Bhagavad Gita - Adhyay 8 - Imperishable Brahman (Akshara Brahma Yoga)- Post 9

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In chapter 8, Arjun raised seven questions that Shri Krishna answered. The main question that Arjun asked to Shri Krishna was - How one can attain Ishvara after death. This has become the main topic of this chapter.

In the starting of this chapter, Shri Krishna asserts the thought of death time, which determines our fate. If that is the thought of Ishvara, we can attain Ishvara. Shri Krishna adds that we don't know when our death will come, so advises us to meditate upon Ishvara thtoughout our life, which automatically becomes our final thought. 

To help us to cultivate this thought, Shri  Krishna has briefed about three types of meditation. The first type of meditation is the cosmic form of Ishvara and the second type of meditation is the name of the Ishvara which starts with Om. These both types of meditation help us to control our Prana or our life forces. 

These meditations are beyond our capabilities, thus Shri Krishna recommended the third eye of meditation, which is much simpler. In this context, Shri Krishna advised us to remember Ishvara in any form, throughout our life. Here Arjun asked - "so what happens when we die?", Shri Krishna answered that the universe is like infinite cycle of recreation and dissolution, symbolically depicted as the day and night of lord Brahma. Both day and night of lord Brahma are 4.32 billion years long. At the end of each night, all those beings are manifested again. It means that they are frozen at the end of the day and thaw at the beginning of the day. This is a continuous process.

Further Shri Krishna tells that we all are caught in this endless cycle of reaction and dissolution. Only human being who survive in this endless cycle is the one who put forth the effort - will only come out. So Shri Krishna urges us to take steps towards achieving liberation, which is the refrain of this chapter and that is Bhagavad Gita as whole. 

At the end of this chapter, Shri Krishna identifies two paths where 'Jeeva' or soul takes place after death. The first path is dark path which is attained by those who have performed good actions on this earth and goes to heaven after exhausting the results and their actions, they are reborn and returned into this world. The second path is the bright path- which is attained by the devotees who practice devoted meditation on Ishvara, in addition to performing good actions on the earth. After death they abode the lord Brahma and remain there until it's dissolution when they are eventually liberated. So in this chapter and in the whole Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna tells us to take the path of a devotee. 

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