Bhagavatgita a detailed studychapter8- Imperishable Brahman

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8.abhyaasayogayukthena chethasaa na anyagaaminaa

paramam purusham dhivyam yaathi paartha anuchinthayan

.. With repeated practice, with mind not diverted by anything else, continuously meditating, one can attain the supreme divine Purusha.

The epithets abhyaasayogayukthena, with repeated practice, chethasaa na anyagaaminaa, with mind not diverted by anything else and anuchinthayan, continuous meditation all point out to dhruvasmrthi referred in the last sloka.

In the sixth chapter it is said that controlling the mind is possible through practice and detachment `abhyaasena thu kountheya vairaagyeNa cha grhyethe.'(BG.6.35) Here the importance of abhyasa is stressed and the vairagya, detachment is indicated by na anyagaaminaa chethasaa, mind which is not wavering. Consistency and persistency is essential in yoga. By constantly contemplating on something one reaches the state of the object of contemplation.

To meditate on an object you must have a clear picture of it in your mind. The attributes of the supreme are given in the next sloka.

9.kavim puraanam anuSasithaaram

 

aNoraNeeyaamsam anusmareth yaH

sarvasaya dhaathaaram achinthya roopam

 

aadhithyavarNam thamasaH parasthaath

 

One who remembers (at the time of departure) the wise, ancient and the ruler, subtler than the subtle, the upholder of all, whose form is beyond thought and expression and who is resplendent like the sun and beyond the darkness of ignorance, (attains the supreme Purusha )

Kavi- The word normally understood to mean a poet actually means 'far sighted or omniscient,' Brahman is referred to as kavi denoting the omniscience, puraaNA, ancient, meaning eternal, anuSaasithaa, ruler of the whole world being transcendent and aNOh aNeeyaamsam, subtler than the subtle, denoting the imminence, hence sarvasya Dhaatha, the supporter of all, acinthya roopam beyond thought, being dhesakala vasthu aparicchannam, not limited by place, time or entity, thus not limited by thought or expression, Adhithya varnam, being luminous with the timeless light of consciousness and hence thamasah parasthAth, beyond the darkness of ignorance.

 

The Lord is called kavi because He knows everything past, present and future as He Himself said `vedhaaham samavethaani varthmaanaani cha arjuna, bhavishyaaNi cha bhoothaani maam thu na veda kaSchana' (Ch.7.26) This denotes His sarvajnathva, omniscience. He knows everything because they came from Him who is the first and only existence. Hence He is puraaNa, ancient.

 

Since He is the creator sustainer and the annihilator everything is under His control hence He is anuSaasithaa, ruler of the whole world. He is the first cause and activates the whole universe being transcendent, all pervading and imminent, inner self of all. Though all pervading, He is subtler than the subtlest, the atom, aNoraNeeyaan mahatho maheeyaan , says the Upanishad, He is subtler than the atom and larger than the largest , the space.

 

He . being omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, all-knowing, all powerful and all pervading, He is the giver of all sarvasya Dhaathaaram, including the result of one's karma. But He is beyond the perception of senses, mind and intellect, achinthyaroopam. Yet He is all-light, like the Sun. As long as the Sun is not there one can see nothing in total darkness Similarly as long as the wisdom does not arise, The Lord cannot be seen in the darkness of ignorance, But one the jnana rises like the Sun, .there is no more darkness and the reality is visible but not through the senses, mind and intellect which are the products of ignorance. The sun is always there but we cannot see it because of our limitations of perception. This is what is meant by aadhithyavarnam, who is thamasaH parasthaath, beyond darkness because like the Sun there is no darkness of ignorance when He manifests.

 

10.prayaaNa kale mansaa achalena

 

bhakthyaa yuktho yogabalena chaiva

bhruvormaDhye praanam aaveSya samyak

 

sa tham param purusham upaithi dhivyam

 

At the time of death with a steadfast mind, full of devotion and with the power of yoga, fixing the vital force between the eyebrows, he attains the supreme Purusha.

 

Next Krishna makes a brief reference to the technique of yoga as outlined earlier. A yogi sustains the life force, prANa, between the brows and remembering the supreme reality at the time of death reaches the divine. This sloka outlines the stages attained through the power of yoga. The phrase yogabala means the steadiness of mind produced from the accumulation of thoughts centered on Brahman. PrayaaNA kAle , at the time of departure from the body a yogi first sees the Lord in the lotus of his heart and then by stages conquers the planes of yogic experience till he causes the prANA to enter the space between the eyebrows to enable it to leave through the sukshmanadi in the head. Such a yogi reaches the supreme self, 'param purusham upaithi'

Remembering that these six chapters are about bhakthi yoga, This sloka is to be taken in that sense only and not as the description of ashtangayoga. The stages reached by hatayoga are also reached through single pointed devotion by a bhaktha easily.