In vii 29, 30 such things have been mentioned by the Lord as have given occasion to Arjuna to put a question. Accordingly Arjuna proceeds to ask thus: Arjuna said: i — 2. What is that Brahman? What about the Individual Self (Adhyatma)? What is action (Karma), O Purushottama? And what is declared to be the physical region (Adhibhuta)? And what is the divine region (Adhidaiva) said to be? And how and who is Adhiyajna (the Entity concerned with Sacrifice) here in this body, O Madhusudana, and how at the time of death art Thou to be known by the self-controlled?
The Lord proceeds to answer these questions in their order: 1—3] ABHYASA YOGA. 223 The Blessed Lord said: 3. Brahman is the Imperishable (Akshara), the Supreme. The Ego is said to be the Indivi- dual Self (Adhyatma, He who dwells in the body). The offering which causes the origin of physical beings is called action (Karma).
Brahman is the Akshara, the Imperishable, the Supreme Self (Pararaatman); the sruti says ** O Gargi, it is at the command of this Akshara, the imperishable Pararaatman, that heaven and earth remain, held in their places." (Bri. Upanishad, 3-8-9). * Akshara ' does not here mean the syllable " Om "; for, the latter is subsequently specified thus:— 41 Uttering the syllable * Om,' the Brahman" (viii. 13). And the epithet * supreme * applies better to Brahman, the Im*« perishable, who transcends all, (than to the syllable ' Om ), The same Supreme Brahman existing as the Ego, as the Innermost Self, as the Pratyagatman, in every individual body, is said to be Adhyatma: that which first shows itself as the Innermost Self in the body and turns out in the end to be identical with the Supreme Reality, the Brahman, is known by the term ' Adhyatma *.
The sacrificial act which consists in offering cooked ricei cakes and the like to the Gods (Devatas). and which causes the origin of all creatures, is known by the term * Karma •; for, it forms the seed as it were of all beings; it is in virtue of this act that all beings, animate and inanimate, come into existence, after passing through rain and other regions of life 224 THE BHAGAVAD GITA- |_DlS. VIL jTS «^ 4. The physical region (Adhibhuta) is the perishable existence, and Purusha or the Soul is the divine region fAdhidaivata). The Adhiyajwa (Entity concerned with Sacrifice) is Myself, here in the body, O best of the embodied.
The Adhibhuta is that which gathers itself round the whole animated creation and is composed of the whole perishable existence, i>e., of every thing that has birth.
Purusha is, literally, that by which every thing is filled, (pri™to fill) or that which lies in the body (pur), ».e., the Hira»yagarbha, the Universal Soul abiding in the Sun (Aditya), the Sustainer and the Stimulator of the sense-organs of all living beings.
The Adhiyajm is He who identifies himself with all acts of sacrifice, the Deity named Vishwu; the sruti says: " Yaj«a (Sacrifice) is verily Vishwu w (Taittiriya-Samhita, 1-7-4). He is verily Myself. I am the Deity concerned with all acts of sacrifice in the body. — As an act of sacrifice (yajwa) has to be performed by the body, it is said to be inherent in it, and as such it may be said to rest in the "body.
5. And whoso, at the time of death, thinking of Me alone, leaves the body and goes forth, he reaches My being; there is no doubt in this.
Mel Vish«u, the Supreme Lord. My "being: My real being as Vishwu. In this: as to whether he reaches or not.
4—8] ABHYASA YOGA. 225 Constant meditation of the Divine is necessary.
Not to Me alone does this rule apply; but also: 6. Of whatever Being thinking at the end a man leaves the body, Him alone, O son of Kunti, reaches he by whom the thought of that Being has been constantly dwelt upon.
Being: a particular Devata or Diety, At the end: at the time of life's departure. Bim alone; Only the Being thought of, and no other. Dwelt upon; constantly meditated* Because thus the final thought determines the character of the body to be attained next, 7. Therefore at all times do thou mediate on Me and fight: with mind and reason fixed on Me thou shalt doubtless come to Me alone.
Meditate: According to the Teaching (sastra). Fight: do thou perform thy proper duty of fighting. Me; Vasudeva* Come to Me: as meditated upon by thee.
The Divine Being to be meditated upon. Moreover, & Meditating with the mind engaged in the Yoga of constant practice, not passing over to any 226 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VIII.
thing else, one goes to the Supremo Purusha, the Resplendent, O son of Pritha.
Practice consists in the repetition of one and the same idea, uninterrupted by any other thought, with reference to Me, the sole object of your thought. Such a practice is itself said to be Yoga. With the mind thus solely engaged in Yoga, not passing over to any other object, the Yogin who meditates according to the teaching of the scripture and of the teacher1 — of the sastra and acharya — reaches the Purusha, the Transc- endental Being in the Solar Orb.
What sort of Purusha does he reach?— -Listen: 9 — 10. Whoso meditates on the Sage, the Ancient, the Ruler, smaller than an atom, the Dispenser of all, of unthinkable nature, glorious like the Sun, beyond the darkness, (whoso medi- tates on such a Being) at the time of death, with a steady mind endued with devotion and strength of Yoga, well fixing the life-breath betwixt the eye-brows, he reaches that Supreme Purusha Resplendent.
Sage: the Omniscient Th& Ruhr i of the whole world. Dispenser: who allots to all living beings actions and their results in all their variety. It is very difficult for anybody to conceive of His form though it exists. Like the Sun, He is glorious with the splendour of His Eternal Intelligence (Nitya- Chaitanya) which is beyond the darkness of delusion or nescience (Aj«ana). The strength- of Toga consists in the steadiness of mind which results from the after-effects of the (constant practice of) samadhi. At first the mind (chitta) is subdued in the lotus of the heart (hridayapundarika); then, by means of the up-going nadi (sushumna), after gradually obtaining control over the several stages of matter (earth and the other four rudimentai elements) 3 the life-breath of the heart is drawn up and carefully fixed betwixt the eye-brows. By this means the wise man, the Yogin, reaches the Supreme Purusha, who is resplendent.
Meditation of the Divine in the Pranava.
The Lord now assigns a name to that Brahman whom the Yogin wishes to reach by means to be pointed out again in the sequel, and who will be now described in such terms as being declared by the knowers of the Veda,* &C.: ii. That Imperishable Goal which the know- ers of the Veda declare, which the self-controlled and the passion-free enter, which desiring they lead the godly life,— That Goal will I declare to , thee with brevity.
Those who understand the teaching of the Veda declare the Imperishable as devoid of any attribute whatsoever. The srati says: u This verily is that (which you wished to know of), the Imperishable, O Gargi, as the brahrna«as (the knowers of the Brahman) declare, not gross, not subtle," &c. (Bri-Upa. 3-8-8.) The sawnyasins, ever controlling them- selves, free from passion, enter the Imperishable, on attaining 228 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS, VIII.
to right knowledge. And desiring to know the Imperishable they enter on godly life (Brahmacharya) with a Guru. Of That Goal which is called Akshara, the Imperishable, I shall tell thee with brevity* Having started with the words " He who verily among men meditates on the syllable * Om' till death, what region will he thereby attain to? " he (Pippalada) said to him (Satyakama): "0 Satyakama, this, the Brahman, the Higher and the Lower, is the syllable * Om V (Prasna-Upanishad, 5 — 1, 2); and it was subsequently said: " He who will meditate on the Supreme Purusha by the three-lettered syllable * Om * —he is borne up by the Sama-hymns to the Brahma-loka, to the region of Brahman." (Ibid, 5-5).
Again, having started with the words " Elsewhere than jn dharma and elsewhere than in a-dharma, tell me that thou seest;" (Katha-Upanisbed, 2-13), the sruti says, "that goal which all the Vedas speak of (ue-, are intended for), which all the austerities speak of, desiring which they lead the life of Brahmacharya (celibacy), that goal I tell thee in brevity: It is this, the syllable ' Om.' " (Ibid 2-14).
In such passages as these, the syllable ' Om ', regarded either as an expression of the Para- Brahman or as a symbol of Him like an idol, is intended for persons of dull and mid- dling intellects as a means of knowing the Para-Brahman; and the contemplation of the ' Om * is said to produce moksha at a subsequent period. Now, the same contemplation (conjoined with firmness in Yoga) of the syllable ' Om/ productive of mukti at a subsequent period — the * Om ' forming, as shown above, a means of knowing the Para- Brahman described here (viii. 9, 11) — has to be taught here as well as some minor matters connected with tbe main subject. With this view, the Lord proceeds with the sequel; 11—14] ABHYASA YOGA. 229 12-13. Having closed all the gates, having confined mind in the heart, having fixed his life- breath in the head, engaged in firm Yoga, uttering Brahman, the one-syllabled 'Om,' thinking of Me3 whoso departs, leaving the body, he reaches the Supreme Goal* Having closed all the avenues of knowledge and having concentrated thought in the lotus of the heart, and with thought thus controlled, he ascends by the Nadi which passes •upwards from the heart, and then fixing life-breath in the head, he utters the syllable 'Om', the appellation of the Brahman, and meditates on Me. — ' Leaving the body, shows the mode of departure. The departure takes place by the Self leaving the body, not by the Self being destroyed.
Ho rebirth on attaining to the Divine Being.
Moreover, ^trt garart mh ikzvgsm Stftra: u ^ it 14, Whoso constantly thinks of me and long, to him I am easily accessible, O son of Pritha, to the ever-devout Yogin.
He who thinks of Me, the Supreme Lord, long— i>e-> not for six months or a year, but uninterruptedly throughout* life* — to that Yogin who is ever steadfast in thought, I am vastly 230 THE BBAGAVAD GITA. |DIS- VII.
accessible. This being so, therefore, without thinking of another, one should ever dwell steadfast in Me.
It may be asked, "What if Thou art easily accessible?" — Listen: I shall tell you of what use is My being thus easily accessible: 15. Having attained to Me, they do not again attain birth, which is the seat of pain and is not eternal, they having reached highest perfection.
Having attained to Me, the Isvara, 'having reached My being, they are not again subject to birth- Birth here is the seat of all pain arising from the body, etc-, and is of an ever* changing nature. Having reached the highest stage called moksha, they do not attain birth again. Those, on the other hand, who do not attain to Me, return again (to the earth).
Do those again return who have reached any other being than Thyself?— -^isten: 16. (All) worlds including the world of Brahma are subject to returning again, O Arjuna; but, on reaching Me, O son of Kunti, there is no rebirths The Day and the Night of Brahma.
"Why are all the worlds including the world of Brahma subject to returning? — Because they are limited by time. — How?
14—18] ABHYASA YOGA. 231 17. They — those people who know day and night — know that the day of Brahma is a thousand yugas long and the night is a thousand yogas long.
Brahma is the Prajapati, the Viraj. Those persons who know how to compute Time know that Brahma's day is a thousand yugas long, and that His night is of the same duration as His day. Because the worlds are thus limited by time, therefore they return again.
What takes place during the Prajapati's day and what takes place during His night will now be described: 18. From the Unmanifested all the mani- festations proceed at the coming on of day; at the coming on of night they dissolve there only, in what is called the Unmanifested.
The Unmanifested (Avyakta) is the sleeping condition of the Prajapati who is asleep. Out of That, all manifestations (vyaktis), all creatures unmoving and moving (sthavara and jawgama), are manifested at the coming on of day, a.e., when Brahma awakes. So, at the coming on of night, i.ett when Brahma goes to sleep, all the manifestations dissolve there only, in what is called Avyakta, the one already spoken of.
With a view to avoid the fallacious implication that a man reaps the fruits of what he has not done, or that he does not reap the fruits of what he has done, with a view to show that the teaching of the scripture concerning bondage Cbaridha) and liberation (moksha) has a purpose to serve, and with a .232 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VIIL view further to teach detachment from samsara by showing that, as the effect of karma caused by avidya (nescience) and other sources of evil, all creatures involuntarily come into being again and again and dissolve, the Lord says: 19. This same multitude of beings having come into being again and again, is dissolved at the coming on of night, not of their will, O son of Pfitha, and comes forth at the coming on of day.
This multitude of beings comprising those that move as well as those that do not— the same multitude that existed in the preceding kalpa or age, and no other — involuntarily comes into being at the coming on of day, and is dissolved again at the coming on of night— at the close of the day, Again at the coming on of day, it involuntarily comes into existance. The Highest Goal— how reached.
In "viii. 13, etc., has been shown the way, by which to reach the Imperishable CAkshara) described above. Now, with a view to indicate the nature of the Akshara, with a view thus to specify that so and so is the thing to be reached by this path of Yoga, the Lord proceeds as follows: 'SgJ 20. But that other eternal Unmanifested Being, distinct from this Unmanifested (Avyakta), —He does not perish when all creatures perish.
' But ' indicates that the Akshara who is to be described now is distinct from the Avyakta. Being; the Supreme, the Para-Brahman, called the Akshara. Though distinct from 19—22] ABHYASA YOGA. 233 the Avyakta, one may suppose that He is of the same nature as the Avyakta. To remove this impression, the Lord qualifies Him by ' other ', meaning thereby that He is of a different nature from the Avyakta. He is unmanifested, imperceptible to the senses. He is distinnct from the Avyakta mentioned above, which is Avidya itself, the seed of the whole multitude of created beings; that is to say, He is of quite a different nature from the Avyakta. He does not perish when all beings from Brahma downwards perish.
21. What is called the Unmanifested and the Imperishable, That, they say, is the highest goal; which having reached none return. That is My highest place.
That: that Avyakta which is called Akshara, the Impe- rishable, the Unmanifested Being. Having reached that state, none has returned to sawsara, the mundane life- That is My (i.e.t Vishwu's) Supreme Abode.
The means of attaining to that state will now be pointed out 22. Now, that Highest Purusha, O son of Pntha, within Whom all beings dwell, by Whom all this is pervaded, is attainable by exclusive devotion Purusha is so called because He rests in the body, or because He is full. Than Him none is higher. He is attained by exclusive devotion, by j«ana or knowledge of 234 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VIIL the Self. All the created beings abide within the Purusba;. for, every effect rests within its cause; and by that Purusha the whole world is pervaded.
The Paths of Light and Darkness.
Now it is necessary to speak of the Uttaramarga, ' the Northern Path *, the Path of Light by which the Yogins just spoken of attain to Brahman, — those Yogins who meditate here on Brahman as inhering in the Prarcava, in the syllable ' Om ', and who attain to moksha later on.* And this will be- taught in the section beginning with viii. 23. The path of return is also described, only with a view to extol the other path.
TO ^ WfffftsupBr %* srtnra: i, 23. Now, in what time departing, Yogins go- to return not, as also to return, that time will I tell thee, O chief of the Bharatas.
1 In what time * should be construed with ' departing,' 'To return' means to be reborn — 'Yogins' stand for those who are engaged in meditation (£e., those who are properly called Yogins) as well as for Karmins, «->., those who are engaged in karma or action. The latter are spoken of as Yogins only by courtesy; and they are so spoken of in iii. 3. I shall tell you, when dying the Yogins are not born again, and when dying they will be born again.
He speaks of that time: * At tbe end of tfc* kalpa.
22—251 ABHYASA YOGA. 235 24. Fire, light, day-time, the bright fortnight,. the six months of the northern solstice, — then departing, men who know Brahman reach Brahman.
' Fire * is the deity presiding over time; so also is * light * a deity presiding over time.— Or, it may be that ' fire * and light ' are the deities so called; the reference, however, to the path as a whole by the expressions * in what time * and * that time * being due to the predominance of the deities presiding over time.' — The * day-time ' is the deity presiding over the day-time, the ' bright fortnight ' is the deity presiding over the bright fortnight. The six months of the northern solstice: here also, it is the deity that forms the path, The principle on which this interpretation of the passage is based has been established elsewere.* Those who die, having been engaged in the contemplation of Brahman, reach Brahman by this path. The expression u in course of time " should be understood after ' reach *; for, those who are firm in devotion to right knowledge and attain to immediate liberation have no place to go to or to return from.
25. Smoke, night-time, and the dark fortnight, the six months of the southern solstice,— attaining by these to the lunar light, the Yogin returns.
1 Smoke,* ' night time,* the * dark fortnight,* and the 6 six months of the southern solstice," are all deities presiding over smoke and periods of time spoken of. By this path, the Yogin — the Karmin who performs sacrifices Cto Gods) and other works — attains to the lunar light, and on the exhaus- tion thereof, returns again to earth 236 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VIII, 26. These bright and dark Paths of the world are verily deemed eternal; by the one a man goes to return not, by the other he returns again.
The one is bright* because it illumines knowledge: the Other is dark* because it is wanting in that light- The two paths are open to those only in the world who are engaged in action or devoted to knowledge; they are not open to the whole world. They are eternal, because sawsara is eternal. By the one: by the bright one.
27. Knowing these paths, O son of PHtha, no Yogin is deluded; wherefore at all times be steadfast in Yoga, O Arjuna.
The Yogin who knows that one of the two foregoing paths leads to samsara and that the other leads to moksha is no longer deluded t Excellency of Yoga Now, hear of the greatness of that Yoga: * The two paths are respectively called Devayana and Pitriyana, the path to the Devas and the path to the Pitris. The one is said to be bright because it illumines knowledge and is reached by knowledge, and its course is marked throughout by bright objects; the other is said to be dark because it does not illumine knowledge, is reached by avidya or nescience, and is marked throughout by smoke and other dark things.
f As the Yogin dwells on the Path of Light in his Meditation, he will not regard the other path as the one he should resort to. — (A.)
26—28] ABHYASA YOGA. 237 *x«^ 28. Whatever fruit of merit is declared to accrue from the V'edas, sacrifices, austerities and gifts, — beyond all this goes the Yogin on knowing this; and he attains to the Supreme Primeval Abode.
Whatever fruit of merit is declared by the scriptures to be attainable when the Vedas are properly studied, when the sacrifices are performed in all their parts, when austerities are well practised, — beyond all this multitude of fruits rises the Yogin who rightly understands and follows the teaching imparted (by the Lord) in His answers to the seven questions, and he then attains to the highest abode of Isvara — which existed even in the beginning;— -He attains Brahman, the Cause.
«wrte«n«r. i NINTH DISCOURSE SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SECRET.
Brahma-Jtiana is the best Religion.
In the eighth discourse has been declared the Yoga of concentration (dharawa) through naah* as well as its processf, and its result has heen shown to be none other than the attainment of Brahman — at a subsequent period, through * fire and light * and the like, — whence there is no return. Now, with a view to give no room to the supposition that the attainment of moksha is possible only by this means and by no other, the Lord proceeds as follows: sftwRff^rR — The Blessed Lord said: i. To thee who dost not cavil, I shall now declare this, the greatest secret, knowledge com- bined with experience,;]; which having known thou shalt be liberated from evil.
This: the Brabma-J/mna, the knowledge of Brahman, which is going to be declared, and which has been declared in the preceding discourses. Now: this word points to the superiority of knowledge (over Dhyana): this right knowledge * The Sushumna * the bright,' Concentration (dharawa) is only an anga or auxiliary of Yoga.
t Such as closing all the gates (viii. 12, 18.) % Sakshatkara, intuitive or direct perception.
1 — 2] SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SECRET. 239 alone forms the direct means of attaining moksha, as declared in the sruti and the smriti: " Vasudeva is the All " — (Bhagavadgita, vii. 19.) " All this is the Self."— (Ghhand. Uj?a., 7-25-20 " One only without a second *' — (Ibid, 6-2-1.) And nothing else is a direct means to moksha, as the passages of the sruti like the following declare: " Now the other princes who understand otherwise than thus, * they shall attain to perishable regions.*' — (Ibid, 7-25-2.) On attaining this knowledge you will be liberated from the bondage of sawsara. And it is 2. The Sovereign Science, the Sovereign Secret, the Supreme Purifier is this; immediately comprehensible, unopposed to Dharma, very easy to perform, imperishable.
Of sciences it is the king, because it is of great splendour^ Indeed, the science of Brahman is the most brilliant t of all sciences. So also, it is the king of secrets. Of all the purifiers, this knowledge of Brahman is the best purifier. That it is a purifier needs no saying, since it reduces karma to ashes in an instant, root and all, — all the karma, dharma and a-dharma» which has been accumulated during many thousand births- Moreover, it t can be comprehended by joraiyaksba, * That all this is one Brahman.
t Greater reverence is shown to those who know Brahman than to other men of learning.
The Brahma-jwana or its effect- Unlike the other things which are, equally with the Brahma-jnana, revealed by the sruti and the smriti, it is not known through revelation solely, but it is known by j>ratyaksha> by immediate or intuitive perception as well.
240 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. IX.
by immediate perception, like the feeling of pleasure and so on. What is possessed of many a desirable quality may be opposed to Dharma; but not so is the knowledge of Atman opposed to Dharma; on the other hand it is not separable from Dharma, *.e., not opposed to it- Even then it may be supposed that it is very difficult to attain; but it is not so, says the Lord. It is very easy to acquire, like the power of discriminating gems.* Now, of the other acts, those which involve little trouble and are easily accomplished are seen to be productive of small results, and difficult acts are found to be productive of great results. Accordingly it may be imagin- ed that this Brahma-j^ana which is so easily attained perishes when its effect is exhausted: to prevent this supposition, the Lord says that it is imperishable. It does not perish like an act when the effect is exhausted. Wherefore knowledge of Atman (Self) is worth acquiring. But, 3. Persons having no faith in this Dharma, O harasser of thy foes, without reaching Me, remain verily in the path of the mortal world.
Those who have no faith in this Dharma (law, religion) vH.t knowledge of the Self, those who do not believe in its existence or in its effects, the sinful who follow the doctrine of the Demons (Asuras), regarding the physical body itself as the Self,— these greedy and sinful persons do not attain to Me the Supreme Lord — The attaining of Me is certainly out of question; wherefore, the implication is that they do not * Verily this knowledge is easily acquired when taught by aa adept; so is Brahma- j»ana.
3—5] SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SECRET, 241 attain even to devotion (Bhakti) which is one of the paths leading to Me; they are sure to remain in the path of the mortal world, in that path only which leads to hell (naraka) and to the lower kingdoms of animals, etc All beings rest in the Lord. Having prepared Arjuna (to listen to the Doctrine) by extolling it, the Lord says: 4. By Me all this world is pervaded, My form un manifested. All beings dwell in Me; and I do not dwell in them.
Ail this world is pervaded by My Highest Being, My form being invisible to the senses. In Me> of unmanifested form, dwell all beings from Brahma down to the plant. No being devoid of the Self can ever become an object of experience. Wherefore they dwell in Me, i.e., they are self-existent (or have an individual existence) through Me, the Self, O'e, they are what they are in virtue of Me, the Self, underlying them all.) Since I am the Self of all those beings, it would seem to the deluded as though I dwell in them. Wherefore I say: I do not dwell in those beings, because of the absence of contact with others, unlike corporeal things. I am certainly the innermost essence evea of the akasa. That which is unconnected with any object cannot indeed be contained anywhere as though in a receptacle.
Wherefore, as I am unconnected with any object, 242 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. IX.
5. Nor do those beings dwell in Me; behold My Divine Yoga! Sustaining all the beings, but not dwelling in them, is My Self, the cause of beings.
And yet these beings, from Brahma downwards, dwell not in Me; behold My Divine working, the Divine Mystery, the real nature of the Self. Accordingly, the sruti speaks of the unattached condition of the Self, seeing that He is unconnected with any object: " Devoid of attachment, He is never attached "—{BriK. Up. 3-9-26.)
Bohold, there is yet another mystery. Though unattach- ed, My Self supports all beings, but does not dwell in them, as shown above with reasons.* — Then how to justify the Lord's words, 'My Self? — We answer: Separating (from the Real SelO the aggregate of the physical and other material environments, and regarding that aggregate as the * I \ the Lord speaks of the Self as 'My Self,- — so far following only the popular conception; not certainly that He believes, as the masses ignorantly believe, that the Atman, the Self, is distinct from Himself.t And further it is Myself that cause all beings to come into being, that cause all beings to grow.
By way of illustrating by an example what has been taught in the two preceding verses, the Lord says: 6. As the mighty wind moving everywhere rests ever in the akasa, so, know thou, do all beings, rest in Me.
* Because the Self is unconnected with any object,— (A.) f Because such a relation between the Self and the bodily aggregate is illusory, (A) 5—8] SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SECRET. 243 It is observed in our ordinary experience that the wind, moving everywhere and mighty in expanse, ever rests in the akasa; so also in Me, who am all-pervading like the akasa, do all beings rest without any contact at all.
The Lord is the Bource and the end of all beings.
Thus, as the wind rests in the akasa, so do all beings •rest in Me as long as the world lasts.
7. All beings, O son of Kunti, go into My Prakriti at the end of a kalpa. I send them forth again at the beginning of (the next) kalpa.
Prakriti: the inferior one composed of the three gu/^as. The end of a kaipa is the time of dissolution (pralaya,) and the beginning of a kalpa is the time of production (utpatti).
Thus: