Bhagavad Gita 8.11यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः।यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ॥
yad akṣharaṁ veda-vido vadanti viśhanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ yad
ichchhanto brahmacharyaṁ charanti tat te padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣhye
Sanskrit recitation
What you remember at the end · 8.1–8.13 · Teaching
Translation
That which is declared to be Imperishable by those who know the Vedas, that which the self-controlled (ascetics or Sannyasins) and passion-free enter, that goal, desiring which celibacy is practised, I will declare to thee in brief.
Hindi translation
वेदवेत्ता लोग जिसको अक्षर कहते हैं, वीतराग यति जिसको प्राप्त करते हैं और साधक जिसकी प्राप्तिकी इच्छा करते हुए ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करते हैं, वह पद मैं तेरे लिये संक्षेपसे कहूँगा।
Meaning
The Supreme Being which is symbolised by the sacred monosyllable Om or the Pranava is the highest step or the supreme goal of man.The same ideas are expressed in the Kathopanishad. Yama (the God of Death) said to Nachiketas, The goal which all the Vedas speak of, which all penances proclaim and wishing for which they lead the life of celibacy, that goal (world) I will briefly tell thee. It is Om. Satyakama the son of Sibi questioned Pippalada, O Bhagavan, if some one among men meditates here until death on the syllable Om, what world does he obtain by that Pippalada replied, O Satyakama, the syllable Om is indeed the higher and the lower Brahman. He who meditates on the higher Purusha with this syllable Om of three Matras (units) is led up by the Samaverses to the Brahmaloka or the world of Brahma. (Prasnopanishad)Pranava or Om is considered either as an expression of the Supreme Self or Its symbol like anidol (Pratika). It serves persons of dull and middling intellects as a means for realising the Supreme Self.Chant Om three times at the commencement of your meditation you will find concentration of mind easier.
After Swami Sivananda
What you remember at the end· 8.1–8.13→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 8.1Arjuna said, "What is Brahman? What is Adhyatma? What is action, O best among men? What is…
- 8.2Who and how is Adhiyajna here in this body, O destroyer of Madhu? And how, at the time of…
- 8.3The Blessed Lord said, "Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; its essential nature is…
- 8.4Adhibhuta—knowledge of the elements—pertains to My perishable nature, and the Purusha, or…
- 8.5And whoever, leaving their body, goes forth remembering Me alone at the time of death,…
- 8.6Whoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go,…
- 8.7Therefore, at all times, remember Me only and fight. With your mind and intellect fixed on…
- 8.8With the mind not moving towards any other thing, made steadfast through the practice of…
- 8.9Whosoever meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler of the whole world, minuter…
- 8.10At the time of death, with an unwavering mind, endowed with devotion, by the power of…
8.11That which is declared to be Imperishable by those who know the Vedas, that which the…
- 8.12Having closed all the gates, confined the mind in the heart, and fixed the life-breath in…
- 8.13Uttering the one-syllabled Om, the Brahman, and remembering Me, he who departs, leaving…
Word-by-word→
- te
- to you
- tat
- that
- yat
- which
- padam
- goal
- vadanti
- describe
- charanti
- practice
- viśhanti
- enter
- yatayaḥ
- great ascetics
- akṣharam
- Imperishable
- pravakṣhye
- I shall explain
- veda-vidaḥ
- scholars of the Vedas
- brahmacharyam
- celibacy
- ichchhantaḥ
- desiring
- saṅgraheṇa
- briefly
- vīta-rāgāḥ
- free from attachment
Related verses
- 5.9Speaking, letting go, seizing, opening, and closing the eyes, one should be convinced that…
- 3.37The Blessed Lord said, "It is desire and it is anger, both of the quality of Rajas,…
- 7.27O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth due to the delusion of the pairs of…
- 9.13But the great souls, O Arjuna, partaking of My divine nature, worship Me with a…