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Bhagavad Gita · 8.5 · Path of the Eternal God·5 of 28

अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः

anta-kāle cha mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram

yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāstyatra sanśhayaḥ

Sanskrit recitation

What you remember at the end · 8.1–8.13 · Teaching

Translation

And whoever, leaving their body, goes forth remembering Me alone at the time of death, they will attain My Being; there is no doubt about this.

Meaning

In this verse the importance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is stressed. Anyone who quits his body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is at once transferred to the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the purest of the pure. Therefore anyone who is constantly Kṛṣṇa conscious is also the purest of the pure. The word smaran (“remembering”) is important. Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa is not possible for the impure soul who has not practiced Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service. Therefore one should practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the very beginning of life. If one wants to achieve success at the end of his life, the process of remembering Kṛṣṇa is essential. Therefore one should constantly, incessantly chant the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Lord Caitanya has advised that one be as tolerant as a tree ( taror api sahiṣṇunā ). There may be so many impediments for a person who is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, tolerating all these impediments, one should continue to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, so that at the end of one’s life one can have the full benefit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

After Swami Sivananda

What you remember at the end· 8.1–8.13

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
na
no
cha
and
eva
alone
asti
there is
atra
here
mām
me
saḥ
he
yaḥ
who
yāti
achieves
smaran
remembering
muktvā
relinquish
prayāti
goes
kalevaram
the body
anta-kāle
at the time of death
mat-bhāvam
Godlike nature
sanśhayaḥ
doubt

Related verses

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