section_path: Chapters and content/Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga (28 verses)
section_name: Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga (28 verses)
paragraph_text: Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga (28 verses)
  
  Translators title the chapter as Aksara –Brahma yoga, Religion by Devotion to the One Supreme God, The Eternal Godhead, or The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman. The chapter opens with Arjuna asking questions such as what is Brahman and what is the nature of karma. Krishna states that his own highest nature is the imperishable Brahman, and that he lives in every creature as the adhyatman. Every being has an impermanent body and an eternal Self, and that "Krishna as Lord" lives within every creature. The chapter discusses cosmology, the nature of death and rebirth. This chapter contains eschatology of the Bhagavad Gita. Importance of the last thought before death, differences between material and spiritual worlds, and light and dark paths that a Self takes after death are described. Krishna advises Arjuna about focusing the mind on the Supreme Deity within the heart through yoga, including pranayama and chanting sacred mantra " Om " to ensure concentration on Krishna at the time of death.