Aksara Brahma Yoga

किं तद्ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम | अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ||१||

Arjuna said: O Supreme Person, what is Brahma? What is the self (Adhyatma)? What is karma? What is called the material manifestation (Adhibhuta)? And what is called Adhidaiva — the realm of the demigods?

अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन | प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ||२||

O Madhusudana, who is Adhiyajna, and how does He dwell in this body? And how can those who are self-controlled know You at the time of death?

अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते | भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ||३||

The Supreme Lord said: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahma, and its eternal nature is called Adhyatma (the self). Action — the offering that causes the material bodies of living entities to come into being — is called karma.

अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् | अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ||४||

O best of the embodied beings, the constantly changing physical nature is called Adhibhuta. The cosmic form of the Lord, encompassing all the demigods, is called Adhidaiva. And I — the Supersoul — dwelling in the heart of every embodied being, am called Adhiyajna.

अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् | यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ||५||

And whoever, at the time of death, gives up the body while remembering Me alone — he attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् | तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ||६||

O son of Kunti, whatever state of being one remembers when giving up the body at the end of life — that state alone will one attain, having always been absorbed in that state of being.

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च | मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयः ||७||

Therefore, O Arjuna, always think of Me and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your mind and intelligence surrendered to Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना | परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ||८||

He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Divine Person, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me without deviation — he certainly reaches Me, O Partha.

कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः | सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ||९||

One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, whose form is inconceivable, who is luminous like the sun, and who is transcendental, beyond the darkness of material nature.

प्रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव | भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ||१०||

One who at the time of death fixes the life air between the eyebrows and, fully absorbed in devotion by the power of yoga, with an unwavering mind remembers the Supreme Divine Person — he attains that Supreme.

यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्तिविशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः | यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्तितत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ||११||

Those who know the Vedas call it the imperishable syllable Om — that into which the great renunciants, free from attachment, enter. Desiring this goal, people practice brahmacharya. I will now explain to you briefly that path.

सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च | मूध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ||१२||

The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sense activities. Closing all the doors of the senses, fixing the mind in the heart, placing the life air at the top of the head — thus one is established in yogic concentration.

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् | यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ||१३||

After being situated in this yoga practice, if one vibrates the sacred syllable Om — the single syllable of Brahma — and remembers Me while departing from the body, he attains the supreme destination.

अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः | तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ||१४||

O Partha, for one who always remembers Me with undivided mind, I am easy to attain — for that yogi who is constantly engaged in devotional service.

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् | नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ||१५||

Having attained Me, the great souls — those who have reached the highest perfection — never again take birth in this temporary world, which is full of miseries.

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोका: पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन | मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ||१६||

From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः | रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ||१७||

Those who know that one day of Brahma lasts a thousand yuga cycles, and that his night ends after a thousand yuga cycles — they truly know day and night.

अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे | रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके ||१८||

At the beginning of Brahma's day, all living beings emerge from the unmanifest. And at the arrival of his night, they all dissolve back into the unmanifest.

भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते | रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ||१९||

Again and again, when Brahma's day arrives, all living beings come into being, and with the arrival of Brahma's night they are helplessly dissolved — O son of Pritha, the same multitude of beings takes birth again and again.

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः |

Yet there is another eternal unmanifest nature, transcendental to this manifest and unmanifest matter, which is never destroyed when all beings are annihilated.

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् |

That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and imperishable, that which is the supreme destination, from which having attained one never returns — that is My supreme abode.

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया |

The Supreme Person, who is greater than all, is attainable only by unalloyed devotion, O son of Pritha. Although He dwells in His abode, all living beings are situated within Him and the entire creation is pervaded by Him.

यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः |

O best of the Bharatas! Now I shall describe to you the different times at which yogis depart from this world, some to return and some never to return.

अग्निर्ज्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् |

Those who know the Supreme Brahman attain that Supreme by departing this world during the influence of the fire-god, in the light, at an auspicious moment of the day, during the bright fortnight of the moon, or during the six months when the sun travels in the north.

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् |

The yogi who departs this world during smoke, night, the dark fortnight, or during the six months when the sun travels in the south reaches the moon but comes back to the material world again.

शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते |

According to Vedic opinion, there are two eternal paths in this world — one of light and one of darkness. By one, a person goes never to return; by the other, they come back again.

नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन |

O Arjuna! Although the devotees know these two paths, they are never bewildered. Therefore, be always fixed in devotion — be yoga-yukta at all times.

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् |

A person who accepts the path of devotion is not deprived of the results of studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, undertaking austerities, or giving charity. By simply performing devotional service, they surpass all these results and attain the supreme eternal abode.