Bhagavad-Gita 8th Chapter Glimpse

In this episode, I speak with Syamananda about the eighth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. What kind of lifestyle will allow you to have a peaceful mind at the time of death? This chapter gives a few wake-up calls about how short life is and, as ironic as it may sound, that we don’t have time to be impatient.

Transcript

Hello Yogi!

Welcome to my podcast!

I'm Aiko and on this show we explore ways to put spiritual theory into sustainable practice.

Welcome,

Sean,

Again!

Thank you very much!

So last time we left on Chapter 7 and you were just saying,

If I remember correctly,

That if someone realized during their life what God means,

What existence means,

Then he or she will have these feelings,

This consciousness also in the moment of death.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Krishna says if you can see him everywhere,

Then you will also be able to feel him at the time of death.

Very beautiful!

And now we are in Chapter 8 as I mentioned before and this is still part of the middle six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita where it's explained a little bit more about the existence of the,

About God while the previous six chapters were talking more about the Self.

Right?

Yes,

You can say like the Self in the first six chapters and then the Source of the Self,

Of all Selves in the middle six chapters and turning to that Source.

I hear just recently from a friend of mine,

She was saying that when someone first gave her the Bhagavad Gita to read,

They told her like when you read this,

You just have to imagine that Krishna is God.

Whatever God you have,

Just imagine that instead of Krishna is your God.

At the time she was a Christian,

So when she was reading the Bhagavad Gita,

Instead of Krishna she was thinking about Jesus and I think it's somehow can be helpful for people who don't see Krishna as God but still want to read the Bhagavad Gita and enter into the philosophy of yoga.

What do you think about this?

Yes,

That's I think a good way to do it.

It's not like a sectarian thing about which religion is right or it's this is like the Bhagavad Gita is offering a way to experience God.

So if you read the words spoken by Krishna as if they are spoken by God as you see him,

You will see what kind of experience that will afford you.

And the teaching also.

Yes.

Good.

So let's dive in in chapter 8.

So what is happening here?

Yes,

So here it begins by Arjuna asking Krishna to clarify some technical terms that was given at the end of the previous chapter.

And the topic here is that comes in like after those technical clarifications,

It's talking about the moment of death,

Which was also where we ended last time that,

Like we said,

If you can see God everywhere,

You will also be able to feel him in the moment of death.

So,

So here it is like this point is kind of brought up again,

How like the kind of the kind of sum of the sum of your life will be the will be your kind of state of mind at the time of death.

It is saying that your state of mind at the time of death will determine your next birth.

This is here,

Of course,

Bhagavad Gita assumes that the reincarnation is true.

So what you think of at the time of death,

That will kind of show where you're going next.

And then sometimes people think,

Oh,

But like,

What if I see a fly on the wall right before I die?

And I think of that fly?

Will I become a fly?

But it's,

But it's not just like,

What you happen,

Like,

What kind of thought happens to cross your mind at the time of death.

It's more like your overall mindset at the time of consciousness.

Yeah,

You're kind of you're kind of state your state of consciousness,

You can say that,

That you are kind of and that is a mindset that you're creating throughout your life.

And it's mentioned there like,

Like,

Especially what you where your mind goes in difficult situations,

Because death is like the ultimate difficult situation.

So if you have been kind of disciplining yourself to not kind of lose trust,

When difficult things happen,

Then you will have this kind of mindset of trust at the time of death.

The more you have that you will actually you will be born in a like realm of trust,

You can say,

Or like,

More towards that direction.

So why it's brought up this topic of death?

Why now in the middle of the Bhagavad Gita?

That's a interesting question.

I haven't thought of like,

Why it appears exactly there.

So just thinking of it on the spot here.

It's Krishna has been talking about the material elements and their manifestations.

And as we know,

These manifestations,

They come and go.

And that also includes our bodies.

And it includes our bodies also in this life,

Like we,

The Bhagavad Gita has explained earlier,

That we actually change bodies many times just in one life.

That is kind of one argument for like,

Why reincarnation is not so strange,

After all,

Because we already are changing bodies,

Like all the cells are being changed over the course of seven years.

So already,

Like in one life,

You have maybe 10,

12 different bodies.

But like,

Death is,

You know,

The point where,

Where you like,

You really have to face that,

That reality,

Like,

We're actually dying all the time.

But it's when you,

You know,

Officially die that you really have to kind of accept that fact.

And maybe also,

Like,

As in the previous chapter,

He was speaking about all the elements and the,

And these things,

Like,

When you actually die,

You really see what really matter in your life.

You know,

Even if you don't believe in reincarnation,

There are so many people in the bed of that,

And they just think,

Oh,

Fortunately,

I had this,

This and that,

Or I regret this or that,

And they kind of give the real value of what happened in their life.

Yes,

Like,

It's a very,

Of course,

You know,

Intense moment,

It's,

Everything comes to its,

You know,

Like,

This is it.

It is like,

If you can learn to,

To kind of see how that's actually happening all the time,

Like day to day,

Then like at the time of official death,

The official death won't be so dramatic.

I mean,

I mean,

It will be just like another,

Another one of those moments that you've already like,

Learned to see that are happening all the time.

So that death is really just is really only extreme for those who have not accepted this,

Like what is actually happening all the time.

It's a wake up call in that day.

Yeah,

My mom,

And you know,

She works in a hospice,

She see people dying every day.

And she also say that she said that the biggest,

The strongest thing that happens there that for her,

It's kind of painful to see is that most of the people they don't accept,

They're going to die.

And so they make all the process very hard for their emotion for themselves and the family.

While if someone is just there and knows that he or she is going to die,

Then it just happen peacefully.

And of course there is suffering and there's the loss of this person,

But it's just smooth,

More smooth.

Now it's come to my mind.

Our friend from Finland,

He just say that his dad was diagnosed with some sickness.

I think it was cancer.

And he realized,

Okay,

I'm going to die now,

Even if there are chances,

I won't,

But he realized I'm going to die.

Okay.

So he called all his sons and then he divide all his properties and then he kind of said goodbye and he left his position.

He had some kind of authorities very smoothly and gently and accepting that he was going to die.

Yes.

This is exemplary.

This is someone who understands.

Yeah.

It's very inspiring to see.

What happened next in the chapter.

Yeah.

So then throughout the chapter,

It's going to talk about kind of like what happens after death.

It talks about like different paths that the soul can take after death,

Depending on,

On like different paths that is choosing in this life.

Also it is like metaphorically spoken of like as like the path of darkness and the path of light.

The path of darkness is the path that leads to rebirth to take another birth in this world,

The path of light.

Then you do not take rebirth,

But it talks again about this,

About this trust also that,

That if you have this,

If you have the trust in your source in God,

Then you don't have to care so much about this,

The path of the dark or the path of the light.

Like you are not so concerned with whether you will take another birth or not.

You're just going towards the source.

It may actually be helpful for you to take another birth to get closer to your source.

So you're,

If you're just trusting that,

If you're trusting your source and the more you trust your source,

The closer you will get to the source and you won't matter.

You won't care what way that happens.

And there is also a point being made here that,

That is interesting,

That brings up something from the second chapter where it talks about how the sage,

Like what is day,

Daytime for the sage is nighttime for the ordinary person and vice versa.

And that is,

And that is kind of cryptic in the second chapter.

And it's what is like brought out here in the eighth chapter a little more because like here again,

Speaking about death,

Some people will kind of think that they can overcome death by just trying to like live longer,

Kind of like avoid death.

The thing is that you don't have to avoid death to live longer because you will keep living after death.

I remember a funny book about,

It was like a philosophical book about death and like dealing with it through humor.

So there were like different like death jokes and things like that.

And the book was divided into chapters in like in different ways that people try to avoid death.

So for example,

By being remembered after you die is a way that people try to avoid.

Like if you can have a statue in your name,

You know,

Like with you,

Then you know that you will be there even after you die.

People will remember you.

So you will live on in people's memory at least,

You know.

But then that like the last chapter was like trying to avoid death by not dying.

So like by,

You know,

There are these things like you can freeze your body after death and hope that scientists in the future will figure out a way to defroze you.

Yeah,

To defreeze it and bring it to life again.

But yes,

So there's,

There's an example given there to to kind of explain that,

Like no matter how long you can live in a in a material body,

It will not compare to,

To like eternal life.

And it gives the example of the Creator,

Like the Vedic scriptures have their own like creation story.

Like we have so many creation stories from the Bible from native tribes.

Yeah.

So the like Vedic creation story is that there's the Vishnu is when he is exhaling,

Then a multiverse is created,

Like many,

Many universes.

And in each of them,

In each of them,

There is a creator,

Like an official creator,

Like Vishnu simply exhales,

He doesn't do more than that.

But then there is kind of like a creator God who does all the work.

And this creator God lives for 100 years.

But according to our,

Like,

According to human calculation,

The like,

Just one day in the life of the creator is like,

Millions of years,

Like in our,

In our time,

Time,

Counting,

Counting.

And one night is the same.

So,

So,

So he,

He is,

He's awake for some,

Some millions of years,

And then he sleeps for some millions of years and then wakes up again.

And he goes on like that for 100 years of his,

Of his time.

But even he,

You know,

At the end,

When Vishnu inhales,

Then he's gonna die.

Then he dies.

Of course,

He's reborn again,

Either as creator or something else or in the next kind of creation cycle.

And I don't remember who was that gives this,

This beautiful kind of comparison just to understand this huge amount of numbers.

That sounds very,

Very crazy kind of,

You know,

And I don't remember who was,

But he say that just try to imagine the life of an insect.

Some flies literally live only 20 seconds or one minute.

And it's their entire life there,

20 seconds.

And compare with that,

We really probably live a kind of million,

Million times and more probably more than them.

So it was a nice comparison to see that actually this exists in nature.

Yes,

Exactly.

So that is to kind of point out the thing that if you see it from the,

You know,

Viewpoint of the creator god,

Then our lives is just like the 20 seconds of a banana fly or something like that.

And that can give us perspective,

You know,

Like all the things that we think are so big and important and stressful or whatever.

It's just,

It's just,

You know,

Something passing like dust in the wind.

Yeah.

But also maybe we should say that this doesn't mean that all we do in life,

It's pointless.

Like simply we try to give value in what,

What actually has value and these things we will see it,

Especially in a bed of that.

And so the important thing is not much like to have the last fashion clothes or cell phone,

But more about what is your level of consciousness during these days,

During the life,

During our day to day life,

Right?

Oh yes,

Of course.

Like,

Like it's meant to be inspiring not to be like,

Oh,

It's like kind of like a wake up call again,

Like that if I'm wasting my time in like useless pursuits,

Then it's like,

Life is just brief passing moment.

And it is like,

Each lifetime is like a,

How do you say,

Like a short,

Like a small window of opportunity and we should try to climb through that window.

And also I don't think we mentioned the name of the chapter.

This is the yoga of attaining the supreme,

Right?

Yes,

The yoga of attaining the supreme.

It's like I said,

Like turning to your source,

Trusting your source and getting to your source.

That is the supreme.

Yeah.

So this is pretty much what was in chapter eight.

One thing that is highlighted is,

Is like the,

How easy it is if you just,

If you have trust,

If you don't have trust,

You're going to have,

Like you're going to try in so many ways on your own,

Like to like control the outcome of things.

But if you have trust,

Like it's very easy,

Like the practices of trust,

Like just chanting om and trusting is brought out.

For example,

It's easier than trying to like build a stairway to heaven or so.

But it's very hard to trust something because our mind just gets into it and try to find logical answers.

So do you have any practical tips about it?

Yeah,

Practical.

Like,

Like really,

It is really just emphasize again,

Trust,

Like even when,

When those,

When those thoughts come,

Then just remember,

Trust.

Very nice.

Yeah.

And I think like some kind of self love and self care,

Meditations,

All these things that,

That actually helps you go a little bit more within instead of without,

Like we usually do,

You know,

Like Netflix,

Cell phone.

There is so many inputs right now coming from outside,

But sometimes we should just close the gate and go inward.

Yes.

And we should,

Like,

We should remember,

Remember that all the things we find meaningful other than that,

Other than going inside,

It is actually only because we are kind of projecting what is inside on those things outside.

Very true.

So like,

So like what to speak of then if we can just kind of try to sit down and breathe and harness that projective energy and just let it like rest in the self.

Right.

Okay.

So maybe as a short introduction to chapter nine.

Well,

I can say it's going to be more of the same.

It's going to be more about more focus on trust.

It's really gonna kind of hammer on this point for the,

You know,

For these middle six chapters.

Okay.

Very beautiful.

Looking forward for that.

Thank you.

I hope this episode fulfilled its purpose of inspiring you.

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Namaste.