आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोका: पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन |
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते || 16||
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
ā-brahma-bhuvanāt—up to the abode of Brahma; lokāḥ—worlds; punaḥ āvartinaḥ—subject to rebirth; arjuna—Arjun; mām—Mine; upetya—having attained; tu—but; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; punaḥ janma—rebirth; na—never; vidyate—is
Translation:
O Arjuna! All worlds up to Brahmaloka are subject to return; having attained me there is no re-birth.
Commentary:
In the universe, there are several places of existence-gross, subtle, yet more subtle, etc. All these do not touch the ultimate. They are all in the realm of the phenomenal the difference being in their gross or less gross nature. So those who reach the subtler worlds like Svargaloka or Brahmaloka have to return again. They come and go in the same way as this world. But those who have attained Paramatma have no re-birth. This is Moksha. The reason is that all the worlds up to Brahmaloka are objective and so they repeat themselves endlessly. Only Atma which is the ‘Drik’ is not subject to the modifications of time and place. It is imperishable. Having attained it there is no karma, and so there is no birth – Janma.
Question: What is the way to transcend birth?
Answer: Attaining Paramatma is the way.
Question: What is the nature of the worlds up to Brahmaloka?
Answer: The return again and again.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 8 🔻 (28 Verses)
