Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8- Akshara Brahma Yoga - Sloka 9 & 10

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission

How the Yogi Relinquishes the Body 9-13
1 Gita Sloka  every day - Chapter 8 - Akshara Brahma Yoga - Sloka 9 & 10

Kavim puranam anushasa itaram anoh aniyasam anusmaret yah I

Sarvasya dhataram achintya rupam aditya varnam tamasah parastat II sloka 9

Prayana kale manasa chalena bhaktya yuktah yoga balena cha eva I

Sarvasya madhye pranam aveshya samyak sah tam param purusham upaiti divyam II sloka 10

The Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler, minuter than the atom, the supporter of all, of form inconceivable, effulgent like the sun, and beyond all darkness; he who meditates on this resplendent, supreme purusha, at the time of death, with a steady mind, devotion and strength of yoga, well fixing the entire prana in the middle of the eyebrows, he reaches him.

These are the fit states of the mind and prana  or life energy, when the yogi finally renounces the body and re-enters Brahma-nirvanam.  Constant practise or abhyasa- yoga  is the sure means of achieving this sublime end.  The eight-fold glory of God has to be deeply meditated  on daily so that the mind and intellect be cast permanently in that divine mould. The eight super -mundane distinctions of Iswara are:

Kavi -  The Omniscient. One can discern the presence of intelligence as the background of the functioning of the entire cosmos.The personal intelligence of all beings is derived from this cosmic intelligence. Attuning one's personal understanding to this pure consciousness is meditation.

Purana - the Ancient One of the entire cosmos. Everyth  Prior to him there is nothing. The original stuff of everything sentient and insentient is He.

Anusasita - the Ruler.  He designs the structure and carries out the working of the entire cosmos. Everything is included in His regime.

Sarvasya Dhata - He who is the support of all. As the ocean is the support of the waves that have come of it, so is the Brahman the support of the universe that has come of it. 

Achintyarupa - What is incomprehensible to the unrefined mind.  It can be grasped only to the extent the mind gets purified.

Adityavarna - Is effulgence of the sun which is ever the same. The sun never rises nor sets though it seems so to us., in relation with the revolving earth. Parmatman undergoes no modification even as the sun does not. 

Tamasah is the state of Paramatman being supremely above the darkness of ignorance exactly as the sun is not affected by a patch of cloud seeming to hide it. The effulgence of the Iswara is ever itself, untouched by prakriti.

Achala-manas, bhakthi, yoga balam -  these 3 divine gifts are inter-related. The mind that does not waver for any reason whatsoever, but is steady in its godly pursuit, is endowed with the first gift. As it grows in purity, devotion which is the second gift spontaneously manifests in the sadhaka. The practice of yoga being a part and parcel of his life, he steadily rises in spiritual stature. The physical, mental and moral strength accruing from it stands him in good stead. He evolves into a sterling personality.

A man endowed with spiritual strength is fully equipped for the battle of life. Knotty problems of life are all solved by him as a matter of course. Death is no terror to him. He puts it on par with life and fears both with the same equanimity. The yogi is ever himself., both in life and death.

Prana or life energy of the ordinary man leaves the body at death through the apertures. But it goes out differently when the yogi departs from the body. It gets concentrated between the eyebrows and exits through the skull. This last event is also the outcome of the strength of yoga.