BHAGVAD GITA

The worlds, with the whole realm of creation, come and go; but, O Arjuna, whoso comes
to Me, for him there is nor rebirth.


Those who understand the cosmic day and cosmic night know that one day of creation is a
thousand cycles, and that the night is of equal length.


At the dawning of that day all objects in manifestation stream forth from the Unmanifest,
and when evening falls they are dissolved into It again.


The same multitude of beings, which have lived on earth so often, all are dissolved as the
night of the universe approaches, to issue forth anew when morning breaks. Thus is it
ordained.


In truth, therefore, there is the Eternal Unmanifest, which is beyond and above the
Unmanifest Spirit of Creation, which is never destroyed when all these being perish.


The wise say that the Unmanifest and Indestructible is the highest goal of all; when once
That is reached, there is no return. That is My Blessed Home.


O Arjuna! That Highest God, in Whom all beings abide, and Who pervades the entire
universe, is reached only by wholehearted devotion.


[The following material (between the asterisks) is an example of what may be a `doctored’ inclusion.
It does not jibe with the rest of the material because it is not presented as metaphor and clearly
implies that worldly phenomena are spiritually determining. Maybe it was added by an individual
or individuals who were less cognizant than the originating author. Or maybe was ‘craftily’
inserted to function as a sort of litmus test – those who get `taken in’ by it may be recognized as not
having `spiritual discernment’.]


*Now I will tell thee, O Arjuna, of the times at which, if the mystics go forth, they do not
return, and at which they go forth only to return.


If knowing the Supreme Spirit the sage goes forth with fire and light, in the daytime, in the
fortnight of the waxing moon and in the six months before the Northern summer solstice,
he will attain the Supreme.


But if he departs in gloom, at night, during the fortnight of the waning moon and in the six
months before the Southern solstice, then he reaches but lunar light and he will be born
again.


These bright and dark paths out of the world have always existed. Whoso takes the
former, returns not; he who chooses the latter, returns.*


O Arjuna! The saint knowing these paths is not confused. Therefore meditate perpetually.


The sage who knows this passes beyond all merit that comes from the study of the
scriptures, from sacrifice, from austerities and charity, and reaches the Supreme Primeval
Abode.”


Thus, in the Holy Book the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Upanishads, in the Science of the Supreme
Spirit, in the Art of Self-Knowledge, in the Colloquy between the Divine Lord Shri Krishna and the
Prince Arjuna, stand the eight chapter, entitled: The Life Everlasting.