8. Chapter 8 — Akṣara-Brahma Yogaḥ · The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman

8.1

अर्जुन उवाच | किं तद्ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम | अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते

arjuna uvāca kiṃ tadbrahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama / adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktam adhidaivaṃ kimucyate / / 8.1

Arjuna says: O my Lord, O supreme person, what is Brahman? What is the Self? What are result-based actions? What is this material manifestation? And what are the demi- gods? Please explain all this to me.

arjuna uvāca — Arjuna said · kiṃ — what · tat — that · brahma — Brahman · kiṃ — what · adhyātmaṃ — the self · kiṃ — what · karma — fruitive activities · puruṣottama — O Supreme Person · adhibhūtaṃ — the material manifestation · ca — and · kiṃ — what · proktaṃ — is called · adhidaivaṃ — the demigods · kiṃ — what · ucyate — is called.

8.2

अधियज्ञ: कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन | प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभि:

adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko’tra dehe’smin madhusūdana / prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo’si niyatātmabhiḥ / / 8.2

How does this Lord of sacrifice live in the body, and in which part does He live, O Madhusūdana? How can those engaged in devotional service know You at the time of their death?

adhiyajñaḥ — the Lord of sacrifice · kathaṃ — how · kaḥ — who · atra — here · dehe — in the body · asmin — in this · madhusūdana — O Madhusudana · prayāṇakāle — at the time of death · ca — and · kathaṃ — how · jñeyaḥ — be known · asi — You can · niyatātmabhiḥ — by the self-controlled.

These are two beautiful questions! Of course, when I translate them into English, much of the taste is lost! No English words can convey the meaning of so many beautiful words expressed by Arjuna. A single word has many meanings in Saṃskṛit. The moment I translate, I give only one dimension, a single dimension of the verse. Understand, the Saṃskṛit language is that it is not only linguistic, but also has importance at the phonetic level. Just the vibration of the words can transform our whole inner space. The sound changes the energy of the place and the inner space of those who hear it or are chanting it. We should understand the concepts called padā and padārtha.

For example, when I say the word ‘cow,’ immediately a figure appears in our mind—an animal with four legs, a tail, head and two horns. The word is called padā, the figure is padārtha. What happens in our mind when we hear the word is padārtha. In all languages the distance or gap between padā and padārtha is significant. In Saṃskṛit the connection is immediate; the result is instantaneous. That is why I tell people to listen to Saṃskṛit devotional verses for at Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 573 least 10 minutes a day. It does not matter whether you understand it or not. Just listen to any Saṃskṛit verse—whether it is Viṣṇu Sahasṛanāma, Bhagavad Gītā, Śiva Sahasṛanāma or something else.

Even if you don’t understand the meaning of the verses, the very energy of the vibrations will purify your body. There is something called śabda tattva, the principle of sound. When air travels from our navel area to the throat, the śabda tattva changes the air into words. If this element is not there, only air comes out; no words come out. In other languages the more we use śabda tattva, the more tired we become. However in Saṃskṛit, the śabda tattva strengthens us. The more we chant, the more energetic we become! It is like the generator automatically re-charging the battery and the battery running the generator. It is completely interconnected.

The Saṃskṛit language strengthens the śabda tattva that converts air into sound or words. This is why it does not matter whether or not we understand it. Listening to the sound, the very vibration, has an effect on our being. Modern day research proves that the vibrations of the verses can straightaway remove impurities. This is why masters ask us to offer different types of worship as a means to chant Saṃskṛit verses. We simply heal ourselves. Here, Arjuna asks beautifully, ‘O Lord! What is Brahman? What is Self? What are result-based actions? What is this material manifestation? What are demi-gods? O Madhusūdana! How do You live in the body, and how can those engaged in devotion, those who are practicing the eternal consciousness, know You at the time of death?’ arjuna uvāca kiṁ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṁ kiṁ karma puruṣottama I adhibhūtaṁ ca kiṁ proktam adhidaivaṁ kim ucyate II 8.1 I had seriously wondered how Arjuna, a great kṣatriya (warrior) who ruled a kingdom, could ask the same questions again and again in different ways!

I read a version of Mahābhārat which says that Arjuna is also an embodiment of Kṛṣṇa: the Incarnation of nara and Nārāyaṇa. These are two different energies of Lord Viṣṇu; one manifested as Arjuna and the other as Kṛṣṇa. The whole drama happened so that the Gītā took shape to enrich humanity! Otherwise, even the disciple with the least consciousness would not have asked so many questions, again and again. Understand one thing, when we have so many questions, we are not ready to wait for answers. We are simply expressing our confusion. It is almost a catharsis. Here Arjuna asks so many questions. However, the main question to Kṛṣṇa is: How does a person who is engaged in practicing Your teachings know You at the time of death?

Here starts the whole teaching of Kṛṣṇa. He reveals the secrets of death. One thing I want to tell you: The West has spent all its energy to understand life. The East has spent all its energy to understand death. Nobody has gone so deeply into, or achieved such deep experiences of death, as our ṛṣis, sages have. These masters have done a great service by bringing the knowledge of death to the people who are living. People ask me, ‘Swamiji, why should I know about death? Knowing about life is enough; after all I am still young.’ The word ‘death’ creates fear in people. When it comes to death, they are not ready to listen.

They think, ‘Why should we know about death? If we know about life, it is enough.’ Please be very clear, our understanding about death impacts our understanding about life. Life and death are two sides of the same coin. Understand one thing: In the East, all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, talk about many births or reincarnation. Most Western religions talk about a single birth. This concept of reincarnation has influenced Indian society so deeply that nobody bothers about time! In India, people do not bother about time. They are so relaxed. Till 10 o’clock in the morning, people sit in teashops! If we ask for anything, they say, ‘Not today, tomorrow; if not tomorrow, next birth!’

They have eternity in front of them because somewhere they know they will come again. They are in no hurry and therefore do not run behind anything. Indian people are utterly and completely relaxed. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 575 In the West, whatever they desire to achieve, they must finish achieving within 75 to 80 years. They do not have time. They either live now or never because there is only birth according to them. That is the reason why people run and run! Please be very clear: Our understanding about death influences our whole social structure. Our whole thinking system, our whole mentality can be transformed with the right understanding about death.

I gave a single example about how the idea of reincarnation influences Eastern society and how the idea of one birth influences Western society. Thousands of such examples can be given. The idea and understanding of death is much more important than the understanding of life. Whether we understand life or not, it remains the same. But the moment we understand death, the whole quality of life changes and our consciousness changes. The moment we realize the truth of death, if we experience even an intellectual understanding of death, it is enough to transform our whole way of thinking. That is why the moment we think of Yama, god of death, our whole life has yama, or discipline.

The Saṃskṛit word ‘yama’ means both ‘death’ and ‘discipline’. For your convenience, I pronounce it a little differently; yet the spelling is the same. Understanding of Death, Instills Discipline The first technique of sage Patañjali in his work—Yoga Sūtra, is yama. Death is also yama. If we understand death, our whole life will be automatically disciplined. A strange but authentic discipline will happen in our life. Why do I say ‘strange but authentic?’ It is because discipline as we know it is hypocrisy. But the discipline that is yama is a new kind of discipline, which is strange yet totally authentic. Why do I say ‘strange’? A person well read in Bhāgavatam, the Hindu epic that describes the Incarnations of Śrī Viṣṇu, asked me, ‘Swamiji, Kṛṣṇa is enlightened and He was a brahmacāri, celibate.

How is that possible?’ We need to understand that brahmacarya does not mean celibacy. I have not said that Kṛṣṇa is celibate. I said Kṛṣṇa is in the consciousness of Brahman. Here we translate the word ‘brahmacarya’ to mean celibate. The moment we translate it, the meaning is lost. Kṛṣṇa’s inner space was totally pure, untouched. Let me tell you a small history, Purāṇa: Once Vyāsa, the ancient sage of India attended a function. After having a feast at the function, on his way back, he came to a river, which he had to cross in order to reach his ashram, his monastery. He stood before the river and said, ‘If I am sincere in my ekādasi fasting, let this river give way so that I may cross over.’

Ekādasi refers to the eleventh day of the moon’s cycle when normally people fast. The moment Vyāsa uttered those words, the river gave way. Vyāsa crossed it followed by his devotees and they reached the ashram. The devotees were astonished and asked, ‘What is this? You enjoyed a feast just a few hours back. Yet, when you asked the river to give way on the condition that you have been sincere in your ekādasi fast, the river gave way! How can this be?’ Vyāsa replied, ‘When you eat with the consciousness that you are not the body, you never feel that you are touched by food. You never feel that you are eating, digesting and living.

The body ate; I do not know anything about it.’ Of course, it is difficult to understand this concept. We can easily cheat ourselves with this idea. The problem with all great truths is, there is the danger of our misusing and abusing them. Take atomic energy; we can use it for good purposes, to serve the whole of humanity. Or we can destroy, we can abuse humanity with that same energy. People ask me, ‘How can I find out whether I am living in the out-ofbody-consciousness or not; how can I live like Vyāsa?’ Listen, when we Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 577 reach the state of Vyāsa, we will not have this question.

Vyāsa says he is fasting after having eaten a feast because he does not feel connected to his body. He does not feel that his body is related to him. He is untouched. His inner space is so pure and filled with bliss, nothing touches him. Going back to the question, ‘How can you say that Kṛṣṇa is a brahmacāri?’ Please understand that His inner space was so pure that He was never touched by body consciousness. He never experienced that He had a body and He never came down to body consciousness. Let me tell you one more thing: It is not easy to live with so many women as Kṛṣṇa did, and yet survive!

If we start living, then we will understand. When I say women, I mean men also. When a single man or woman enters our life, we understand how difficult it is to adjust and live. When the other person enters our life, by their very quality hell seems to be created. Here we see somebody living with many persons, and yet remaining blissful. This shows that Kṛṣṇa’s inner space was never touched. His inner space was pure and radiating bliss. The person whose inner space is filled with bliss will never be touched by any impurity. Of course, it is a difficult concept to understand. However, the moment we understand the depth of it, we will understand this concept.

A small story: A Sannyāsi (monk) goes to the Indian king Janaka who is an Enlightened king and one who enjoyed both the material world and spiritual enlightenment. The Sannyāsi questions him, ‘How can you say you are enlightened when you enjoy the benefits of worldly life?’ Sannyāsis are jealous of people who enjoy life! If you are complete with the world and experience bliss within you and consciously leave the world to enter monastic life, you will never feel jealous. Then you are a real Sannyāsi. If you have escaped from the outer world thinking that you will find something worthwhile in the inner world, and there too the experience has not been solid, you start wondering what to do.

You have neither the inner space of bliss nor the outer possessions. Such people console themselves by abusing and disrespecting householders! They say to them, ‘You people are not doing things properly. You are too attached to everything...’ So this Sannyāsi asked Janaka, ‘How can you say you are enlightened and have both material and spiritual enjoyments?’ Janaka said, ‘Please stay in my palace for a few days. I will talk to you after that. Right now I am busy, a party is going on, so I cannot talk about philosophical things now!’ Accordingly, arrangements were made for the Sannyāsi’s food and stay. However, above his bed a sharp knife hung, suspended on a thin thread.

The Sannyāsi asked, ‘Why do you hang this knife exactly over my head?’ The palace workers said, ‘We do not know, but these are our king’s orders. You must sleep here.’ Throughout the night the Sannyāsi sat up, awake, thinking when the knife might fall on him. The next morning Janaka asked, ‘O Swami! How are you today? Did you sleep well?’ The Sannyāsi said, ‘You know what you have done! Why do you then ask? How can I sleep when a knife hangs over my head?’ Janaka laughs and says, ‘When death is in front of you, you cannot do anything; your whole life changes. However, although I know death is in front of me, I am unaffected.

I know that the knife hangs over me, yet my whole consciousness lives in an unaffected way in this palace. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 579 That is the difference. Just because of one knife you are unable to enjoy the beautiful bed and all these luxuries. Yet even though all these things are there externally, my inner Self is not touched. It is pure because I know clearly that at any moment death can happen; death is hanging in front of me. Because I live with this moment-to-moment awareness of death, I enjoy the material world fully without getting caught in it.’ That is why I said, ‘Yama can make a strange, yet authentic yama in your life.

Death can instill a strange but authentic discipline in your life.’ Understand death, intellectually. Your whole thinking will change. Your whole way of living, your very being will be transformed. You need not leave this place as the same person. Your core can be touched. Kṛṣṇa starts with the secrets. He explains the secrets of death. Your Last Memory Follows You In Next Birth

8.3

श्रीभगवानुवाच | अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते | भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्ग: कर्मसञ्ज्ञित:

śrībhagavānuvāca akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo’dhyātmamucyate / bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karmasañjñitaḥ / / 8.3

Bhagavān says: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman and his eternal nature is called the self. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies is called karma, or result based activities.

śrībhagavānuvāca — Bhagavān said · akṣaraṃ — indestructible · brahma — Brahman · paramaṃ — transcendental · svabhāvaḥ — eternal nature · adhyātmaṃ — the self · ucyate — is called · bhūtabhāva-udbhavakaraḥ — action producing the material bodies of the living entities · visargaḥ — creation · karma — fruitive activities · samñitaḥ — is called.

8.4

अधिभूतं क्षरो भाव: पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् | अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर

adhibhūtaṃ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam / adhiyajño’ham evātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara / / 8.4

Physical nature is known to be endlessly changing. The universe is the cosmic form of the supreme Lord, and I am that Lord represented as the super soul, dwelling in the heart of every being that dwells in a body.

adhibhūtaṃ — the physical manifestation · kṣaraḥ — constantly changing · bhāvaḥ — nature · puruṣaḥ — the universal form · ca — and · adhidaivataṃ — including all demigods like the sun and moon · adhiyajñaḥ — the Supersoul · ahaṃ — I (Kṛṣṇa) · eva — alone · atra — in this · dehe — body · dehabhṛtāṃ — of the embodied · vara — the Supreme.

8.5

अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् | य: प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशय:

antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram / yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nā’styatra saṃśayaḥ / / 8.5

Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remember- ing Me alone, attains My nature immediately. Of this there is no doubt.

antakāle — at the end of life · ca — also · māṃ — unto Me · eva — only · smaran — remem- bering · muktvā — quitting · kalevaraṃ — the body · yaḥ — he who · prayāti — goes · saḥ — he · madbhāvaṃ — My nature · yāti — achieves · na — not · asti — there is · atra — here · saṃśayaḥ — doubt.

8.6

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् | तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावित:

yaṃ yaṃ vāpi smaranbhāvaṃ tyajatyante kalevaram / taṃ taṃ evaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ / / 8.6

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, it is that state one will attain without fail.

yaṃ yaṃ — whatever · vā — either · api — also · smaran — remembering · bhāvaṃ — na- ture · tyajati — give up · ante — at the end · kalevaraṃ — this body · taṃ taṃ — similar · eva — certainly · eti — gets · kaunteya — O son of Kuntī · sadā — always · tat — that · bhāva — state of being · bhāvitaḥ — remembering.

Before going into what happens at the time of death, let us understand how we assume the body, how we live through it and how we leave it. Please understand that we create our whole body out of our fear, greed, guilt and our engraved memories, called the root thought patterns (saṁskāras). Whatever saṁskāras we have, we create the body to work them out, experience them and enjoy them. Once we have created the body and live our life, we do not live out only the root thought patterns (saṁskāras) that created this body, we also acquire more saṁskāras, more patterns. For example, we take $10,000 and go downtown to buy things that we Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 581 need.

On the way, we meet a friend. He says, ‘Let us go to Disneyland’ and we go and blow up all the money. Finally, when we go downtown to buy what we need, we are broke. Now, with the credit card we buy what we want and live our life just to pay credit card bills, feeling we do not have sufficient things. We have fulfilled our friend’s desires not ours, through our body, our time, money and energy. But we never got what we desired, what we needed. In the same way, when we came down to planet Earth, we came with enough energy to work out and complete our root thought patterns, saṁskāras.

Listen! God never sends us empty handed. He sends us with everything. He sends us with our inner powers, but we have forgotten that we even have these great powers. Whatever saṁskāras or desires we bring, we bring enough energy to live them out and enough power of enjoy them also. Listen: you can fulfill your desires that you bring and live an enriching life of completion! You actually have the power to simply manifest the reality of your choice! You have the potential for self-transformation that will enrich every aspect of your life, bringing you everything from health to wealth to meaningful relationships to lasting happiness. Inside each of you is an enormous potential energy known as Kunḍalinī.

Kunḍalinī is nothing but your own latent inner energy which you have never used, and which you may not even know about! Kunḍalinī expresses through you in four different streams, known as the four inner powers. All these inner powers are the different expressions of Kunḍalinī energy in your life. The key to health, success and lasting happiness lies in unlocking the four inner powers that are continuously available to you. Though you use these powers everyday in your life, you don’t use them consciously, with a clear intention. Please understand, all these powers are great energies, just like electricity or wind-power. If you handle them properly, they can shower you with everything you want.

But if you don’t handle them properly, they will continue to impact your life in negative ways. The key is to create the right space inside you to express your greatest and highest possibility. When you create the right space inside you, all the events of your choice will simply flow into your life without any effort! Everything you do will be successful. When you learn to use these powers in the right way, you will immediately transform not only your own life, but the lives of all those living around you. To be able to unlock these great powers inside you, you must first understand a little more about yourself—the way you live and the way you leave!

As I told in earlier chapters, your four inner powers are: the power of words or vāk śakti; the power of thoughts or mano śakti; the power of feeling or prema śakti; and the power of living or ātma śakti. Please listen! Karma refers to the unfulfilled desires that we create over many births, which pull us back again to take birth and fulfill them. We have three types of karma—sañcita, prārabdha and āgāmya. Sañcita karma is our complete bank of unfulfilled karmas like our safety deposit or the files archived in our office vault. Prārabdha karma are those karmas that we have brought and come in this life, like files in filing cabinets which we access and work on regularly.

Āgāmya karma are like the new files on our table that we keep creating— new karma that we create in every life. We must exhaust all three types of karmas to experience enlightenment. Sañcita karma is all that we have accumulated over many births. Prārabdha karma is karma that we brought with us to work out in this life. Āgāmya karma is what we acquire newly in this birth. Prārabdha karma is like our opening bank balance in this life. We have enough energy to exhaust this prārabdha karma. Then why do we feel that this life is not sufficient? Why do we feel unfulfilled? The problem is that after coming down, we forget what we came down for, the saṁskāras and desires that we brought to live out and complete.

Instead we accumulate more and more desires from family, friends and society. We accumulate desires from others in society and work out their desires in our life. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 583 For example, if our neighbor wears a new sari... I mean in India... in America, we do not even know who our neighbor is! A devotee in Oklahoma told me that his neighbor passed away and he came to know of it only six months later! The Indian lifestyle is different. Anyway, when our neighbor gets a new sari, we think, ‘I should also get one.’ We try to work out her desire. Naturally we run short of money, energy, and time; we run short of everything.

When we live out others’ desires in our life, we feel deeply discontented, deeply incomplete because the energy that we brought with us will become insufficient. If we go downtown with a plan and a particular amount of money and suddenly our plan changes, naturally we run short. After coming down to planet Earth, we forget what root patterns or saṁskāras we brought and we collect more and more desires from society. So much social conditioning happens through advertisements. All advertisements make us poor. The advertisers become rich, no doubt, but we become poor. Advertisement agencies know that whatever touches the mūlādhāra is automatically recorded in our system. That is why whether it is soap or shampoo or clothes or cars, it is promoted with the undertones of sex appeal.

We forget one thing: when we pay $2, we get only the soap and not the model who is using the soap in the advertisement! But both the soap and the model are recorded together in our system. Whatever root patterns get recorded in the mūlādhāra energy center are so deep that we unconsciously act in accordance with them. As long as we fulfill our own desires, it is fine. However, when we live out others’ desires, the problem starts. In the next verse, Kṛṣṇa goes slightly deeper into this. Kṛṣṇa says here, ‘O best of embodied beings! The physical nature that is constantly changing is called adhibhūta or the universal form of the Lord, which includes all the demi-gods.

For example, the nature of the Sun and Moon is adhidaiva. As the supreme Lord represented as the Super Soul in the heart of every embodied being, I am called adhiyajña.’ adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam I adhiyajño ‘ham evātra dehe deha-bhṛtāṁ vara II 8.4 We have seen how we are ruled by our desires at every step. Please understand: This gives us a background against which to understand the secret of death. When we understand why we take birth, it is easier to understand what happens when we leave the body. We will see the secrets of death in the next verse. Here Kṛṣṇa throws light on the physical matter in front of us.

If we understand this deeply, our desire to ‘possess’ automatically drops. Let us take this chair you are sitting on. To our knowledge, there is some solid object placed at this location. However, if we go one level deeper, we see that this solid plastic can be broken down into many particles that make up this plastic. Now if we go one step further, we see that there are atoms and molecules. We can keep dividing into smaller and smaller particles and there is no end to it. And more than ninety percent of the volume within each particle is empty space. Modern science has proven that matter and energy are mutually convertible.

You see, this solid object that our eye sees is not solid. It is pure energy. This physical matter is energy and it constantly changes because of the fluid nature of energy. That is what Kṛṣṇa says: adhibhūtaḥ kṣaro bhāvaḥ. This physical or material nature constantly changes. Understand, because of the fluid nature of energy, it constantly moves; it changes.Changeistheonlycertainthing.Thatiswhyeverythingaroundis temporary. We think something is permanent and hence we try to possess it. Everything that we call matter is energy and it constantly changes. This truth was given by inner scientists or ṛṣis thousands of years ago. Kṛṣṇa clearly says it. And we find this truth declared not just in Gītā.

We find similar statements in the Upaniṣads also. All physical matter is Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 585 energy and it keeps changing. In the last verse, we talked about our desires. Why do we run behind materialistic desires? Why do we constantly operate from the mūlādhāra cakra? It is because we do not have a good understanding about the physical world, about the matter. If we understand this verse, we will understand the futility of running after the fulfillment of material desires. When we look at something, we think of it as only matter, as a physical object. We think we can possess it. We think we can keep it with us.

We take ownership of that physical object. This is where the problem lies. Our ego sees the material world as only matter, and it asks for more and more of it to keep under its control. We fail to understand one important thing—it is all energy and energy cannot be kept in one place. Listen, energy cannot be kept in one place. It is Universal. The physical object that we see is a manifestation of the Universal energy. Please understand this clearly. There are energy waves and these waves manifest as physical matter. When we understand this, we can understand the futility of holding onto something or running after something.

One more thing, this root pattern of possessing is not only with inanimate objects, but with people as well. We are continuously looking for a partner, friend, wife, husband or child to possess. When we have someone, we hold onto that person. If that person leaves, we feel terrible. When a close family member passes away, we feel depressed. Why? It is because we hold onto them as if they are physical matter like any other possession, like jewelry, laptop, car and house. If our car meets with an accident, we feel sad. We feel that we have lost something. In exactly the same way, when someone passes away, we feel that part of us is lost.

We feel depressed. I do not say that we should be insensitive to relationships. I mean we should stop being possessive. Understand that everything and everyone is created out of the same underlying energy. Kṛṣṇa says clearly in this verse: Everything, whether living or non-living, is an embodiment of the Supreme Soul—adhiyajño ‘ham evātra dehe deha-bhṛtāṁ vara (8.4). The same Supreme Soul lives in everything.Whenweunderstandthis,weseethetruththatweareapartof everything around us and we complete with everything. There is no difference between you and me. There is no difference between this chair and me or this tree and me. We see ourselves in everything. When we understand this great truth, a new dimension of ourselves is revealed to us.

When we see ourselves in everything around us, our compassion towards everything grows a thousandfold. By being compassionate to others, we are being compassionate to ourselves because everything is one. Please listen! This is what I mean when I say, ‘Enriching others enriches you.’ Enrich yourself and enrich everyone. Then, experientially you understand that you are one with others, others are one with you. Please understand this great truth of enriching, the space of Enlightenment, the power of living. This changes the way we look at life and everything around us. This completely changes the way we perceive our desires, our fantasies. Kṛṣṇa answers all the questions with a single sūtra, a single technique.

The Secret of Death Now we enter the main subject. Here, Kṛṣṇa reveals the secrets of death. He says, ‘Whoever dies remembering Me alone at the time of death will attain Me at once.’ What does He mean when He says, ‘remembering Me alone?’ He says, ‘Whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.’ anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram I yah prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ II 8.5 Why should He say the words nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ ? Why should He Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 587 say, ‘there is no doubt?’

He emphasizes, ‘this is the truth.’ He takes an oath. We have a meditation program lasing two days on this sūtra, called Nithya Kriya Yoga Program (LBP level 2). The whole program is based on this single verse. Before starting the session on death, I always take the oath, ‘I hereby state that whatever I say is the truth,’ because there are some truths that cannot be logically expressed. They cannot be explained using logic that you understand. You need a little patience to listen. The big problem with our mind is that we question, refute or straightaway don’t want to listen to anything not presented in a logical form.

Otherwise, we hear it as one more story. We think, ‘Anyhow, I have come all the way, let me sit and hear what he has to say.’ We allow the speaker to speak; however, we do not listen. That is why, before I talk about death, I say, ‘Hereby I promise that whatever I am going to say is pure truth. If you are interested, take it, digest it and transform your life. If you are not, it is ok; it is up to you; it is your choice.’ Kṛṣṇa says: nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ, because He is going to speak something that is beyond logic. When we want to understand the outer world, we need logic.

When we want to know about the inner world, we need a Master who takes us beyond logic. Logic gives us the outer world; it cannot give us the inner world. Here Kṛṣṇa says: nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ: Have no doubt, what I am speaking is the truth. Please wait. Let Me finish the calculation, then you will understand. For now assume that X equals 2.’ At the end of the calculation, you agree that X should be substituted with 2, but at the start, you need to believe the Master’s word and patiently wait until he works it out and shows you. Until you realize it, till it becomes an experience for you, for a few minutes you need to accept the Master’s word as it is.

When you finish the calculation, naturally it becomes your understanding. It starts as my understanding. In the end, it becomes your understanding. When it becomes your understanding, you naturally see the truth behind the words. So Kṛṣṇa says: ‘Whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.’ Why? Why does He say, ‘remembering Me, mām eva smaran?’ and that too ‘alone?’ In Mahābhārat there are at least 100,000 stories. One story goes like this: There was a king who lived for a hundred years. Then Yama, the god of death comes and tells him, ‘Your life is over, O King, come now, it is time, let us go.’

The king says, ‘What is this? You gave me such a beautiful kingdom, such a beautiful life, such wonderful wives, kids; you have given me everything. 100 years is too short to enjoy this life. Please bless me with 100 more years.’ Yama explains that no extension is possible. The king continues to plead, ‘No, please bless me with another 100 years.’ Yama says, ‘Alright, if one of your sons gives his life, I will extend yours as an exchange offer.’ Somehow one son agrees to give his life for his father and the king gets 100 more years. After 100 years when Yama appears again, the king does not realize that his time is up and says, ‘What is this?

I asked for 100 years and you have come so soon.’ Yama tells him that 100 years are over. The king pleads again, ‘Please help me somehow; I did not realize that 100 years are gone. Please give one more extension.’ Yama tells him it is too much and that a second extension is not possible. However the king begs Yama Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 589 to let him live a few more years. Finally he gets one more extension. The next time when Yama comes, again the king is in the same mood. Now Yama gives a beautiful teaching. He says, ‘By pouring oil on it, you can never put out the fire.

Now it is time, you must come.’ The king understands and follows Yama. In the same way, by chasing our desires, we can never feel fulfilled. Only more desires will come up. By fulfilling our desires, we can never hope to have contentment. When we acquire more and more desires from the outer world, we naturally feel that life is not sufficient, that we had not been given time or resources to fulfill these desires. Understand that if we have lived 70 years, at the end of our life, when we leave our body, the whole scene, the whole 70 years appear before us as a flash, as a fast-forward movement.

The whole thing appears in our consciousness again so that we can make the decision about our next birth. Now, we have karma that we brought with us but have not enjoyed or experienced, as well as karma that we accumulated from society in this birth, but have not exhausted. Both are there. I want to give you one more understanding: karma or saṁskāra means any desire that is not completely experienced by you. By nature you are a fulfilled complete being. But whenever you do not fulfill any action completely, with totality, you create a hangover. You create a recorded memory of that action, a saṁskāra. A saṁskāra is not merely a dead memory stored in your unconscious mind; it has the power to make you repeat that action again and again till the desire is fulfilled.

Please be very clear, saṁskāra is living energy because it has the power to make you repeat the same action again and again as a pattern. It can make you travel the same path over and over again. That is why saṁskāras are called engraved memories, the root thought patterns. The more you travel on a path, the more it will be strengthened. But if you have completed with that pattern by living a single saṁskāra totally, completely, that saṁskāra leaves you! It drops from your being; you are liberated from it. Completion directly liberates you from karma. Completion directly leads you to experience the Truth. Whatever you have not lived completely remains as a saṁskāra in you, as a karma in you.

Here you have brought some karma that you have not yet experienced and completed, as well as newly accumulated karma. The whole thing appears in front of you at the time of leaving the body, so that you can decide your next birth. Please listen! Every birth is your declaration of completion and you start the whole thing anew. You decide, ‘Come on! I declare completion. I will now work from the space of completion!’ But during your birth, when you fail in your declaration and fall from the space of completion, you bring some of your past incompletions back. That is what is prārabdha karma. Karma which you bring back from the past incompletions is prārabdha.

If you don’t fall at all and continue to be in the space of completion, you don’t become incomplete at all, then, I can tell you, you are an Incarnation! If you need to make an important decision, don’t you call for all the files, all the old files from the archives before you make the decision? Now you are going to decide a few important things: where to take birth, what type of parents and family to choose, what type of family to choose, whether to choose a male body or female body. All these decisions you are going to make. Understand, all these decisions are taken by your consciousness, not by anybody else.

However, your consciousness is influenced by incomplete, inadequate data, karma collected when you lived on planet Earth. Understand one important thing! Even sense enjoyments look like enjoyment because from a young age you are taught that it is enjoyment. An important research report I read spoke about the lifestyle of a group of African tribal people. It said that they do not know anything called joy or sense pleasures. It is not that they do not eat. They eat good food: not Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 591 food, good human beings! Yet, because they have not been taught the idea of pleasure, they do not run after it.

Let me share another example of how the patterns created out of social conditioning work. During my days of wandering, I lived near Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh with a small group of tribal people for months. I was really surprised about the way they lived. Nobody, not a single person there was depressed. What I say is the truth, the honest truth. Human beings can live on planet Earth without getting depressed! I was surprised that not a single person in that village was depressed, and nobody ran behind sense pleasures. I thought to myself, ‘How come these people lived without running behind sense pleasures?’ It was because they had not been taught that there is something called sense pleasure.

The basic corruption had not happened. When I was with these tribal people in Madhya Pradesh, I lived in a small temple in the center of the village. While wandering about one day I came upon a small hut. A pregnant lady entered it. Half an hour later, she came out with a newborn baby! There was no pain, no attendant, no doctor, no medicine, no screaming. Within half an hour she walked out with a baby. I was shocked! Of course, I could not ask her anything because I did not know their language. After one month, another pregnant lady did the same thing. Within half an hour she came out with a baby.

Now it was too much! I asked the local priest who came to the temple, ‘How does this happen? Don’t they have pain?’ He asked in surprise, ‘Pain? Why pain?’ I was surprised! They do not have pain at the time of delivery. The idea that women should have pain during delivery does not exist in their society. Not only that, nobody suffers from menopause problems or gynecological disorders. I enquired about their lifestyle. Then I understood that they respect womenalotintheirculture.Womenareneverdisrespected.Theyarenever told that they become impure during their monthly periods. Women are nevertaughtthattheyarelowerthanmen.Themomentagirlcomesofage, sheishonoredandtold,‘Nowyouarequalifiedtobecomeamother.’Sheis respected. People fall at her feet and she touches and heals them. They believe that if a woman touches and blesses them during her menstrual period, they will be healed.

Because the conditioning is totally different, nobody suffers any pain there. In the so-called civilized society today, women are disrespected. Again and again, they are taught, ‘This is impurity; you are not pure now; don’t stand here, don’t sit there.’ Especially in India, it is real torture. Because of the wrong conditioning, women suffer pain. If they are not conditioned in this way, they will never feel pain. Social conditioning divides everything into pleasure and pain. Even this decision—‘What kind of life will I choose in my next birth? What kind of body will I take?’– is based upon your social conditioning. You decide to achieve whatever you think is the highest thing in life.

You automatically run behind whatever is kept as an ideal in front of your eyes. Whatever you consider the highest ideal of your whole life, only that comes to your mind when you leave the body. What you remember at Death, So you attain Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O Kaunteya, that state he will attain without fail.’ yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram I taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva bhāvitaḥ II 8.6 What exactly happens at the time of leaving the body? We should understand that. When a person leaves the body, he goes through seven layers of his being.

The first and the outermost layer is the physical layer. When a person leaves the body, it creates tremendous pain in his whole system, what the Upaniṣads liken to ‘thousands of scorpions stinging at a time.’ Please don’t think I am frightening you. I must state a few truths and facts as they are. Even though it may hurt, it is better to tell them Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 593 now. At least we will be better prepared for the journey that we are going to take or that will be forced upon us. Whether we will take it or it will be forced upon us we don’t know, but we must make this journey.

Let us at least understand what happens then. There will be tremendous pain at first. We may ask, ‘Why pain?’ It is because our being wants to stay in the body, but the body cannot host the being anymore. There is no need for our beingtoleaveunlessthebodyiscompletelytiredorexhausted.Ifdeathstarts happening, this means the body is completely exhausted, or damaged. In natural death, the body is exhausted, so we leave the body. In an accident, the body is damaged. Understand: You know what pain we experience if we cut our finger half an inch wide while cutting vegetables. What would the pain be like if we extend the same thing to our six-foot body?

It will be simply torn, is it not? Naturally there will be tremendous pain. But one thing: there is an automatic mechanism in our being, an automatic painkiller mechanism. What happens is, the moment the pain becomes unbearable, we fall into coma. If we fall into coma, we will not experience pain. But the big problem is that we die in unconsciousness when we die in coma. That is the worst thing, because we remain unaware of why we took this birth, and we will not be able to make the decision about the next birth consciously. That is the reason Kṛṣṇa says: yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ—in whatever state you are at the time of leaving the body, you will achieve that state without fail.

If we are unconscious at the time of leaving the body, we naturally take lower level bodies in our next birth; we come back as beings, which do not have a high level of consciousness. At the time of death, the moment we leave the physical body, we go to the next level, the prāṇic body or the prāṇic layer in us. The prāṇic body refers to the layer responsible for the inhaling and exhaling of prāṇa, the life giving energy in our body. The prāṇic body is filled with all our desires. Please understand, our prāṇa and desires are closely related. If our desires change, immediately the circulation of our praṇa changes.

Similarly, if we change the circulation of prāṇa, our whole mind changes. Our mind and prāṇa are closely connected. That is why people inhale and exhale, pull and push with their breath at the time of leaving; they suffer. The body says, ‘I can’t host you anymore; relax, go out.’ But the being says, ‘But I have so many desires. I must live in this body. I must enjoy this body.’ The tug of war happens between body and being. Next we move to the mental layer, mana śarīra. All the guilt that we harbored throughout our lives, stays in this layer. Desire is expectation about the future. Guilt is regret about the past.

Guilt is: I have not lived in this way—thoughts about the past. Desire is: I should live like this—a thought about the future. Understand, guilt is nothing but the emotion created in our being when we review our past decisions with updated intelligence. Let me give you a small example. At the age of seven we are playing with our toys. Our mother comes and calls us for dinner, ‘Come and eat.’ We say, ‘No, I don’t want to eat; I want to play.’ By force our mother takes away the toys and pulls us to come and eat. Immediately we say, ‘You go and die; give me my toys, I want to play.’

At that moment, we feel that toys are more important in life than our mother. But as we mature, we understand that this isn’t true. Once we mature, if we think, ‘O what a grave mistake I made. I shouldn’t have Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 595 said those words to my mother. How important the mother is! But I never thought of it at that time!’... If we create guilt in this way, there is no point or utility in it. At that moment as a young child, we had only that much intelligence. Now, our intelligence has been updated. If we review our past decisions with updated intelligence, we create only one thing: guilt.

If God gives us one more life, we will make the same mistakes that we made when we reach seven years of age because we will have only that much intelligence at the age of seven. Now our intelligence has been updated to an adequate cognition. Just because our intelligence has been updated now, we can’t review our actions and create guilt in ourselves about what we did earlier. We should see what data was available to us to make decisions with at that time. We had such and such inadequate data and only that much intelligence to process the data at that time. Based on that, we made the decision.

Now the intelligence to process the data has been updated; our software has been updated with an adequate empowering cognition. Because our software has been updated, we now say, ‘O! I made the wrong decision at that time; I am suffering from guilt.’ This does not make sense. One more thing: Guilt is a wedge inserted in our being. It creates uneasiness between you and your being. Be very clear, the worst sin is guilt. Guilt is the only sin; nothing else is a sin on planet Earth. We can neverbecomepurethroughguilt.Wecanneverbecomeabetterperson,an integrated and authentic person or a pure person through guilt. Instead, guilt becomes such a load on us that again and again we make the same mistake.

If we have deep guilt about smoking, we can never quit smoking because the habit is strengthened when the guilty thoughts are continuously repeated in our system. Whatever is continuously repeated in our consciousness becomes strong; we never grow out of it. In Rāmāyaṇa, there is a strong character called Vāli. He had obtained a boon from Lord Śiva that whosoever comes in front of him to fight him, half of that person’s power would go to Vāli. If we stand in front of Vāli, half of our power goes to Vāli! Naturally who will win? Only he will win! Understand, our guilt is Vāli. The moment we fight the smoking habit, we give half our power to the habit.

We struggle with the habit. Then how can we come out of it? Listen. If we complete with guilt, at least our personality will be integrated and authentic. When our personality is integrated, we will naturally become pure and energetic. All immoral, inauthentic behavior is because we don’t have enough energy. The person with plenty of energy is always pure. The person without energy is immoral and inauthentic. In society we have a wrong idea that people who are full of energy do nonsensical things. Never think so. Doing immoral things means a person wants energy through that action. Understand, even our sense enjoyments, running behind our senses, are in the same league.

We feel that we will get energy and we will feel blissful through that action. Running behind the senses is nothing but running behind energy. When we review past decisions with updated intelligence, we create guilt. Never make that mistake. If we create guilt, the whole thing sits in the mental body and when we leave the body it becomes a big obstruction. Listen! If you complete now with your guilt pattern, the disempowering cognition about yourself will melt down. Completion melts down all the obstructions. The obstructions for your realizations are like heap of mountains. The process of completion can melt down even the mountains of incompletions. So complete, complete, complete!

The next layer we cross in the process of death is the etheric body. Here, all the painful experiences that we had in life are stored. These four layers are hell. When the energy crosses these four layers: physical body, prāṇic body, mental body and etheric body, the being undergoes hell. Understand that hell is not situated in a place above Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 597 our heads, but in these four layers, comprising all our desires, guilt and painful experiences. During our life in the body, if we have kept these four layers clean and complete, we never enter hell. That is, if we can technically clean these layers; when I say ‘technically’, I mean through meditation, through the process of completion.

If we keep these layers clean with the proper meditation techniques, we will never have a problem at the time of leaving the body. We will have a clear highway. Straightaway we will travel! That is what Kṛṣṇa says: This is the path on which a man can easily leave and liberate himself, and also the path on which he can suffer and destroy himself. Both ways are now shown by Kṛṣṇa. These are the major obstructions when we leave the body. After these first four layers, the three inner layers where all our blissful memories are stored are called heaven. Even if we are stuck there, we need to move on.

Please be very clear, even our puṇya, merits, are karma. Even that will not allow us to become enlightened. We may feel good, ecstatic, for a few days. After that our mind takes that also for granted. In the case of heaven also, we will take it for granted after a few days. When you take it for granted, you have to come back to take another body, another birth. Be Sure To Reach Me

8.7

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च | मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम्

tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca / mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣy asyasaṃśayam / / 8.7

Arjuna, think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa always, while continuing with your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on. Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

tasmāt — therefore · sarveṣu — always · kāleṣu — time · māṃ — unto Me · anusmara — go on remembering · yudhya — fight · ca — also · mayi — unto Me · arpita — surrender · manaḥ — mind · buddhiḥ — intellect · māṃ — unto Me · eva — alone · eṣyasi — will attain · asaṃśayaḥ — beyond a doubt.

8.8

अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना | परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन्

abhyāsa yoga yuktena cetasā nānyagāminā / paramaṃ puruṣaṃ divyaṃ yāti pārthānucintayan / / 8.8

He who meditates on the supreme person, his mind con- stantly engaged in remembering Me, not deviating from the path, O Pārtha, He is sure to reach Me.

abhyāsa — practice · yoga yuktena — being engaged in meditation · cetasā — by the mind and intelligence · nā ’nyagāminā — without their being deviated · paramaṃ — the Supreme · puruṣaṃ — personality of godhead · divyaṃ — transcendental · yāti — achieves · pārtha — O son of Pritā · anucintayan — constantly thinking of

8.9

कविं पुराणमनुशासितार मणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्य: | सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप मादित्यवर्णं तमस: परस्तात्

kaviṃ purāṇaṃ anuśāsitāram aṇoraṇī yām sam anusmared yaḥ / sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt / / 8.9

One should meditate on the Supreme as the one who knows everything, as He is the most ancient, who is the con- troller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person.

kaviṃ — one who knows everything · purāṇaṃ — the oldest · anuśāsitāraṃ — the controller · aṇoḥ — of the atom · aṇīyāṃsaṃ — smaller than · anusmaret — always thinking · yaḥ — one who · sarvasya — of everything · dhātāraṃ — the maintainer · acintya — inconceivable · rūpaṃ — form · āditya varṇaṃ — illuminated like the sun · tamasaḥ — of the darkness · parastāt — transcendental

8.10

प्रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव | भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम्

prayāṇakāle manasācalena bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva / bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣam upaiti divyam / / 8.10

One, who at the time of death, fixes his mind and life air between the eyebrows without being distracted, by the power of yoga and in full devotion, engages himself in dwelling on Me, He will certainly attain Me.

prayāṇa kāle — at the time of death · manasā — by the mind · acalena — without being deviated · bhaktyā — in full devotion · yuktaḥ — engaged · yoga balena — by the power of mystic yoga · ca — also · eva — certainly · bhruvoḥ — between the two eyebrows · madhye — in · prāṇaṃ — the life air · āveśya — establishing · samyak — completely · saḥ — he · taṃ — that · paraṃ — transcendental · puruṣaṃ — personality of godhead · upaiti — achieves · divyaṃ — in the spiritual kingdom.

In the first two of these verses Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Arjuna, you should always think of Me. You should always be in My state of consciousness even when you are doing your regular duty, even in your activities. Let your mind and intelligence be fixed in My consciousness. You will attain Me without doubt.’ tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca I mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ II 8.7 Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 599 Again He uses the words, ‘without doubt, asaṁaśyaḥ.’ ‘Without doubt, you will achieve Me, mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ.’ One important question we may ask, ‘Anyhow, I have to think of Him only at the time of leaving the body, so why bother doing that now?

Right now, let me lead my life. At the time of death, I will think about Him.’ Please be very clear, these verses answer that question. We cannot think about Him then unless we think about Him now. Don’t think that when we live our whole life chanting the words, ‘Coca-cola, Coca-cola’, suddenly at the end of our lives we will be able to say, ‘Rāma, Kṛṣṇa.’ No! Whatever we think during our whole life, the same thought will come to us in the end also. But we think, ’Now I can say ‘Coca-cola, Coca-cola’; at the end, I can always say, ‘Rāma, Kṛṣṇa.’ No! At the time of death, we will not be able to remember what we want to remember.

Our Consciousness will not be under our control at that time! At the time of our death, automatically the totality of our whole life will come up. The whole file will come up. Whatever we spent the maximum energy on, that file will automatically come up first. That’s all. We can’t do anything in that moment. Don’t think that we can forget about it now and tackle the issue of our last thought at the time we leave the body. It does not work that way! Only the thought that we lived with intensely throughout our life will come up at that moment. That is why He says, ‘Even when you do your duty, may you be absorbed in Me.’

This means that when we live, we should try to continuously be in thoughtless awareness, the witnessing consciousness, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Supreme Witness The next question: ‘How can I be in the witnessing mode when I live my regular life?’ Start in a simple way. When you drive, when you sit, when you talk, see what is happening inside and outside you. You don’t need to close your eyes. At least while driving, please don’t close your eyes! Just move away from your body. See what is going on in your mind and what is going on outside your being. When you talk to someone, witness and listen to how he talks and how you respond.

Even before he finishes his statement, notice how you come to conclusions and how you are ready to jump on him with your own opinions! See and listen how you prepare your speech before he finishes his statement. Witness, continuously try to witness. Continuously listen. You will see the influence of desires, guilt and pain on your being automatically disappear. The moment you create a gap between you and your body-mind, immediately the suffering disappears. Suffering is due to attachment to your body and mind. All your sufferings disappear the moment you witness, that very moment. Actually, you may fail the first few times. After you face failure, you think, ‘It is difficult, I cannot do it,’ and you create an idea that it is difficult.

Somebody goes to Ramaṇa Mahaṛṣi, the enlightened saint from India, and asks, ‘Master, is ātma vidya (knowledge of the self) difficult?’ He says, ‘The word difficult is the only difficulty.’ He sings beautifully in Tamil, ‘Aiyye ati sulabham atma viddai, aiyye ati sulabham’—Oh! So easy! The knowledge of the Self is so easy! He sings beautifully, ‘To achieve money you must work, to achieve name and fame you must work, to achieve anything else you must work. To achieve the knowledge of the Self, you need to just keep quiet. Nothing else needs to be done.’ Such a simple thing; a few moments of witnessing consciousness is enough. Now don’t start calculating, ‘From tomorrow onwards, 24 hours a day I will be in the witnessing consciousness.’

Then you will become frustrated if you are unable to be that way. So don’t bother. Even if you stay in that consciousness for five minutes, it is a big blessing. When you experience the relief that happens when you remain as the witness, even once or twice, when you experience the relief, you can see how the stress disappears from your being. Then you will automatically stay in that same state, because now you have tasted it. Once you know the taste, you will automatically come back to the same state, the same mood again and again. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 601 Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, ‘If you give a little bit of abhin (an opium variant) to a peacock one evening at four o’clock, the next day exactly at four o’clock, it will be in front of your house!’

In North India they give abhin to peacocks to make them dance. Rāmakṛṣṇa says that once you supply abhin, they will automatically be there in search of abhin the next day at the same time. Similarly, if we just experience the relaxation that happens once, when we witness the body and mind, we will automatically come back for that experience, for that peace, again and again. If we feel witnessing is difficult, witness that thought also; be aware and authentically listen to that thought also. Go into the consciousness of your being. Experience samādhi so that all hindrances disappear. You will experience the ultimate, eternal consciousness. In the next verse Kṛṣṇa says, ‘At the time of death, fix your mind between the eyebrows.’

He adds, ‘without being distracted and with devotion.’ See, all this is not in our control at the time when the life force is about to leave the body. We cannot decide at that time, ‘Ok, let me focus between the eyebrows, let me think of devotion, let me not be distracted.’ But if we have led a life in such higher consciousness, this automatically happens at that time! When Kṛṣṇa talks about the space between the eyebrows, He speaks of the higher cakra or energy center in the body, related to higher consciousness. Our mind is nothing but a bunch of conditionings. All these conditionings influence us at the time of death.

How do we condition our mind? If we think that eating is the best thing in life, when we leave the body, what comes in front of us? All kinds of food and the Macdonald arches! If we are taught that eating is the greatest pleasure in life, we see only all kinds of food when we leave this body. Then the last thought will be, ‘Let me take birth in a family where I will be given food and nothing but food, where I will not have any other responsibility.’ We call for the archived files. The essence, the research report, is in front of us. From all the experiences of our past, we choose what we think is best and what we have worked for all our life.

Based on that, we make a decision, ‘Alright, if I want to eat, this is the right country.’ There we will spend our next life, in tamas, in dullness, not doing anything, in just pure laziness. A small story: A man goes to a doctor and says, ‘Doctor, please examine me. I don’t feel like doing anything. I feel dull.’ The doctor thoroughly examines him. The man says, ‘Doctor, please tell me in plain English, what is my problem?’ The doctor says, ‘If you ask me, in plain English, you are ‘lazy’. Nothing else is the problem.’ The man says, ‘Ok, now tell me the medical term for it; I will go and tell my wife!’

If we have lived that kind of a life, a lethargic, dead, dull and lazy life, that same laziness will make the choice for us when we take the next body. I have seen amazing laziness amongst people. If you want to see the ultimate laziness, come to the Himālayas. That is why Vivekananda says openly in his lectures, ‘The people who eat and sleep in the name of sannyās... make them stand up, and simply beat them!’ Pure laziness! If we live our life spending our energy in laziness, we just get lazier. We actually spend energy when we are lazy. Don’t think we are not spending energy. Have you heard the phrase, ‘tired of sleeping?’

Many people are tired of taking rest. To be tired of taking rest is tamas. If we have lived life completely in tamas, we naturally decide, ‘Anyhow, the ultimate thing in life is sleep. Now which country is the right country to allow lots of sleep? What type of body is the right body—whether pig or buffalo or human being? What type of family should I take birth in?’ We make a decision. Please be very clear, the whole calculation happens based on our own data, the data that we have collected. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 603 As I said, at the time of leaving the body, the whole data appears before us in a single flash: the gist of the whole data, the gist of all three files—āgāmya (acquired) file, sañcita (bank balance) file and prārabdha (current) file.

Based on the files, we decide, ‘What am I supposed to do? What should be my next birth?’ The moment we decide, we enter that kind of body. One more important thing: Because we are so attached to the body and mind, we cannot live without a body for more than three kṣaṇas. The Saṃskṛit word ‘kṣaṇa’ does not mean ‘seconds’ or ‘moments’. It does not measure chronological time. It is the gap between one thought and the next thought. For most of us, kṣaṇa will be a few microseconds because of our endless stream of thoughts. While still in the body, if we have experienced ‘thoughtlessness’ at least once, (thoughtlessness means being alive without a sense of body and mind), if we have experienced thoughtless awareness, if we have been in Universal consciousness for a single moment without the body and mind, that is what I call Samādhi.

Four States of Consciousness Here is a small diagram to explain what exactly I mean by the word ‘thoughtlessness’. In our life, we experience two states of being and two levels of mind. For example, now, while we are awake, we have thoughts. In deep sleep, do we have thoughts? No! So the two possibilities for the mind are with thought and without thought. In the same way, in the being, there can be ‘I’ consciousness and no ‘I’ consciousness. As of now, while we are awake and talking and moving, we have the idea of ‘I’ all the time, that of ‘I’ consciousness. In deep sleep, do we have this consciousness?

No. The ‘I’ consciousness does not exist at that time. So the two levels of the being are: with ‘I’ consciousness and without ‘I’ consciousness. These two levels of consciousness and the two levels of mind and thought overlap each other and create four states of being in us. The state with thoughts and with ‘I’ consciousness is the waking state, jāgrat, in which most of us are now (not all, some of us are in the dream state—sleeping already!) The next state is when we have thoughts, but ‘I’ consciousness is absent. This is the dream state—svapna. You may ask, ‘How?’ It is like this: In the dream state, the frequency of thoughts will be more than the frequency of ‘I’ consciousness.

That is why we are not able to control our dreams. When we are awake, the frequency of ‘I’ is more, that is why we can control our thoughts; we can suppress them, divert them, create them; we can do anything we want because the frequency of ‘I’ is more than the frequency of thoughts. In the dream state, the frequency of thoughts is more than the frequency of ‘I’. That is why we cannot control our dreams. If we can have the dreams of our choice, we know what kind of dreams we will have! Dreams are not in our control. We cannot influence them. We cannot have choices because the frequency of thoughts is more than the frequency of consciousness.

So we have thoughts but no ‘I’ consciousness. The flow of thoughts happening in our being is the dream state. In the next state, neither ‘I’ consciousness nor the flow of thoughts exists. This is deep sleep. This is called suṣupti. The three states are jāgrat, Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 605 svapna, suṣupti—conscious, sub-conscious, unconscious. There is a fourth state that we have not experienced in our life, where we have no flow of thoughts yet we have ‘I’ consciousness, pure ‘I’ consciousness. This is samādhi, thoughtless awareness—turīya avastha, ātma jñāna, brahma jñāna, Self-realization, nirvāna, ātma bhūti, state of the Divine, nityānanda consciousness, eternal bliss! All these words refer to the state where we have pure awareness but no thoughts, where we exist without body and mind.

Jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti, in these three states, we live with the body and mind. In jāgrat, we live with the body that we have now—the sthūla śarīra or gross body. In svapna, we live with the sūkṣma śarīra or subtle body; please understand in the dream state also we assume a body. That is why we are able to travel in our dreams. For example, we fall asleep in Los Angeles but suddenly dream we are in India! It means we travel with a body, a subtle body called sūkṣma śarīra. In deep sleep, we assume a body called the causal body, kāraṇa śarīra. In turīya state, we experience boundarilessness, bodylessness.

There we have pure ‘I’ consciousness, with ‘I’ but without thoughts. Vivekananda says, ‘If you experience even a single glimpse of this consciousness when you are alive, the same thing automatically repeats when you leave the body. You leave the body in samādhi.’ All spiritual practices directly or indirectly aim at achieving this state where we exist with the awareness of ‘I’, but without the consciousness of body and mind. That is why Kṛṣṇa says that if we experience at least one moment of consciousness beyond the body and mind, we can choose our next life in a relaxed way. If we have not lived a single moment of our life without the feeling of being the body and mind, we cannot be without the body and mind once we die.

So once we die, we immediately try to catch hold of another body. Because we have never lived a single moment without body and mind, the moment we die, we will not bother about which body we are getting into. We rush as fast as possible. It’s like we are late for a train, so we run and jump onto the first train that we see, not thinking about where it’s headed. We say, ‘Let me just get into some train!’ We rush and get into some body or the other and come down to planet Earth yet another time. After coming down, we again forget the supreme purpose of assuming the body; this is the biggest problem.

If we have experienced a single moment of complete rest and thoughtless awareness, the state of restful awareness, then naturally at the moment when we leave the body, we will be in the same state. This state is also called ‘bodyless’ awareness because when we are in turīya state, all the three bodies do not touch us; neither the gross body nor the subtle body nor the causal body touches us. We experience awareness that is beyond the three bodies. If we have experienced this thoughtless restful awareness for even a single moment earlier, we will have the required clarity in the end. If we have experienced that we can exist without the body and mind, we will have the patience to work with our data files before assuming the next body.

We will go through the data line carefully and decide, ‘Should I take birth at all? What is the need?’ Sometimes, if we decide to take birth, we can even take a conscious birth, like the great Masters! Kṛṣṇa says yogabraṣṭha. We take birth in a family that will be conducive to our spiritual growth, which will not create obstacles to our spiritual practices. Kṛṣṇa says that only very rarely do souls take birth in this type of family. I have rarely seen parents who do not object when the son does spiritual practices. If your family does not object, if they do not disturb you, please be very clear, there is every chance of your being a yogabraṣṭha!

Otherwise, I have seen even religious parents creating obstacles if their son wants to enter sannyās or spiritual life. They say, ‘Go to temples but not to ashrams!’ But if you grow beyond the maturity of the parents, it is something that they cannot digest. Very rarely do souls take birth in families where they will not be disturbed. When I left home for my parivrājaka (wandering Sannyāsa life), I was young; just 17 years old. I told Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 607 my mother that I was going, that I wanted to live the parivrājaka life, I wanted to taste Sannyāsa life. She started weeping. So I asked her, ‘Do you mean that I should not go?’

She said beautifully, ‘No, I don’t want to stop you. But I am not able to digest the idea of your leaving, so I am weeping.’ Even today I am grateful to my parents because they did not stop me. Not only that, from a very young age I did all sorts of things that you can’t even imagine. Sometimes I used to spend the night meditating in the graveyard in the outskirts of my village! I don’t think other parents would have tolerated it. Yet somehow the atmosphere was such that I was able to continue my spiritual practice. If your family and surroundings do not disturb you but help you instead, please be very clear that you have taken a conscious birth—you are a yogabraṣṭha.

But if you have not experienced a single glimpse, a single moment of thoughtless awareness, you cannot live without the body and mind once you die. So within three kṣaṇas, you take birth in some way or the other. Even a glimpse of consciousness, a moment of realization, a single moment of thoughtless awareness, when you live with the body and mind is enough. Inner Awakening and Nithya Kriya Yoga Program, or LBP 2, are directly focused on this concept. All I try to do is give you a single glimpse of consciousness, thoughtless restful awareness. Actually, if you achieve one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, you achieve whatever has to be achieved in life.

If you have not achieved one glimpse of samādhi or thoughtless awareness, whatever else you achieve is not ultimately useful. In the next step, Kṛṣṇa explains how to achieve thoughtless awareness and gives a deeper understanding about death and the art of leaving. Remember Me Constantly

8.11

यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागा: | यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये

yad akṣaraṃ vedavido vadanti viśanti yadyatayo vītarāgāḥ / yad icchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti tatte padaṃ sangraheṇa pravakṣye / / 8.11

Persons who are learned in the Veda and who are great sages in the renounced order, enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices brahmacarya. I shall now explain to you this process by which one may attain liberation.

yat — that which · akṣaraṃ — inexhaustible · vedavidaḥ — a person conversant with the Vedas · vadanti — say · viśanti — enters · yat — in which · yatayaḥ — great sages · vītarāgāḥ — in the renounced order of life · yat — that which · icchantaḥ — desiring · brahmacaryaṃ — celibacy · caranti — practices · tat — that · te — unto you · padaṃ — situation · sangraheṇa — in summary · pravakṣye — I shall explain.

8.12

सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च | मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मन: प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम्

sarva-dvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca / mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yogadhāraṇām / / 8.12

Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one es- tablishes himself in yoga.

sarva dvārāṇi — all the doors of the body · saṃyamya — controlling · manaḥ — mind · hṛdi — in the heart · nirudhya — confined · ca — also · mūrdhni — on the head · ādhāya — fixed · ātmanaḥ — soul · prāṇaṃ — the life air · āsthitaḥ — situated · yoga dhāraṇāṃ — the yogic situation

8.13

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् | य: प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम्

om ity ekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran / yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatiṃ / / 8.13

Centered in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable OM, the supreme combination of letters, if one dwells in the Supreme and quits his body, he certainly achieves the supreme destination.

om — the combination of letters om (omkāra) · iti — thus · ekākṣaraṃ — supreme indestructible · brahma — absolute · vyāharan — vibrating · māṃ — Me (Kṛṣṇa) · anusmaran — remembering · yaḥ — anyone · prayāti — leaves · tyajan — quitting · de- haṃ — this body · saḥ — he · yāti — achieves · paramāṃ — supreme · gatiṃ — destination

8.14

अनन्यचेता: सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यश: | तस्याहं सुलभ: पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिन:

ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ / tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ / / 8.14

I am always available to anyone who remembers Me constantly Pārtha, because of his constant engagement in de- votional service.

ananyacetāḥ — without deviation · satataṃ — always · yaḥ — anyone · māṃ — Me (Kṛṣṇa) · smarati — remembers · nityaśaḥ — regularly · tasya — to him · ahaṃ — I am · sulabhaḥ — very easy to achieve · pārtha — O son of Pritā · nitya — regularly · yuktasya — engaged · yoginaḥ — of the devotee.

Kṛṣṇa gives different ways to attain Brahman or God or Ultimate consciousness. He says that people learned in the Vedas attain Brahman. This does not mean that we need to just read the vedas and then forget about them. Kṛṣṇa speaks at a far deeper level. Remember what Kṛṣṇa says in the last verse. He says that whatever we think of at the time of death is directly related to our next birth. If someone is completely immersed in the scriptures, his thoughts will continuously be along those lines. That is what Kṛṣṇa means by His words ‘Immerse yourself in the scriptures’. Keep reading some scripture or the other and imbibe its truth.

It will have a tremendous impact on you. Evenifwedonotunderstandthedeepermeaningsofthesescriptures, it is ok. These scriptures are energy hubs. When we read them, the sound Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 609 that is generated is enough to cleanse our inner being. That is the power of those verses. They will transform you. If you listen to vedic chants, you will find that they are chanted in a specific tone and pitch. When they are chanted, they completely cleanse our system, our inner being. If we visit the ancient temples in India, we will see that the sanctum sanctorum has a beautiful peace inside it. When we enter that place, automatically our being becomes peaceful.

Why do you think we feel a moment of bliss as soon as we enter the sanctum sanctorum? When the priest chants, that place gets energized. The sound of the chants carries tremendous energy and energizes everything in the place. One more thing, these scriptures talk about realizing the Self. They are guides to Enlightenment. So when we read them, we will get into that mood of Enlightenment! Our mind will be tuned to that frequency. It is like this: After watching a movie, our mind keeps processing the scenes of the movie, is it not? For one or two days, we experience a hangover. In the same way, when we read these scriptures, even if we don’t completely cognize them, we will experience a hangover.

We will continue to think about what they say; what Enlightenment is, how to realize our Self, how enlightened Masters live… these thoughts will fill our mind again and again. This is what Kṛṣṇa wants! When our thoughts are always directed towards Self-realization, our thoughts will be of Enlightenment at the time of death also. Kṛṣṇa says, when we read the scriptures, when we practice this lifestyle, we practice brahmacarya. The literal meaning of brahmacarya is one who follows the path to attain the Self. ‘Brahman’ means the Self and ‘carya’ means to walk the path. Anyone who is on the path to attain Brahman is a brahmacāri. Suppression does not lead to transformation.

It only creates depression. Suppression of desires is very dangerous; it is like a volcano ready to erupt anytime and we won’t even know it. Only completion leads to transformation. Brahmacarya is not about leaving everything and becoming a celibate. Our inner space must be cleansed with the power of integrity and authenticity. Our inner space must be the space of completion, free from fantasies and we should strive to merge with the Brahman. That is brahmacarya. Here Kṛṣṇa talks about deep concepts of yoga. All great truths were told by different masters in different ways, yet the truths remain the same. If somebody who does not know the actual meaning of yoga reads this verse, he will be totally confused.

Nowadays when people hear about yoga, they think of physical exercise, about how to become slim doing yoga! Yoga has a much deeper meaning and Kṛṣṇa talks about it. Yoga means the continuous process of uniting our mind, body and soul. This truth is revealed by great enlightened Masters in different ways. Patañjali, the father of yoga, talks about this verse in his Aṣtāṅga Yoga, in the two limbs of yoga—pratyāhāra and dhārana. These two parts talk about what Kṛṣṇa mentions. Let us understand this verse. How do we bring about that continuous process of uniting body, mind and soul? You see, our body-mind system reacts to different external situations.

These external situations are like food, āhāra to our system and our five sense organs are the points through which we take in this food. Our mind functions because we give food to our mind through our senses. We react to situations and our mind is continuously occupied because of this. Our mind exists because we have thousands of thoughts, constantly jumping from past to future and back to past. Our five sense organs act as gateways through which this food goes in to our mind. Pratyāhāra means getting ourselves out of the clutches of these senses. This does not mean that we physically shut down our senses. Listen, pratyāhāra does not mean we shut our senses physically.

Even if we close our eyes, an internal television runs in our system, does it not? Even if our ears and mouth are closed, there is inner chatter, is it not? We don’t really shut down our senses. Even if we shut them physically, our mind functions. When I say, ‘Close the doors of your senses,’ I mean, ‘Do not Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 611 process the data.’ What I mean is, continue to hear everything going on outside, continue to smell everything around, but do not process anything. Whatever comes, just witness, that’s all. That is the only way we can close the doors of our senses.

We should neither suppress thoughts nor create thoughts. We should just watch them. We cut the continuous flow of inputs from our senses when we increase our awareness. The number of thoughts slowly drops as awareness rises. As we increase awareness, our thoughts per second, TPS, drops. This is what Kṛṣṇa means by closing all the senses. When we do this, our awareness becomes more and more concentrated on the present moment. When we shut our senses and remain in pure awareness, we focus on our divinity. We keep a single-minded focus on the divinity resonating in us. We automatically fall into the present moment. Awareness of our breath becomes more acute.

We feel life energy or prāṇa filling our system. This is called dhārana, single-minded focus. We can focus on the life force energizing our system when we increase our awareness and close all the inputs from our senses. We automatically unite mind, body and spirit. This is yoga. Kṛṣṇa continuously tells Arjuna the importance of the last thought before death. We saw in the previous verses how much importance He gives to this truth. You see, it is a powerful technique. These are not mere words to be read and not put into practice. People have used these words and left their bodies gracefully, understand that! They merged with the Ultimate consciousness by practicing these techniques.

Thousands of enlightened beings have constantly thought about God. They have expressed their undaunted devotion in so many carefree ways. People laughed when they danced and sang the glory of God. People realized the power of that devotion only after these Enlightened beings left their bodies, completely merging with the Cosmos. Kṛṣṇa says the people who reach Him are those who remain continuously on the path of yoga, continuously fixed upon the Divine without deviation. Kṛṣṇa asks us to be in that state all the time. He asks us to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness all the time. The problem is when an Enlightened Master says, ‘Think of Me all the time,’ we question, ‘What kind of an egoistic person is He?

Why should we think of Him?’ Actually, our ego plays the game. We think Kṛṣṇa is exploiting us when He advises us to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Many people think I am exploiting them when I make such statements. They think I profit from all of this. Please listen! Kṛṣṇa, or any Enlightened Master or Incarnation, only asks us to keep our inner space completely free of desires. Our thoughts are generally related to greed and fear. We keep piling up desires because our root thought patterns are of greed and fear. When we die, our soul re-experiences these desires. Attachment to these desires makes our death painful. An Enlightened Master has seen this process and speaks from experience.

He is pure compassion and He wants everyone to know the secret of mastering the art of leaving. That is why Kṛṣṇa says again and again: When we direct our thoughts to the Divine, greed and fear are completely wiped out. Our whole being is filled with gratitude to the Divine. One more thing, many people think of God because they want to go to heaven. Some people are afraid of death so they think of God. Both are only because of greed or fear. When we think of the Divine, we should do so out of gratitude, and not out of greed or fear. Our thoughts about God, our devotion to the Divine should be out of pure gratitude to Existence. Brahma’s Day And Night

8.15

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दु:खालयमशाश्वतम् | नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मान: संसिद्धिं परमां गता:

māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam / nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ / / 8.15

After attaining Me, the great souls who are devoted to Me in yoga are never reborn in this world. This world is temporary and full of miseries and they have attained the highest perfection.

māṃ — unto Me · upetya — achieving · punaḥ — again · janma — birth · duḥkhālayaṃ — a place of miseries · aśāśvataṃ — temporary · na — never · āpnuvanti — attain · mahātmanaḥ — the great souls · saṃsiddhiṃ — perfection · paramāṃ — ultimate · gatāḥ — achieved.

8.16

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोका: पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन | मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punarāvartinorjuna / māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate / / 8.16

From the highest planet in the material world [brahmaloka] down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. One who reaches My abode, O Kaunteya, is never reborn.

ābrahmabhuvanātlokāḥ — upto the world of Brahma · punarāvartinaḥ — again returning · arjuna — O Arjuna · māṃ — unto Me · upetya — arriving · tu — but · kaunteya — O son of Kuntī · punar janma — rebirth · na — never · vidyate — takes to

8.17

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदु: | रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जना:

sahasrayuga-paryantam aharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ / rātriṃ yuga-sahasrāntāṃ te’ho-rātravido janāḥ / / 8.17

By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma’s one day. His night is just as long.

sahasra — thousand · yuga — millenniums · paryantaṃ — including · ahaḥ — day · yat — that · brahmaṇaḥ — of Brahma · viduḥ — they know · rātriṃ — night · yuga — millen- niums · sahasrāntāṃ — similarly, at the end of one thousand · te — that · aho rātra — day and night · vidaḥ — understand · janāḥ — people

8.18

अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तय: सर्वा: प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे | रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसञ्ज्ञके

avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavanty aharāgame / rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyakta-saṃjñake / / 8.18

From the unmanifest, all living entities come into being at the beginning of Brahma’s day. With the coming of Brahma’s night, they dissolve into the same unmanifest.

avyaktāt — from the unmanifest · vyaktayaḥ — living entities · sarvāḥ — all · prabha- vanti — come into being · aharāgame — at the beginning of the day · rātryāgame — at the fall of night · pralīyante — are annihilated · tatra — there · eva — certainly · avyakta — the unmanifest · saṃjñake — called

Now He says, ‘After attaining Me the great souls who are steeped in yoga never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.’ mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam I nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ II 8.15 The understanding of this science, the very intellectual understanding, gives the inspiration to experience truth and naturally leads us to the ultimate Truth. Here Kṛṣṇa says, ‘If you achieve this state, you never come back.’ He inspires us; He persuades us to enter that state, to enter thoughtless awareness. The only job of an Enlightened Master is to make everyone realize the truth that he himself has experienced.

That is the only aim. There is no ulterior motive or vested interest. People again and again look at an Enlightened Master with suspicion. They suspect foul play. Understand one thing: A person who remains at the inner source of bliss never cares for anything external. Please understand that he does not need external sources of happiness because he has something more powerful. The inner guide is so powerful that the being is always blissful. That is the reason he does not see the world as a collection of miseries. You see, an enlightened Master may not get food for days, yet he is always blissful. Even in such situations, the only things that he experiences are gratitude and compassion.

He is neither attached to sorrow nor to happiness. He is detached from both to the same degree. He is always in a state of gratitude to the Universe. Worldly things do not affect him. Happiness and sorrow are not in his dictionary. An enlightened Master looks at misery and happiness with total gratitude and surrender to the Universe. Enlightened beings are beyond happiness as you understand it. They are not attached to anything. They are pure compassion. One more thing, an enlightened being surrenders everything that he has and gets, to Existence. When he gets food, he surrenders that; when he is hungry for days, he surrenders that to Existence.

Whether he has money or is in poverty, he is rich inside because he surrenders everything. He says, ‘Let Existence take care.’ All his responsibilities are handed over to Existence. There is a great relief inside when that state of surrender happens. We suddenly light up in joy. We consider something as misery because we think we are responsible for that something. We think we control it. That is why, when something does not happen according to our expectations, we see it as misery. But an Enlightened being is not like that. He simply flows. Whatever comes, he accepts it and surrenders it to Existence. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 615 Beyond Karma In the next verse, Kṛṣṇa talks about the misery-filled world and we see how good deeds cannot get us out of the cycle of birth and death.

Kṛṣṇa says here: ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ‘rjuna I mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate II 8.16 ‘From the highest planet of Brahmaloka in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death takes place. But one who attains Me, one who attains My being, one who attains My consciousness, never takes birth again.’ I told you earlier about the different energy layers. Even if we reach the cosmic layer of Brahmaloka, the land of the Divine, we must come back and take birth again. It means that even if we are full of good intentions and good deeds, even if we are attached to good things, we must come back into a body.

Please be very clear, even if we are caught in doing good deeds, we return. Our good deeds, puṇya, cannot give us enlightenment. I tell people, ‘Even if you give money for my ashram, I cannot give you a speed pass to enlightenment!’ I cannot give you any speed pass. Be very clear, unless you have the conscious glimpse, unless you achieve at least one moment of thoughtless awareness, nobody can save you from the cycle of birth and death. Some people believe that when they give money to institutions, they receive a receipt and a pass to heaven when they die. They are buried with the receipt so that they can show the receipt to the gatekeeper of heaven and he will let them in!

I tell you honestly that at least I don’t have such a system with this institution. Let me be very clear! I never tell people, ‘Do charity and good acts and I can get you into heaven.’ Do things out of love and gratitude with no attachment, and you will be in heaven as a result of your mental setup. Do it out of gratitude, just for the sake of doing it, not expecting that tomorrow you will be given a special place in heaven. I tell people, ‘Even if you give money to my ashram, I cannot give you any speed pass; nothing can be done. This is the honest truth.’

People ask, ‘Then why do you build ashrams and temples?’ I build them because they are laboratories where the spiritual sciences can be practiced. All over the world I build vedic temples and ashrams as inner science laboratories where these truths can be practiced and intranalyzed, and where people will radiate the science of living enlightenment with integrity, authenticity, responsibility and enriching. Listen! Do charity and good acts with the consciousness that you are engaged in research in the inner sciences in these laboratories, just as the ṛṣis of the great vedic tradition did. Don’t do it for some special ticket to heaven. Don’t expect that if we do these things for Lord Viṣṇu, He will send a special flight with a garuḍa (eagle, Lord Viṣṇu’s vehicle) when we leave the body, and the airhostesses, Rambhā, Menaka and Urvaśi (celestial beauties), will take us there.

Nothing of that sort happens! If we expect these things to happen, we will sit, sit, sit and wait. Nobody will come and no such thing will happen! Be very clear, whether we acquire sin or merit, we suffer when we leave the body. Whether it is sin or merit, both are karma. Then what is to be done? When we live in the body, at least once, in one way or another, by meditating or by surrender, experience one glimpse of thoughtless, restful awareness. Work intensely for it, for at least one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, the witnessing consciousness, the space of completion. If we achieve one glimpse, it’s over.

That one glimpse acts like a conscious torch, and guides us through these seven layers when we leave the body. We will walk beautifully; we will slide through all seven layers. The enlightened Master’s initiation is the torch of consciousness that guides us through this path, through our living and leaving. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 617 If we achieve that one glimpse of consciousness, we achieve what has to be achieved. If we have not had that, whatever we achieve is a pure waste. All merits and sins—nothing comes with us. We will not be judged by anything except this glimpse of samādhi, the ultimate truth. Samādhi in Saṃskṛit means: being in our original state.

Once we realize this state, we have arrived. Vivekananda says, ‘If you achieve even a single glimpse, you leave your body in that experience.’ It is because this intense experience of Self-realization will come up at the time when we leave the body. At the time of death, our whole life is played back to us in a fast-forward mode in a few seconds. And only the important scenes appear in multicolor again and again; all other scenes appear in black and white. They become the background. If we have had thoughtless awareness, the samādhi experience when we were alive, that alone will appear in multicolor; all other things will fade away in the background.

And naturally, we stay in that state and leave the body. One more thing—if there is a scratch on a videotape, the tape gets stuck in that place when it runs in fast-forward mode, is it not? So when the fast-forward happens, the remainder of the tape is erased. Similarly, thoughtless awareness is the stuck point in our life because in that space we never had a thought. We will be stuck there and whatever fast-forward happens beyond that, all the karma associated with it will be erased, washed away! It is like a virus entering our software; the more we try to operate the software, the more the virus destroys the software.

Similarly, thoughtless awareness is the divine virus for our saṁsāra sāgara—ocean of worldly life, for our desires, for the software that is our mind. Our mind is the software. Our mind is just a pre-programmed software. Please listen! Don’t think that the mind is intelligence. The mind is just a programmed software. For example, let us say we experience anxiety every morning because of office-related worries. Gradually, every morning at 10 am, we experience a low mood. The funny thing is, eventually we start experiencing the same depression even on the weekend when there is no office to attend! If we are a little aware and sensitive, if we observe ourselves, we will see that this is true.

How many of you have experienced this? If we have observed ourselves, we would have experienced this at least a few times. Then we tell our mind, ‘No, this is the weekend. I don’t need to go to the office. I don’t need to worry about those things.’ But every weekend, our mind goes back to the same mood because our mind is a pre-programmed software. Thoughtless awareness is a benign virus, if such a thing exists! The more we work with the software after the virus has entered, the more the software and programs will be destroyed. Similarly, if we have one glimpse of Consciousness in our lifetime, this glimpse takes over our being at the time of leaving the body, and the whole software is completely erased.

We do not have to take another birth. We assume the body and mind only if we believe there is something to be enjoyed or achieved through the body and mind. Unless we believe there is some work or enjoyment to be found downtown, will we go downtown? We will not. Similarly, unless we believe there is something to be achieved or enjoyed through this body and mind, we do not come down to planet Earth. When we are in this body, if we work on our root thought patterns, saṁskāras, and complete with them, we will liberate ourselves from their influence, and hence from the cycle of re-birth. Kṛṣṇa speaks in a detailed manner on these truths later.

Actually, you do not normally become aware of these root thought patterns, saṁskāras. In our Inner Awakening program, we take you through root pattern analysis techniques to uncover them first and complete with them. You write down, analyze and relive all that has happened in your life and all that you have stored in the various energy layers that the spirit will pass through when it leaves the body-mind system. You analyze: What is the root of your desires? Which of these are superficial incomplete desires? Which desires have been Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 619 imposed on you by others? What are your own desires, for fulfilling which, you carry your own energy?

For instance, guilt is initially imposed on us by society. Later we master the art of creating guilt and continue to create it for ourselves! First society teaches us; then we master the art. Next, pain and suffering. Society creates a scale deciding what pain is and what suffering is. Then, we actually turn our whole life into suffering by measuring it with that scale. In the Inner Awakening meditation retreat, we initiate participants into the science of completion and work deeply on every emotion related to root thought patterns or saṁskāras. Understand, this science is not only for dying but also for living! If we are stuck with guilt, we can never enjoy our desires.

When we don’t enjoy our desires, we create more guilt, that’s all. When we are stuck in guilt, we will not leave the desires and they cannot leave us. When we don’t leave our desires, we create more guilt. This becomes a vicious circle of incomplete emotions. So not only for dying, even for living we need to learn this whole science of completion, the space of thoughtless awareness. Experience His LīlĀ, Cosmic Play As of now, understand this one thing: Throughout this chapter Kṛṣṇa conveys the single message: Experience His consciousness, the thoughtless awareness or the witnessing consciousness in which Kṛṣṇa stays and plays the whole game of life, how He lives through the whole of life.

That is why Kṛṣṇa’s life is called līlā—cosmic play, Kṛṣṇa līlā. It is not history. It is līlā; it is a Cosmic play. For ordinary human beings, after they die, their life will be written as history. For incarnations, their life itself is a script that has already been written; they just come down and enact it, that’s all! For them it is a script; for us it is history. For us, after we die, somebody may write about us if we have achieved something! For the great Masters, it is a script. They come with the script and enact the whole thing. They play the whole game. That is why their life is called līlā.

If we achieve the witnessing consciousness, our whole life becomes līlā. We know the script and we are ready. When we know the script our whole life is a līlā. When we don’t know the script, it becomes history. Līlā Dhyāna is a such a powerful space creator. Please understand, your pastime always leads you to incompletion. An Incarnation’s pastime or līlā always leads you to completion. Your past always leads you to incompletion. An Incarnation’s pastimes, always lead you to completion. If you constantly remember what you did when you were a child, you will be in more and more incompletion. If you constantly remember what Kṛṣṇa does when He is a child, you will be more and more in the space of completion.

Understand, remembering your pastimes, creates more and more incompletions. Remembering the Incarnation’s pastimes creates more and more completion and the higher space. Whether it is Kṛṣṇa or Buddha, Mahādeva or Mīnākśi, even remembering their līlās, their cosmic play creates so much of completion in you, it heals your mamakāra, your inner image. Actually, because of this Līlā Dhyāna practice you become more complete with you. And if you observe deeply, you will find out if you have incompletion with you, that day you will feel that the Divine is angry with you! Understand, the completion you need to do with you and with others is responsible for how you feel connected to your Guru or God, outside and inside.

Kṛṣṇa conveys one thing: All we need to do is work to achieve a glimpse of thoughtless awareness, the space of completion. In the next few chapters, He speaks deeply, intensely about how to open every layer, how to progress, how to clean and complete with every layer and how to achieve the conscious glimpse or thoughtless awareness. He says further: ‘By human calculation, the thousand ages taken together form the duration of Brahma’s one day and such also is the duration of his night.’ Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 621 As I told you, one year for us is one day for the devatas, demigods. For Brahma, a thousand ages are taken as one day.

Only when we achieve the consciousness of nirvāṇa—thoughtless awareness, will we not take rebirth. Here He says a beautiful thing about kṣaṇa. At the time of death, our soul has three kṣaṇa to take another body. Three kṣaṇas can be three microseconds, three seconds or three minutes or three hundred years according to the person’s frequency of thoughts. It depends on his state of mind. If we have lived a restless life, our kṣaṇas will be in microseconds. If we have lived a peaceful, blissful life and achieved at least one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, our kṣaṇa can be even two or three hundred years. If we can stop the next thought from happening within our inner space, our kṣaṇas can be increased to any extent.

It can extend to eternity. So, kṣaṇas is relative and not absolute. Time is actually not chronological, but psychological. If we sit with a friend with whom we are comfortable and joyful, after three or four hours, we suddenly notice the time and say, ‘Oh! I don’t know how the time has passed by so quickly!’ At the same time, if we sit with somebody with whom we don’t feel comfortable, we will look at the watch and think, ‘Why is the watch not moving? Is there a problem with it? The time is simply dragging on.’ The number of thoughts that happen in our mind decides the time consciousness.

If thoughts are less, even after ten hours, we will not feel that ten hours have passed. If the number of thoughts is more, two or three minutes will seem like years. A small story: A lady goes to the doctor for a check-up. After a thorough examination, the doctor says, ‘I’m sorry. I have bad news. You may live only six months more at the most.’ She says, ‘What is this? What should I do now?’ The doctor says, ‘I have one suggestion. Marry an accountant.’ She asks, ‘Will that cure me?’ He replies, ‘No, no. But then the six months will seem very long.’ You see, at the most, we can extend time psychologically.

And when it happens, it is what we call ‘eternal hell’. The word ‘eternal’ is not chronological. Even if we make all possible mistakes in a hundred years, how can we be punished in eternal hell? It actually means that those hundred years seems eternal because of the crowd of thoughts, time will not seem to move. One year of human life equals one day of the devatas, demigods, because their thoughts per second (TPS) is very less. That is why the deity Natarāja in the temple at Chidambaraṁ in South India, has only six prayer offerings throughout the year. In one year, they worship the deity only six times!

Normally, the worship is carried out six times a day in other temples. But this temple is supposed to be where the devatas worship the Divine, so the worship is carried out according to their time! The six offerings of worship required for the deity are conducted in our one year because our one year is one day for the deities or devatas. Devatas refers to those whose TPS has come down, who have had a glimpse of samādhi. If our TPS is low, we too are in heaven. If our TPS is high, we are in hell. Heaven always looks brief; hell always looks eternal, because of the number of thoughts.

When we are in the body, if we have had a single glimpse of thoughtless awareness—the experience of meditation, then automatically this consciousness comes up at the time of leaving the body and we will have two benefits. We can choose to become enlightened and not take another birth, or we can choose the right place to express and work out our karma, to live as we want. We have both choices if we experience thoughtless awareness while living. My Supreme Abode

8.19

भूतग्राम: स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते | रात्र्यागमेऽवश: पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे

bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate / rātryāgame’vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavaty aharāgame / / 8.19

Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Pārtha, and they are automatically annihilated.

bhūtagrāmaḥ — the aggregate of all living entities · saḥ — they · eva — certainly · ayaṃ — this · bhūtvā bhūtvā — taking birth · pralī yate — annihilate · rātri — night · āgame — on arrival · avaśaḥ — automatically · pārtha — O son of Pritā · prabhavati — manifest · ahar — during daytime · āgame — on arrival.

8.20

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातन: | य: स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति

paras tasmāttu bhāvo’nyo ’vyakto’vyaktātsanātanaḥ / yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati / / 8.20

Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is beyond this manifest and unmanifest matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains the same.

paraḥ — transcendental · tasmāt — from that · tu — but · bhāvaḥ — nature · anyaḥ — another · avyaktaḥ — unmanifest · avyaktāt — from the unmanifest · sanātanaḥ — eternal · yaḥ — that · saḥ — which · sarveṣu — all · bhūteṣu — manifestation · naśyatsu — being annihilated · na — never · vinaśyati — annihilated.

8.21

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहु: परमां गतिम् | यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम

avyakto’kṣara ity uktas tamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim / yaṃ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama / / 8.21

That Supreme abode is said to be unmanifest and indestructible and is the Supreme destination. When one gains this state one never comes back. That is My supreme abode.

avyaktaḥ — unmanifested · akṣaraḥ — infallible · iti — thus · uktaḥ — said · taṃ — that which · āhuḥ — is known · paramāṃ — ultimate · gatiṃ — destination · yaṃ — that which · prāpya — gaining · na — never · nivartante — comes back · tat dhāma — that abode · paramaṃ — supreme · mama — Mine

8.22

पुरुष: स पर: पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया | यस्यान्त:स्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā / yasyāntaḥ sthāni bhūtāni yena sarvam idaṃ tatam / / 8.22

O Pārtha (son of Prithā), the supreme person, who is greater than all, is attainable by undeviating devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.

puruṣaḥ — that supreme power · saḥ — He · paraḥ — the Supreme, than whom no one is greater · pārtha — O son of Pritā · bhaktyā — by devotional service · labhyaḥ — can be achieved · tu — but · ananyayā — unalloyed, undeviating devotion · yasya — whom · antaḥ sthāni — within · bhūtāni — all of this material manifestation · yena — by whom · sarvaṃ — all · idaṃ — whatever we can see · tataṃ — distributed

Kṛṣṇa explains how transient this material world is. During a single ‘blink of Brahma’—the Lord of creation, so many things change. In our concept of time, we see things as permanent, but when we operate in a different zone of space and time, all this becomes temporary. Our ignorance makes us think that all that we see is real and permanent. Once we understand that this entire life and the world around us is impermanent, we see everything from a completely different space. Why do we run behind material things? Why do we again and again want to possess things? In our concept of time and space, we see material things as permanent.

We think we can control them. We want to have ownership over everything that is available. And the problem is everyone wants the same thing! Everyone fights to take charge of the same thing. We are like cats fighting over a piece of bread. Please listen, we fight to catch hold of this body. We want to hold onto this body for as long as we can. Even at sixty or seventy, many people go in for plastic surgery. They do things to look young. Why? They do not want to accept the truth that the body is impermanent. When you look around, you see that the Earth is stationary.

It is not moving. When you look from the moon, you see the earth moving. When you go beyond the moon, you see that the moon also moves. Once we raise ourselves to higher dimensions, we see the actual truth. As long as we limit ourselves to this space, we think the earth is stationary. When we change our concept of space and time, when we change our reference point in space and time, we realize that all we think of as permanent, all that we think is ours is not permanent. It is continuously being created and destroyed. This is what Kṛṣṇa says. We believe in a concept of finite time and limited space and we cling to that without realizing what is beyond this dimension.

We are greedy to accumulate more and more material pleasures because we see them as real and permanent. We think they will stay with us forever. That is one side. On the other side we fear that they will be taken away from us. We are always in a state of fear. Both these—greed and fear—are the main sources of our misery. When we live in bondage to fear and greed, we continuously build saṁskāras. We create more and more desires. First of all, we are not trying to fulfill our true desires or prārabdha karma. Then on top of that, we build a whole new set of desires. In our concept of time and space, we think things are permanent.

We think we own them and we should take care of them and control them. When we understand that at higher dimensions, all that we see is destroyed and created continuously, we realize the futility of holding onto Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 625 things, even our own body. Kṛṣṇa says that in all this creation and destruction, only one thing is neither created nor destroyed and that is the ‘Ultimate Consciousness’! What we think of as an age is a fraction of a second to Brahma and everythingweseeaspermanentisbeingmadeanddestroyedeverytimeBrahma blinks. Do not analyze the literal meaning of this. Do not analyze how it is possible. Do not worry about how many hours, how many seconds make one day of Brahma?

Do not worry about what is Brahma’s time or what is Śiva’s time or Kṛṣṇa’s time. Kṛṣṇa refers to the concept of time and space as it exists in the Ultimate consciousness and as an Enlightened Master experiences it. Appreciate and intranalyze the deeper meaning. Understand that whatever we see is transient. Nothing is permanent. It is like putting our hand in a river and trying to hold the water in our hand. What happens? The river flows past, and our hand is empty. Once we realize this truth, our whole idea about time and space will change. We will see everything around us in a different way and understand the futility of the rat race.

I mentioned the seven layers that the spirit travels through at the time of death. The first four layers are related to the physical body-mind system. They store emotionally laden memories: patterns related to desires, guilt and pain experienced during that lifetime. The fifth layer is experienced during deep sleep and when leaving the body. The sixth layer is associated with happy memories and the seventh layer is beyond sorrow and happiness; it is the Ultimate consciousness. Please understand, even attachment to happy memories brings us back into the cycle of birth and death. It is not enough if we transcend pains and sufferings alone. Understand that happy incidents are also temporary and try to move beyond them.

The Abode Of No Return The secret to liberation is what Kṛṣṇa gives here—‘One who attains My abode will never return, yaṁ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (8.21).’ The abode where one will not return to refers to the state of the being when it transcends joys and sorrow. Kṛṣṇa again and again talks about focusing one’s thoughts on the Divine. The only way to think of the Divine at the time of our death is by thinking about Him all the time. At that time, we suddenly cannot think of God. In such pain and suffering, we suddenly can’t think of God if we have always been thinking about money and food in our life.

It is impossible. ThatiswhyKṛṣṇainsistsuponcontinuousdevotiontotheSupreme— bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā (8.22). When we live in a state of continuous devotion, our last thought will be of the Divine. Please be very clear: Our last thought determines our next birth. There is no doubt about it. When we continuously think about God, we understand the truth that everything around us is Him. When we are continuously in that meditation, we see Kṛṣṇa in everything around us. You see, thousands of thoughts come to us every minute. Let as many thoughts as possible be of God. We do not need to reduce the number of thoughts. Let the thoughts be of God. Let us immerse ourselves in thinking about the supreme soul.

This purifies our inner space. Throughout the day, how many times do we think of God? Maybe before a meal, or before going to bed. Otherwise, it is only when we face some problem, that we think of God! But how many times do we think of some film actress or actor? Everything in the newspapers, on television or on the internet is about something with which we are not really connected. Out of thousands of thoughts, less than one percent is probably related to God. Everything else is related to something external. Please listen, every thought is energy and we waste more than ninety nine percent of our energy on something that is not really needed for us.

If we can channel this energy to look inward, to see the source of our existence, we explore a new dimension of our Self. We are ready to do anything other than think about God or our Self. Why? We think it is a waste of time. We always make business plans. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 627 We do something only if we feel we will get something from it. But if we analyze our thoughts carefully, we are not thinking of anything productive. Our thoughts are simply completely illogical. Most of the time, we justify ourselves when someone asks us to think of God. We say, ‘Why think of God?

What will we get? I have better things to think about like work and my studies.’ However these are mere justifications. If we sit and write down our thoughts, we will see that we are not thinking about work or anything productive. Our thoughts are completely illogical and random. So why not think about God? We feel thinking about God does not give us any immediate results. But be very clear, when we are completely immersed in thoughts of God, our inner space is purified and transforms into the space of completion. Completion is God! We are preparing our Self. At the time of death, these thoughts will liberate us. Constantly thinking about God enriches us when our soul passes through the energy layers at the time of death. Passing In Light

8.23

यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिन: | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ

yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttim caiva yoginaḥ / prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha / / 8.23

O best of the Bhārata, I shall now explain to you the different times when passing away from this world, one returns or does not return.

yatra — in that · kāle — time · tu — but · anāvṛttiṃ — no return · āvṛttiṃ — return · ca — also · eva — certainly · yoginaḥ — of different kinds of mystics · prayātāḥ — one who goes · yānti — departs · taṃ — that · kālaṃ — time · vaksyāmi — describing · bharatarṣabha — O best of the Bhāratas.

8.24

अग्निर्ज्योतिरह: शुक्ल: षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् | तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जना:

agnir-jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam / tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ / / 8.24

Those who pass away from the world during the influence of the fire god, during light, at an auspicious moment, during the fortnight of the moon ascending and the six months when the sun travels in the north, and have realized the supreme Brahman do not return.

agniḥ — fire · jyotiḥ — light · ahaḥ — day · śuklaḥ — white · ṣaṇmāsāḥ — six months · ut- tarāyaṇaṃ — when the sun passes on the northern side · tatra — there · prayātāḥ — one who goes · gacchanti — passes away · brahma — to the Absolute · brahmavidaḥ — one who knows the Absolute · janāḥ — person

8.25

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्ण: षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् | तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते

dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam / tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate / / 8.25

The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, the night, the moonless fortnight, or the six months when the sun passes to the south, have done good deeds go to the cosmic layer and again comes back.

dhūmaḥ — smoke · rātriḥ — night · tathā — also · kṛṣṇaḥ — the fortnight of the dark moon · ṣaṇmāsāḥ — the six months · dakṣiṇāyanaṃ — when the sun passes on the southern side · tatra — there · cāndramasaṃ — the moon planet · jyotiḥ — light · yogī — the mystic · prāpya — achieves · nivartate — comes back.

8.26

शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगत: शाश्वते मते | एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुन:

śukla kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate / ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ / / 8.26

According to the Vedas, there are two ways of passing from this world: one in the light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not return; but when one passes in darkness, he again comes back.

śukla — light · kṛṣṇe — darkness · gatī — passing away · hi — certainly · ete — all these · jagataḥ — of the material world · śāśvate — of the Vedas · mate — in the opinion · ekayā — by one · yāti — goes · anāvṛttiṃ — no return · anyayā — by the other · āvartate — comes back · punaḥ — again

In these few verses, Kṛṣṇa describes at what time one can achieve Enlightenment, how one can achieve enlightenment and how to reach that state. He also talks about how people come back into this cycle of birth and death. He says: agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam I tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ II 8.24 Those who know the supreme Divine attain that Supreme by passing Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 629 away from the world during the influence of Agni, the fire-god, during light or at an auspicious moment of the day, also during the fortnight of the waxing moon or during the six months that the sun travels in the north, referred to as uttarāyaṇaṁ.

Understand, these are not chronological calendars. If it were a chronological calendar, then at uttarāyaṇaṁ time, all of us can commit suicide and be done with it, that’s all! But that is not what is meant here. All these things have metaphorical meanings. When He says uttarāyaṇaṁ, Kṛṣṇa means when our mind is totally balanced and when we are not agitated. In the Mahābhārat war it is said that Bhīśma Pitāmaḥ waits for uttarāyaṇaṁ to leave the body. Don’t think he waited for January. He waited until his mind settled down from the agitations and incompletions, and he establishes himself in the space of completion. He had fallen in battle and was lying down on a bed made of arrows.

He must have felt agitated. He must have felt, ‘My grandson, whom I taught everything, for whom I did everything, did this to me.’ He would have been disturbed. So he waited until the agitation settled down. That is what is meant by the words, ‘he was waiting for uttarāyaṇaṁ.’ Don’t think these are chronological concepts. They are psychological. If it were chronological, then do you think that the millions of people who die in those six months become enlightened? Enlightenment is not an accident! It is a pure conscious choice. So be very clear, when He says agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ, He means if we are conscious...agnir jyotir... means when your being is conscious... when your being is fully alive, awakened, naturally you go up.

(śuklaḥ means going above, kṛṣṇa means going down). Listen. If we live throughout life centered on the eyes, our energy leaves through the eyes. At the last moment, we open the eyes and the soul leaves. If we live throughout life centered on the tongue, eating, our mouth opens and the soul leaves through it. So if we live throughout life centered on higher consciousness, our energy leaves through the sahasrāra, the crown cakra, the energy center on the top of our head. Kṛṣṇa says brahma brahmavido janāḥ. He means that if we have always lived with our attention focused towards higher consciousness, we will travel in that path and disappear into Brahman.

We will become enlightened. So be very clear, these conditions are not chronological. They are psychological. Bhīśma waited until his mind settled, until he felt completely peaceful, till he was able to forgive and complete with everybody and himself, and till he was able to reach conscious awareness. Then he entered enlightenment. Next, Kṛṣṇa says that the person who passes away from this world during smoke, the night, the fortnight of the waning moon or those six months when the Sun travels in the south, referred to as Dakṣināyaṇaṁ, reaches the Moon but comes back again. Again, this is psychological. They can’t say that in these six months nobody can become enlightened.

They can’t say, ‘During the six months of dakṣināyaṇaṁ, the Enlightenment gates are locked, no entry. Only at uttarāyaṇaṁ time, the gates are open. Come at that time.’ No! They can’t say, ‘Dakṣināyaṇaṁ time is non-working hours and only uttarāyaṇaṁ time is working hours.’ There are no working hours for enlightenment. It is purely because of the conscious choice of one’s being. Kṛṣṇa says that according to the Vedas, there are two ways to pass from this world: one in light and one in darkness—śukla-kṛṣṇa gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate. When one passes in light, he does not return, but when one passes in darkness, he comes back again—ekayā yāty anāvṛttim ananyāvartate punaḥ (8.26).

What does Kṛṣṇa mean by light and darkness, śukla-kṛṣṇa? They refer to the levels of consciousness one has reached. If a person leaves the body without knowing what drove him all along—his saṁskāras, his desires, fears, guilt, etc., which we call root thought patterns—then this ignorance is what He refers to as darkness. Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 631 If you look inside, the reason for your low inner space, powerless inner space will be some root thought pattern. Break that! Reclaim your freedom! Declare your freedom! Raise your inner space to the peak joy, fulfillment, and excitement. Please understand, when Śwetaketu, a young seeker mentioned in Upaniṣads, was initiated by his Guru, his Guru said only nine times— ‘Tat Tvam Asi!

Tat Tvam Asi! Tat Tvam Asi!’ (thou are that), and Śwetaketu became enlightened. Why then, even if you listen to ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ nine-thousand times, you don’t become enlightened? Carry the right inner space! On the rock, seed cannot sprout as a tree. In the right fertile ground only, the seed can become tree. In the right inner space only, the teachings can become reality. Right inner space means where all the root thought patterns of suffering are destroyed. Listen! All root thought patterns are destroyed where your inner space is fertile for experiencing the higher ideals and ideas. When we become aware of these root thought patterns and are free from them, we leave the body and become liberated. This is what He means by light. He says that when this happens, the being does not return to the body. Be Fixed In Devotion

8.27

नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन | तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन

naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogī muhyati kaścana / tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna / / 8.27

O Pārtha (son of Prithā), the devotees who know these different paths are never bewildered. O Arjuna, be always fixed in devotion.

na — never · ete — all these · sṛtī — different paths · pārtha — O son of Pritā · jānan — even if they know · yogī — the devotees of the Lord · muhyati — bewildered · kaścana — anyone · tasmāt — therefore · sarveṣu kāleṣu — always · yoga yuktaḥ — being engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness · bhava — just become · arjuna — O Arjuna

8.28

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तप:सु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् | अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्

vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva dāneṣu yat puṇyaphalaṃ pradiṣṭam / atyeti tat sarvam idaṃ viditvā yogī paraṃ sthānam upaiti cādyam / / 8.28

A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not denied the results derived from studying the Vedas, per- forming austerities and sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing pious and result based activities. At the end he reaches the supreme abode.

vedeṣu — in the study of the Vedas · yajñeṣu — in the performances of yajna, sacri- fice · tapaḥsu — undergoing different types of austerities · ca — also · eva — certainly · dāneṣu — in giving charities · yat — that which · puṇya phalaṃ — the result of pious work · pradiṣṭaṃ — directed · atyeti — surpasses · tat — all those · sarvaṃ idaṃ — all those described above · viditvā — knowing · yogī — the devotee · paraṃ — supreme · sthānaṃ — abode · upaiti — achieves peace · ca — also · ādyaṃ — original.

At the end he reaches the Supreme and Primal Abode. In the last few verses Kṛṣṇa summarizes the essence of the whole chapter. He says, ‘O Pārtha, the devotees who know these different paths are never bewildered. Therefore O Arjuna, be always fixed in devotion.’ naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogi muhyati kaścana I tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu yoga-yukto bhavārjuna II 8.27 He means that a person who understands the different paths that a spirit can take while leaving the body will always be prepared for death. He immerses himself in devotion throughout his life so that he becomes liberated. Kṛṣṇa first gives Arjuna an intellectual understanding of the whole death process.

He clearly tells him that the last thought while leaving the body governs the path that the spirit chooses when entering the next body. Again and again He emphasizes that this thought cannot be divine unless we spend our entire lives in devotional service. When I say devotional service, devotion is more important than service. I tell Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ The Art Of Leaving 633 people, never give money in charity because some priest told you that it is a good thing. Never follow these rules blindly. I do not say, ‘Don’t do charity work.’ I am only saying, ‘Let it just be a natural expression of yourself, not with any expectation.’

We have a head to think with and a heart to feel with. We do not need to refer to society every time to decide what to do and what not to do. Another thing, do not work in the name of ‘devotional service’ to please someone else or society. If you expect something in return, then be very clear, it is not devotional service. If it springs purely out of devotion, the act itself should be the reward. I tell people, every day for half an hour, just for half an hour, work without expecting anything in return. It could be anything. Without any calculations, immerse yourself in some work for half an hour.

You will suddenly see a new space open up inside you. When you work without expecting anything in return, just for the joy of doing it, you will see how liberating it is. Gradually, when this becomes ingrained in you, you will be enriched and enjoy whatever you do much more. You will no more bother about who thinks what about you. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Performing austerities and sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing pious result-based activities will take a person to the Supreme abode.’ While doing each of these activities, it is the attitude that matters most, not the action itself. I have seen people give money to temple priests out of fear and greed.

They are told that if they don’t give money, the gods will be angry. Or if they give money, their family will be protected. The attitude behind these actions is what counts. Kṛṣṇa says, if one engages in activities with devotion, then He will be there at the time of one’s death. He has given intellectual knowledge until now. In the following chapters, He gives deeper level techniques to experience this truth, to experience completion by removing root thought patterns, by removing bio-memories. Let us pray to that Ultimate Energy, Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, to give us intelligence and the experience of thoughtless awareness, witnessing consciousness, ātma jñāna, the eternal bliss, Nityānanda.

Thank you. Thus ends the eighth chapter named Akṣarabrahma Yogaḥ, ‘The Yoga Of Imperishable Brahma’ of the Bhagavad Gītā Upaniṣad, Brahmavidyā Yogaśātra, the scripture of yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṃvād, dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. Secret Of All Secrets The whole universe is intelligence. It responds to our thoughts. krsna transmits the king of all knowledge and all secrets, which is eternal, easy, and joyfully done. To the one who is non-envious and trusts Him, krsna promises yoga (success) and ksema (protection). c h a p t e r Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ ... ... We are now at the halfway mark of the Bhagavad Gītā.

Arjuna started in total confusion and dilemma. His questions were varied and repetitive. It was as if he did not listen to what Kṛṣṇa told him. As I said, questions arise from inner violence. They arise from the ego to prove one’s correctness. These questions gradually transform into doubts. Doubts are essential for any seeker. Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. Without doubt, we cannot develop faith. Blind faith will not help the seeker. It is just based upon root thought patterns and will collapse under pressure. Real faith develops in the seeker when he sincerely questions spiritual truths. Raising sincere doubts before an Enlightened Master actually does a lot to integrate a person and strengthen his faith.

Kṛṣṇa sees the change that is happening within Arjuna. He feels Arjuna’s inner violence and conflict is clearing up and that his individual consciousness is opening to the space of completion. The Master is ready to change gears now and take the dialogue to the next level that is needed to address this change in inner space. In previous chapters Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna how to act without attachment by renouncing the outcome of his actions to Existence. In the last chapter He enriches Arjuna with an understanding of the process of death and liberation. Now Kṛṣṇa reveals to Arjuna the greatest of all secrets—Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ, the secret about Himself. Secret Of All Secrets Eternal, Easy And Joyfully Done

iti śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvāde akṣara-brahmayogo nāma aṣṭamo’dhyāyaḥ