Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 6

Chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् ।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥

Transliteration

yaṃ yaṃ vāpi smaranbhāvaṃ tyajatyante kalevaram .
taṃ tamevaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ ॥

Meaning

O son of Kunti, whatever state of being one remembers while leaving the body at the end, that very state one attains, being ever absorbed in that thought.

Word meanings

यम् यम् – whichever
वा अपि – also, indeed
भावम् – state, object, being
स्मरन् – remembering
त्यजति – leaves
अन्ते – at the end
कलेवरम् – the body
तम् तम् एव – that very one
एति – reaches
कौन्तेय – O son of Kunti
सदा – always
तद्भावभावितः – absorbed in the thought of that

Anvaya (word order)

कौन्तेय, अन्ते यं यं वा अपि भावं स्मरन् कलेवरं त्यजति, सदा तद्भावभावितः (सः) तं तम् एव एति ।

Explanation

This verse gives the principle behind the previous promise. "Whatever state of being a person remembers when he leaves the body at the end, O son of Kunti, to that very state he goes, being always absorbed in that state." Where verse 8.5 spoke of remembering the Lord, this verse gives the general law: the final thought sets the next direction, and that thought is shaped by what we have been always dwelling on, sada tad-bhava-bhavitah.

The law has two sides. The positive side is hopeful: one who has lived with the Lord in the heart will carry this into the last moment. The cautionary side is equally clear: whatever fills the mind throughout life, whether wealth, resentment, fear, or longing, will rise again at the end and call a person toward that state. The Lord does not mean it as a threat but as a description of how consciousness works.

Shankara explains that the thought at death is determined by the impressions, samskaras, accumulated through the whole life, and that the person's next state follows the dominant thought; this is why the final destination depends on lifelong practice. Ramanuja stresses that this holds for all beings and that the objects of devotion differ, so that those who remember the Lord attain Him, while those remembering lesser things attain those lesser states. Madhva too stresses that the result accords with the object of constant meditation.

Great traditions illustrate the teaching with the story of King Bharata, who in his last moments thought of a fawn he had cared for and in the next life was born as a deer, although in later birth he regained knowledge. The tale may be read symbolically: what we love and cling to defines us. Even in ordinary life, a person who keeps thinking about a grievance finds his mood coloured by it for days; one who keeps returning to gratitude finds the mood coloured accordingly.

The word "bhavita", shaped or made into, is gentle but exact. We are not what we say we are; we become what we dwell upon. So the verse asks: what are you training your mind to rest in? Small habits of recollection, whether a morning prayer, a pause before meals, or silent thanks at night, are the real investment. The next verse, 8.7, turns this principle into a practical instruction, "remember Me at all times, and fight". The theme also appears in 14.14 and 14.15, where the state at death determines the next birth, and in 15.8 on the soul carrying the mind and senses with it.

Context

Verse 8.5 said the one who remembers the Lord at death attains Him. Here the same truth is given as a universal law, and the next verse draws the conclusion: therefore remember Me at all times.

Life lesson

What we dwell on gradually becomes what we are. The thoughts we fill the mind with every day set our direction, so choose the objects of contemplation carefully.

Key terms

भाव: the object or state held in mind
तद्भावभावित: soaked through life in a particular thought
कौन्तेय: Arjuna, son of Kunti