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Chapter8

Akṣara-brahma-yoga · 28 verses

Attaining the Supreme

Always remember Kṛṣṇa and serve Him with devotion to reach His eternal abode.

1 · Verse notes (28)2 · Stories (13)Read on Vedabase
1

Verse notes

Every verse in simple words, from Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Tap a verse to study it in depth.

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  1. BG 8.1Questions to the Supreme Person

    Study this verse
    • Arjuna asks the Lord about Brahman, the self, fruitive activities, the material manifestation and the demigods.
    • Prabhupāda explains that Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person, the supreme authority who can give definitive answers.
    • Follow Arjuna’s example by seeking answers from Kṛṣṇa’s teachings.

  2. BG 8.2Remembering Kṛṣṇa at Death

    Study this verse
    • Arjuna asks who the Lord of sacrifice is, how He lives in the body, and how devotees can know Him at death.
    • Prabhupāda explains that life’s activities are tested at death, when bodily distress may make remembering Kṛṣṇa difficult.
    • Practice remembering Kṛṣṇa while your mind is undisturbed and your body is healthy.

  3. BG 8.3The Self and Karma

    Study this verse
    • The living being is indestructible Brahman; his eternal nature is adhyātma. Karma is action that develops material bodies.
    • Prabhupāda explains that the living being is distinct from the Supreme Lord. His spiritual position is to serve the Supreme.
    • Practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness to prepare to return to Godhead, rather than seek temporary heavenly enjoyment.

  4. BG 8.4Nature, Universal Form, and Supersoul

    Study this verse
    • Changing physical nature is adhibhūta; the Lord’s universal form is adhidaiva; and the Lord as the Supersoul in every heart is adhiyajña.
    • Prabhupāda explains that the Supersoul is not different from Kṛṣṇa. He witnesses the individual soul’s actions and allows the soul to act freely.
    • Serve Kṛṣṇa with devotion. For the pure devotee serving Him, the roles of these manifestations of the Lord become clear.

  5. BG 8.5Remembering Kṛṣṇa at Death

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    • Anyone who leaves the body remembering Kṛṣṇa alone immediately attains His nature, without doubt.
    • Prabhupāda explains that remembering Kṛṣṇa at death requires practice in devotional service from early life.
    • Keep chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and patiently tolerate difficulties to prepare to remember Him at death.

  6. BG 8.6Remembering Kṛṣṇa at Death

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    • Whatever state of being you remember at death, you will certainly attain.
    • Prabhupāda explains that remembering Kṛṣṇa at death brings one to His spiritual nature; remembering something else does not.
    • Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and practice remembering Kṛṣṇa throughout life to help you remember Him at death.

  7. BG 8.7Remember Kṛṣṇa While Doing Duties

    Study this verse
    • Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to fight while always remembering Him, dedicating his activities to Him and fixing his mind and intelligence on Him. Then he will surely attain Kṛṣṇa.
    • Prabhupāda explains that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa frees one from material contamination and leads one to Kṛṣṇaloka, the supreme planet, without doubt.
    • Continue your prescribed duties while remembering Kṛṣṇa by chanting His names.

  8. BG 8.8Always Remember Kṛṣṇa

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    • Those who steadily remember Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead are sure to reach Him.
    • Prabhupāda explains that chanting and hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa revives remembrance of Kṛṣṇa and purifies the devotee.
    • Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and listen to the sound to keep your mind engaged in remembering Him.

  9. BG 8.9Meditate on the Supreme Person

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    • Meditate on the Supreme Person, who knows everything, controls and maintains everything, and is beyond material nature.
    • Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa is always a person, not impersonal or empty. His power is beyond our understanding.
    • Rather than argue endlessly, accept the teachings of scripture and follow them to gain understanding.

  10. BG 8.10Remembering the Lord at Death

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    • One who fixes the life air between the eyebrows through yoga and remembers the Supreme Lord with steady, full devotion at death will certainly attain Him.
    • Prabhupāda explains that a pure devotee need not practice this yoga technique: through constant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotee can remember the Lord at death by His grace.
    • Practice bhakti-yoga during life rather than expecting to remember the Lord suddenly at death, when the mind is very disturbed.

  11. BG 8.11Chanting for Spiritual Perfection

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    • Renounced sages who know the Vedas and chant oṁ enter Brahman. Those seeking this perfection practice celibacy.
    • Prabhupāda explains that celibate student life is not practical today. In this age, only chanting Kṛṣṇa’s holy names can bring realization of the Supreme.
    • Practice chanting the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

  12. BG 8.12Fixing the Mind on Kṛṣṇa

    Study this verse
    • Yoga means withdrawing from sense enjoyment, fixing the mind on the heart, and placing the life air at the top of the head.
    • Prabhupāda explains that controlling the senses helps the mind focus on the Supersoul in the heart, but this practice is not practical in this age.
    • Choose Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the best process: keep your mind on Kṛṣṇa in devotional service to remain undisturbed in samādhi.

  13. BG 8.13Chanting and Remembering Kṛṣṇa

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    • One who follows this yoga practice, chants oṁ, and remembers the Supreme Lord while leaving the body certainly reaches the spiritual planets.
    • Prabhupāda explains that oṁ, Brahman, and Kṛṣṇa are not different. Hare Kṛṣṇa contains oṁ, and Kṛṣṇa’s devotees reach His planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
    • Practice chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, which is recommended for this age, and remembering the Lord.

  14. BG 8.14Always Remember Kṛṣṇa

    Study this verse
    • Kṛṣṇa is easy to attain for one who always remembers Him without distraction and constantly serves Him with devotion.
    • Prabhupāda explains that pure devotees want only to please Kṛṣṇa, not to gain anything for themselves.
    • Begin by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and practice remembering and serving Him every day, wherever you are.

  15. BG 8.15The Highest Perfection

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    • Great souls devoted to Kṛṣṇa attain Him and never return to this temporary world full of suffering.
    • Prabhupāda explains that the highest perfection is to want only Kṛṣṇa and His association, nothing else.
    • Hear from realized devotees and gradually develop devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

  16. BG 8.16Beyond Birth and Death

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    • All material planets are places of misery, with repeated birth and death. Those who reach Kṛṣṇa’s abode never take birth again.
    • Prabhupāda explains that all yogīs must reach perfection in bhakti-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to enter Kṛṣṇa’s eternal abode.
    • Cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness rather than seek higher material planets, where birth and death continue.

  17. BG 8.17Brahmā’s Day and Night

    Study this verse
    • By human calculation, Brahmā’s day lasts a thousand ages, and his night lasts just as long.
    • Prabhupāda explains that the material universe has a limited duration. Even Brahmā is subject to death.
    • Brahmā directly serves the Supreme Lord by managing the universe, and therefore he attains liberation.

  18. BG 8.18Brahmā’s Day and Night

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    • All living entities become manifest when Brahmā’s day begins and unmanifest again when night falls.
    • They become manifest from an unmanifest state.
    • At night, all living entities merge into the unmanifest again.

  19. BG 8.19Beyond Repeated Birth

    Study this verse
    • Again and again, living beings appear with Brahmā’s day and are helplessly annihilated when his night comes.
    • Prabhupāda explains that they receive bodies for material activities during the day and remain without bodies within Viṣṇu at night.
    • Use human life for devotional service and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This leads to Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual planet, with eternal happiness and no more rebirth.

  20. BG 8.20Kṛṣṇa’s Eternal Spiritual Nature

    Study this verse
    • Beyond manifest and unmanifest matter is another unmanifest nature. It is supreme, eternal, and never destroyed.
    • Prabhupāda explains that this is Kṛṣṇa’s superior spiritual energy, beyond all material changes.
    • Material nature appears and is destroyed during Brahmā’s days and nights, but spiritual nature remains unchanged.

  21. BG 8.21Kṛṣṇa’s Supreme Abode

    Study this verse
    • Kṛṣṇa’s supreme abode is the highest destination. Those who reach it never return to the material world.
    • Prabhupāda explains that this abode is Goloka Vṛndāvana, where all desires are fulfilled and the Lord is served.
    • Kṛṣṇa and His supreme abode are nondifferent: both have the same spiritual quality.

  22. BG 8.22Reaching Kṛṣṇa Through Devotion

    Study this verse
    • The Supreme Lord is reached by pure devotion. He remains in His abode, yet He is everywhere, and everything rests within Him.
    • Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa’s abode is full of spiritual bliss. Only devotional service leads there, and those who reach it never return.
    • Practice devotional service to Kṛṣṇa as the way to reach His supreme abode.

  23. BG 8.23Leaving Everything in Kṛṣṇa’s Hands

    Study this verse
    • The Lord will explain the times of death when a yogī returns to this world or does not return.
    • Prabhupāda explains that pure devotees return happily to Godhead regardless of when they die, while other yogīs depend on suitable timing.
    • Follow the example of fully surrendered devotees by leaving everything in Kṛṣṇa’s hands.

  24. BG 8.24Auspicious Times and Devotion

    Study this verse
    • Those who know the Supreme Brahman attain that Supreme by leaving this world under the auspicious conditions described.
    • Prabhupāda explains that presiding deities arrange the soul’s passage, and leaving at these times can lead to the impersonal brahma-jyotir.
    • A pure devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness need not fear returning to birth and death, regardless of when the body is left.

  25. BG 8.25Reaching the Moon and Returning

    Study this verse
    • A mystic who dies during smoke, night, the waning fortnight, or the six months when the sun passes south reaches the moon but returns.
    • Prabhupāda explains that experts in work for material results and sacrifice enjoy life there for about 10,000 years by demigod calculations.
    • Higher classes of living beings exist on the moon, though ordinary senses may not perceive them.

  26. BG 8.26Two Ways of Departure

    Study this verse
    • The Vedas describe two ways of leaving this world: in light, one does not return; in darkness, one returns.
    • Those who work for rewards or speculate philosophically keep coming and going because they do not surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
    • Seek ultimate liberation through surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

  27. BG 8.27Stay Fixed in Devotion

    Study this verse
    • Devotees know the two paths but are never confused by them. Kṛṣṇa therefore says to remain fixed in devotion.
    • Prabhupāda explains that devotional service makes the path to the spiritual kingdom safe, certain and direct.
    • Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and serve Him in all your activities, without worrying about how you will leave this world.

  28. BG 8.28Devotional Service Gives All Results

    Study this verse
    • Devotional service gives all the benefits of Vedic study, sacrifice, austerity, charity and other pursuits, and leads to the supreme eternal abode.
    • Prabhupāda explains that service to Kṛṣṇa surpasses all Vedic rituals and reaches its perfection in love for Kṛṣṇa and eternal happiness in His abode.
    • Learn Bhagavad-gītā from a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Hearing in devotees’ company helps you understand it and grow in devotional service.
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Stories

The Mahābhārata background, and stories Prabhupāda tells in his purports. Tap one to read it.

The story · On his bed of arrows Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and then concentrates upon Kṛṣṇa at death.

What the verses say · One who leaves the body remembering Kṛṣṇa alone attains His nature, and remembering the Supreme Lord in full devotion at death leads to Him.

BG 8.5-6BG 8.10-13
Back to step 1Arjuna's journeyNext · Step 3 of 7 · 10 minThe key ideasSee how karma, the soul, devotion and surrender link together. Follow a guided path.