Bhagavad Gita (8)

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CHAPTER 8THE IMPERISHABLE GODHEAD(Akshara Brahma Yoga)"The point is not to hope for a good birth but to aim for a good death."1-2.

Arjuna says "Please wait a minute, Krishna. Your words raise several

questions in me : Just what precisely is Brahman, the Supreme Godhead,

and what is this Adhyatma you mentioned? And what is the essential nature of karma? What, really, are those other things you referred to - adhibhuta, adhidaiva, and adhiyajna?

I know you alluded to them as spirits or deities who serve divine

purposes, but what exactly do you mean? And how exactly are yogis united with the Godhead at the time of their death?"3.

Krishna obliges. "You have asked seven questions, Arjuna, some of them

rather abstract. Time is running fast, the war faces us with open jaws,

so listen closely. First, Brahman (the Godhead) is My absolute highest

nature, vaster than whatever you call vast, omnipresent, immanent

everywhere, the Imperishable (indestructible, undying, eternal) Divine."Next, the term Atma (or Adhyatma)

is used to indicate the exact same vastness, the earliest Supreme

Godhead existing in all individual beings. It cannot be known without

great effort."Next, karma

(here meaning action) refers in this context to My original vibrations,

the initial actions that brought all creation into existence and keeps

it going. (All beings are a part of this karma).4. "The prefix adhi

means the 'beginning' or 'first', the 'original'. It connects these

terms directly with the all-pervasiveness of the primordial Godhead

(Brahman). Adhibhuta pertains

to the earliest, most initial Divinity that exists in the physical

universe, and particularly in the elements and thoughts that comprise

the individual. Adhidaiva

refers to the primordial Divinity that dwells in the numerous lesser

deities who, as My agents, operate an individual's body, mind, and

senses. The eye is illumined by Surya the Sun god, the hand by Indra,

and so forth. And the term adhiyajna

refers to the earliest Divinity in the act of giving, the primordial

spirit of selfless sacrifice that flows throughout creation."The

point in all this is that Divinity is actually present throughout the

universe, in every object, all creatures, and each individual being -

and it always has been. Furthermore, this same Divinity exists within

each and every activity that all these beings do in daily life - and it

has been that way forever."Despite the fact that humanity finds

numerous ways to separate God from the world, and despite the fact that

everything in the world is perishable (including your body, I remind

you), know that all of it is totally pervaded by the Imperishable

Supreme Divine, which is Me."HOW TO DIE5-6.

"Regarding your final question, which is very important, know this :

whoever remembers Me at the time of death will no doubt come to Me.

That person's consciousness will merge into My cosmic consciousness."This

is the universal law, Arjuna. The sum total of all thoughts and

feelings during the whole span of your life condense into a single

state of mind at the time of your departure from the body. You assume a

particular mental makeup at the instant of death. Whatever occupies

your attention throughout life will inevitably be your consciousness at

the moment you die - and to that realm of consciousness you will go.

Then, some time later, that same mental structure is manifested back

into the world. This is called the next birth.7. "So what

should you do? Throughout life, prepare for the death moment. Actually,

the moment of death does not mean some future instant in time, it means

this very moment! Any moment may be your last, so treat each as the

last because your thought at that instant is the foundation on which

your next birth is assembled."Live in a state of constant

spiritual awareness. Do everything for God. Think of the Divine every

minute. Like the street musician who artfully plucks the guitar and at

the same time plays the pipes fastened to it, do your earthly duties

well, but simultaneously be aware at every moment of the Godhead. Do

your duty, Arjuna, fight, but do it with your mind and heart fixed on

Me. Then you will surely come to Me.8. "The well-picked mind does not wander after anything else. Through constant practice (abhyasa yoga)

living becomes a lifelong meditation on the Divine. Then, no matter

what you may be doing, you are imbibing godly tendencies. This becomes

a habit of the mind. Educate your mind to this habit. This is how one

finds God and goes to God.9. "The Divine knows everything. The

Divine is the intelligence behind the functioning of the entire cosmos,

the Sovereign Ruler who designates the structure and working of the

universe. The Divine is subtler than the subtle and yet the support of

all; It is inconceivable, incomprehensible, as bright and unchanging as

the sun, beyond the darkness of ignorance, above illusion. The Divine

is the First Cause. Before Divinity there was nothing.10.

"Remember the Divine this way at the time of death. I cannot emphasize

enough the importance of this. When it comes time to depart your body,

still your mind completely; draw your life force utterly into the

center of your spiritual awareness (between the eyebrows). In this way

you will reach Divinity.11. "I will now tell you of the supreme

goal, the eternal state that is deathless, the imperishable,

indestructible state that all scriptures point to, which is beyond

death and rebirth. This state can be entered only by self-controlled

people untainted by worldly desires.12-13. "At the time of

death, one should close down the gates of the senses, place the mind in

the shrine of the (spiritual) heart, focus all life-force energy

upwards to the center of consciousness between the eyebrows, and repeat

the syllable Om, which represents Me, Brahman, the Supreme Godhead."It is not just the outer sound of Om

that is beneficial; it is what happens inside. The act of vocalizing

this sound helps focus your thoughts single-pointedly on the One, on

God. When you are absorbed in repeating this syllable, which is in

essence the Divine name, you are concentrating on the Divine - and then

you will achieve the supreme goal, Divinity. As the river enters the

ocean, your individual consciousness (Atma) flows into the Cosmic Consciousness, Brahman.14.

"Arjuna, in a sense this is the very essence of My teachings. The easy

way to merge with Me, Brahman, is to constantly, steadfastly,

relentlessly remember Me always, at every moment of your life! In this

way you are ever prepared for your end. One's next birth depends on how

one's death takes place. The point is not to hope for a good birth but

to aim for a good death.15. "This world is transitory and full

of suffering. Those great souls who have perfected their lives and come

to Me are no longer subject to rebirth into yet another lifetime. Avoid

birth and you avoid death."THE PLANES OF EXISTENCE16. "The levels of existence beyond death are known as the lokas (worlds). The highest among them is Brahma-loka. All of these worlds and all the beings that inhabit them, from Brahma-loka downward,

are subject to rebirth, including Brahma Himself (not Brahman - Brahma,

the aspect of God that acts as the creator). But the one who climbs

beyond these middle planes and reaches Me, the Absolute state, knows no

rebirth."One gets what one is worthy of, Arjuna. Those who do

not advance past the notion of heaven and hell commit themselves to the

intermediate worlds and tie themselves to death and rebirth.17-19.

"Contemplate the cosmic standard of time and creation. When Brahma the

creator wakes up at dawn of each cosmic day, this entire universe and

all creatures in it are instantly manifested, only to be dissolved back

into the unmanifested (formless) at Brahma's cosmic nightfall. But each

cosmic day and night of Brahma last thousands of yugas, and each yuga

lasts 10,000 to 400,000 years; the time is all but incomprehensible to

humans. In succeeding days and nights of Brahma, the same multitude of

beings helplessly come to birth and death again and again as the

physical universe continues its expanding and contracting."This

eternal cosmic play is the same in the microcosm of the individual soul

as it is in the cosmos. When an individual goes to sleep, the entire

world his or her mind experiences as 'real' withdraws, only to 'come

alive' again at waking."IMMORTALITY20.

"But beyond even the mysterious, unmanifested state into which all

beings dissolve at cosmic nightfall, there is another unmanifested

reality. It is Brahman, the Godhead, the Thing-in-Itself that is beyond

time, that does not perish even when existence itself dissolves!21.

"It is this eternal, absolute Thing-in-Itself that is the ultimate

goal. I am That, Arjuna. All those who come to this ultimate home come

to Me, never again to be separate, never again to return.22.

"The only way to reach this immortal state is through love, through

unswerving devotion to Me (the Divine) alone. As the individual wave

does not have any existence independent of the sea, the separate soul

does not have any real existence apart from Me, the Universal Soul.23-25.

"There are two paths for the individual soul : to freedom from

death-rebirth, or to bondage. The former is allegorically the

'Northern' path, which here indicates the way of light and brightness

of day, symbolically a cloudless sky. This leads selfless souls (those

who are free of ignorance and egoism) to the supreme Godhead. The other

is the 'Southern' path, here meaning the way of darkness or the path of

smoke or fog. This leads selfish souls (the ignorant, egoistic ones) to

the lesser light of the moon and chains them to the darkness of rebirth

and death.26. "These two ways, the light (Northern) and the

dark (Southern), have existed since the beginning. Following the light

way (which refers not to a period of time but a state of mind) leads

you to spiritual success and freedom; taking the dark way leads you to

further pain and misery.27. "Once you know these two paths you

can never be deluded or misled again. Therefore, beloved friend, gain

this great knowledge! Be a yogi at all times.28.

"The wise know that living by scriptural injunctions (good deeds,

sacrifice, and so forth) will help you reach heaven. But the true yogi knows that even heaven is part of nature (prakriti) and thus is eventually perishable. This yogi therefore transcends all of nature to reach Me, Brahman, the Imperishable Godhead, the Divine Love who lives in your heart."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/