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Chapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme · 28 verses

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Mind & yogaChapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 8.9

Meditation and remembrance at death

कविं पुराणमनुशासितार-

मणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्य: ।

सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप-

मादित्यवर्णं तमस: परस्तात् ॥ ९ ॥

kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram

aṇor aṇīyāṁsam anusmared yaḥ

sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam

āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt

Translation

One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, 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. He is luminous like the sun, and He is transcendental, beyond this material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Meditate on the Supreme Person

  1. 1Meditate on the Supreme Person, who knows everything, controls and maintains everything, and is beyond material nature.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa is always a person, not impersonal or empty. His power is beyond our understanding.
  3. 3Rather than argue endlessly, accept the teachings of scripture and follow them to gain understanding.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 8, Attaining the Supreme: meditation and remembrance at death.

What it teaches

Theme summary

A disciplined mind is one's best friend.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: manas, indriya, yoga.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 8.9 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to mind & yoga?

Practice

Sit quietly for ten minutes and gently return the mind.

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Related verses

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Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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