Chapter 8 — Akshar Brahmn Yoga

Verse 20-21
🕉 Original Sanskrit Shloka

parastasmāttu bhāvo'nyo'-vyakto vyaktātsanātanah

yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteşu naśyatsu na vinaśyati


avyakto'kşara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramām gatim

yaṁ prāpya na nivartante taddhāma paramam mama

🕉 English Translation

Pare usseh bhi ek satta hai jo,

Sanatan hai aur shrestha bhi usseh voh.

Prani sabhi nashta ho jayein gar,

Nahi naash hota hai uss ka magar.


Kehte jise akshar avayakta bhi,

Param gati bhi naam hai uska hi.

Jisse paa ke laute na picche koyi,

Param dham Arjun hai mera wahi.

📜 Translation English

Transcending this unmanifest is another eternal unmanifest reality. That very Supreme existence does not perish on the destruction of all existences.


That unmanifest named as Immutable, the same unmanifested Immmutable is called the highest goal on attaining which beings do not return, that is My supreme abode.

💬 Commentary English

In the previous verses the unmanifest has been referred to as the subtle body of Brahma. In accordance with the day and the night of Brahma the embodied beings take birth and die. But this is not all. The word 'tu' is used for showing such uniqueness. Brahmaji himself is also not totally changeless and immortal. He is too subject to coming and going. Above and beyond him also there is such a superiormost state which is an unmanifested power and which is imperishable and eternal.


The Supreme is the only one who is eternal and imperishable. Apart from Him everything else is subject to destruction. This expression of the Gita has a scientific basis. The cycle of the destructible can only go on if the substratum is permanent. You can run and can make the vehicle run at a speed only when the ground below is stable. Whether the blades of the fan or the wheels of the vehicle move, the axis or the axle in midst is required to be stable. In the cycle of creation the Supreme is the imperishable, stable and eternal power. On the basis of His stability beings come and go from the world. But on Him there is no effect of their births and deaths. On the destruction of the body there is no destruction of the soul. Universes were created and destroyed; but the Supreme was then also permanent and eternal as He is now and shall remain so ever.


That very Supreme Being is imperishable, is totally unmanifest; He is the ultimate destination and His attainment is His supreme abode! The movement of the body is towards the crematorium; the body is going in that direction. If the movement of the embodied being is towards the world then it will be a downward movement; coming and going will continue as per merits and action. It is just not necessary but imperative that the movement of the embodied being should be towards the Supreme. The predisposition should not be downward moving in the form of the thoughts of sensual objects but should be upward moving towards divine contemplation. The ultimate destination is this only. This state will free one from coming and going from this world. It will make one experience the supreme bliss of such a state; then the question of return from there will not arise. The embodied being will be perfectly contented and will have oneness with the divine; then who will come into this sorrowful world and why? The supreme abode is not any separate world; this divine state is the supreme abode. How will one reach this and where is it located? Maintain concentration; keep going along with the inspirations from the Gita.

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