• Get The Book
  • Home
  • About
  • Daily Prayer
  • Resources For Further Study

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

Category Archives: chapter 8 verse 8

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 8

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 8.8, abhyaasa, anuchintayan, anyagaaminaa, chapter 8 verse 8, chetasaa, divyam, na, paartha, paramam, purusham, yaati, yoga, yuktena

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 8

abhyaasayogayuktena chetasaa naanyagaaminaa |
paramam purusham divyam yaati paarthaanuchintayan || 8 ||

 
With the mind engaged in constant practice of yoga, not diverting from it, contemplating the supreme divine person, (one) attains (him), O Paartha.
 
abhyaasa : constance practice
yoga : yoga
yuktena : engaged in
chetasaa : mind
na : not
anyagaaminaa : diverting from
paramam : supreme
purusham : person
divyam : divine
yaati : attains
paartha : O Paartha
anuchintayan : contemplating
 
Now that we know that the ultimate goal is upaasana, or constant meditation on Ishvara, how do we actually go about doing it? Shri Krishna described three kinds of meditation in the upcoming shlokas.
 
To perform upaasana, we need the support of either name or form, since it is extremely difficult to meditate upon something that is intangible. In the following three shlokas, Shri Krishna elaborates upon the technique of meditation on form. Here, he recalls the technique that was presented to us in the sixth chapter – abhyaasa yoga. In this technique, the mind is trained to focus exclusively on one thing. If it diverts to something else, then we bring it back to our object of meditation.
 
So then, what is the form that we meditate upon? We can meditate upon any form that we have a closeness to. It could be Lord Rama, Krishna, Hanuman or any deity. The deity should come to our mind effortlessly. There is no compulsion to chose one over the other. But as discussed earlier, we should be clear that the deity is an indicator or pointer to Ishvara, the supreme divine person being the words used in this shloka. We should not get stuck at the level of the deity we have chosen.
 
For those of us who are not so familiar with these deities, we can read scriptures like the Puraanaas that have wonderful stories describing the lives and exploits of these deities. Growing up in India, our generation was fortunate to read Amar Chitra Katha comics that presented these stories in a format that appealed to us as kids. They are available all over the world now.
 
As we increase our prowess in meditation, our notion of Ishvara also grows. To help us meditate upon Ishvara in all his grandeur, Shri Krishna gives us a pointer to this type of meditation in the next shloka that describes the form of the param purusha, the supreme being.

New! Youtube Channel

Watch our YouTube videos!

All shokas (verses) available here:

Most Visited Verses

  • Summary Of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 9
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 7
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 40, Chapter 3
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 52, Chapter 2
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 11
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 48, Chapter 18
  • Summary of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 13
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 4

Give Feedback

Email the author: gkmdisc at hotmail.com

Books By The Author

The entire Gita book written by the author of this blog, as well as shorter, easier to read versions of the Gita are available here.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning
    • Join 118 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar