not only with regards to Me this is true for any entity as what ever entity or thought he remembers or entertains he becomes that very entity or thought because his mind was always occupied with that thought.Therefore, keep your mind always occupied with Me and do your duty.But how to remember when I am at work?You should perform action by thinking that you are doing action for God.our heart,love should be for God.Action should be to give happiness to God.
How does one does worship?
God says there are three ways to remember and Know Him. Worship No-1, practice of single flow of thought remembering God , the mind not going anywhere else,such person reaches Him through bright path and attains gradual liberation. Next what is the nature of Purush(God)?Here eight signs of Purush such as Omniscient, Eternal, Ruler,Subtler than subtle has been given worshiping whom one reaches Him.
Upashana yog assisted,the Sadhak using Yogik power raises his Prana through 'Susumna nadi and brings it in his Ajna Chakra,and with the steady mind he remembers God at the time of death departing from the body,he reaches supreme Reality- Brahma lok and then gradual liberation. From ajna chakra he further raises prana and goes up Sahassrar and goes out from there.It is to be noted down when Sadhak does this practice through out his life then only he wpll be able to do it at the time of death. this is true to next Upashana and practice also.
Worship No-2,along with yoga he also chants Om,thus he gets support of Om to keep his mind focused.
Thus,the essence of all SAdhana is to keep mind focused.
Upashana-3, tnthis case Sadhak resorts to pure devotion remembering God always,daily- unbroken rememberance with love.To such a focused sadhak I am easily available and no doubt he gets gradual liberation.After reaching Me,becoming one with Me they will never get one more birth.
O Arjuna,all worlds up to the world of Brahmaji are subject to return,but having reached Me they never come back.there after Lord explains the life span of Brahmaji to show ephemeral nature of his world and other lokas. All the lokas come in the day of Brahma and go in the night of Brahma(avyakta).Higher than this avyakta there is another avyakta which is supreme Brahman which does not perish at all. This avyakta which is higher than Prakriti(maya) is called Akshar which is also called Paramgatim by getting which there is no return and that is My supreme aboad,that is My nature -My para prakriti.The person who loves Me, worships Me, remembers Me, he, therefore reaches Me.
Next,the Lord discusses two paths, one is bright path,a path of non- return when a person goes through that path after death, the other is dark path which is subject to return. there are respective deities of this path who operate from point to point. They carry jeev from one point in the path and hand over him to concerned deity who carries and hands over to nnext deity.A karma yogi and upasana yogi who remembers God at the last moment departing from body goes through bright path and gets gradual liberation liberation at the end of Brahmaji's cycle after getting Knowledge upon his teachings and those who do not get Knowledge come back to this world. THus, some do not return and some return. On the other hand, those yogis who do selfish actions adhering to vitues go through dark path get swarg and after exhaustion of virtuous deeds come back to this world surely.Thus the bright path is certainly better than the dark path. God says those who Know these twp paths, they never get deluded.
Finally God says the fruits that all one can get by study of veda, sacrifices, austerities and charity doing them together- one who remembers Lord at the time of death excels far

[nikhil1707]

In the seventh chapter, Shri Krishna gave a detailed description of Ishvara, and stressed the importance of recognizing the infinite aspect of Ishvara. The eight chapter took a bit of a detour from that topic. In the beginning of this chapter, Arjuna raised seven questions that Shri Krishna answered in this chapter. The key question was : “how does one attain Ishvara after death” which became the main topic of this chapter.

Shri Krishna began this topic by asserting that the thought of the time of death determines our fate. If that thought is of Ishvara, we will attain Ishvara. Since we will not know when our death occurs, he advised us to meditate upon our Ishvara throughout our life so it automatically becomes our final thought. To help us cultivate this thought, Shri Krishna elaborated upon three types of meditation.

The first type of meditation was on the cosmic form of Ishvara and the second type was on the name of Ishvara, which is Om. Both these meditation techniques also required us to exercise control of our praana or life forces. Since this is beyond most of our capabilities, Shri Krishna recommended the third type of meditation which was much simpler. He advised us to remember Ishvara in any form, but do so constantly throughout our life.

So then, what happens when we die? Shri Krishna said that the universe is like an infinite cycle of creation and dissolution, symbolically depicted as the day and night of Lord Brahma. Both day and night are each 4.32 billion years long. At the end of each day of Lord Brahma, all living and non-living beings become unmanifest. When the night of Lord Brahma ends, all those beings are manifest again. In other words, they are “frozen” at the end of the day and they “thaw” in the beginning of the day. This goes on infinitely.

Having known this, our state is pitiable. We are caught in this endless cycle of creation and dissolution. Only those beings who only put forth the effort come out of this endless cycle. They attain Ishvara transcends this cycle. So, urging us to take steps towards achieving liberation is the refrain of this chapter, and of the Gita as a whole.

Towards the end of the chapter, Shri Krishna enumerated the two paths that a jeeva or soul takes after death. The first path is the dark path which is attained by those who have performed good actions on this earth. They attain the abode of the moon (heaven). After exhausting the results of their actions, they return to this world and are reborn.

The second path is the bright path which is attained by those who have practised devoted meditation on Ishvara in addition to performing good actions. They attain the abode of Lord Brahma and remain there until its dissolution when they are eventually liberation. We are encouraged to take up this path.

[Schandra]

Hari Om.

In chapter eight Lord Krishna dwells upon the science of Yoga. He emphasizes on the utmost importance of the very last thought at the moment of death, stating that one attains whatever one remembers at the end of one’s life .He also talks about the importance of sense control and how one should, by controlling one’s senses ,withdraw from the outside world and centre the mind on God.

He goes on to say that the circumstances of departing from the mortal body has no bearing if one is firmly fixed on the Supreme Purusa . By always remaining in tune with the Lord one stays united with the Divine through constant remembrance, regular meditation and continuous communion, then all times, places, conditions and situations become auspicious and blessed to become one with the Supreme and attain moksha .
He gives information about the creation of the material worlds as well as establishing a distinction between them and the spiritual world. Beyond all things manifest and unmanifest, beyond these names and forms, there is the Supreme Being—Brahman.

He goes on to explain the light and dark paths used for getting deliverance from this material existence, the destination, and the rewards received by travelers of these paths.
The secret of reaching the Divine Being and thus freeing oneself forever from the tedious cycle of birth and death (samsara) , is to constantly meditate on the Lord. One can reach this state by regular Sadhana. Practices like yagna, charity, etc are only secondary

[sathiavathi]

HARI OM

VERSE-26

There are two paths of the world for self realisation. The bright and the dark path.Proceeding the bright path ,one reaches the supreme state from which there is no return.proceeding the dark path ,one

returns to the mortal world ,and are subjected to birth and death till they attain the bright path.All the worlds attained through the dark path are subject to appearance and disappearance.

verse-27

Amoung the yogis who ever succeeds in realizing the truth about the two paths does not get deluded. One who does not know the secret of these two paths has a natural tendency to get attached to

the enjoyments of the world and fall from the yoga.On the other hand ,he who knows the secrets of these two paths does not get attached to any form of enjoyment , realising as he does that enjoyments

obtained in any form of the worlds up to brahma loka are perishable and trivial,and remains constantly engaged in practices leading to god realization. A yogi who realizes the truth about these two paths

no longer falls in to the delution of getting attached to any form of enjoyment. Lord asks Arjuna, at all times be steadfast in yoga in the form of equanimity.

verse-28

Lord now concludes the chapter by glorifying the man who is established in yoga , and pointing out the fruit of applying himself to spiritual practice in accordance with the spirit of the profound truth.

The yogi realizing the profound truth ,transcends all the rewads , ascribed in the scriptures to the study of the vedas ,as well as to the performance of sacrifices ,austirities and charities ,and attains

the beginigless supreme state.