8-22

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्तु अनन्यया ।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदम् ततम् ॥ २२ ॥

puruSaH sa paraH pArtha bhaktyA labhyastu ananyayA |
yasyAntaHsthAni bhUtAni yena sarvamidam tatam || 22 ||

पार्थ [pArtha] Arjuna, यस्य अन्तः [yasya antaH] the person in whom स्थानि भूतानि [sthAni bhUtAni] all beings exist, येन सर्वम् इदम् [yena sarvam idam] by whom all this ततम् [tatam] is pervaded, स परः पुरुषः [sa paraH puruSaH] that ultimate person लभ्यः [labhyaH] is obtained by अनन्या भक्त्या [ananyA bhaktyA] undistracted devotion, not being attached to anything else.

The Lord has already described Himself in the following Shlokas:

7-7: ‘There is absolutely nothing else that is beyond Me. All of this is mounted in Me, just as beads are strung in a string’

7-13: ‘I am beyond the three qualities and every being that’s under their influence. I stay unchanged’

The person who adores the Lord gets the Lord Himself. He goes beyond all cycles.

All beings exist inside the Lord. He is the ultimate being who pervades everything.

He can be obtained through devotion, practiced without attachment towards anything else - as said in 8-14: ‘I am easily available to a person who thinks about Me at all times, right from the time he starts his journey to achieve Me. He is My devoted follower. He doesn’t let his mind wander among other subjects. He is always attached to Me.’

The previous Shloka described the person who yearns to know the true nature of the Self – this person realizes the true nature of the Self and the Lord presiding over it. In this Shloka, The Lord described a person who yearns for the Lord Himself. Next, the Lord describes the path taken by both of them when they depart from the body.

Both types of people go on the ‘path of luster’. This path doesn’t put them on the inevitable cycle of return.

There are two possible paths when we depart from our body. One path leads to rebirth, while the other leads to freedom from birth and death. The one that leads to rebirth is called धूमादि मार्ग [dhUmAdi mArga] , literally ‘the path of smoke’. The other one called अर्चिरादि मार्ग [arcirAdi mArga] , literally ‘the path of luster’, is the one that leads to Moksha - freedom from this cycle.

The scriptures describe their path:

The पन्चाग्नि विद्या [pancAgni vidyA] in छान्दोग्य [chAndogya] , 5-10-1 says: ‘Those who know the true nature of the Self in this way, as well as those who worship the Lord by dedicating their thoughts to Him will take the path of luster and meet the dawn of freedom’. It describes the path that leads to the Lord Himself.

It also says that the path doesn’t force you to return. छान्दोग्य [chAndogya] , 4-25-6 describes the end-point of this path: ‘The guide leads them to the Lord. Once they proceed, they do not return to the cycles of this human world’.

The knowledge described above in the पन्चाग्नि विद्या [pancAgni vidyA] is not about knowing the Self. Such knowledge is described elsewhere in the scriptures – that is about knowing who you are and doesn’t lead to liberation . Those who know the Self as an attribute of the Lord are the ones who attain liberation .

Further in the पन्चाग्नि विद्या [pancAgni vidyA] , in छान्दोग्य [chAndogya] , 5-9-1 , it says that the Self gets associated with the elements of nature. In छान्दोग्य [chAndogya] , 5-10-7 , it says that virtue leads to a fortunate configuration of the elements, like a human body. Vice leads to unfortunate configurations such as a dog or a pig. In this way, the scriptures describe the temporary entanglement between the Self and a body and the distinction between them. छान्दोग्य [chAndogya] , 5-10-7 continues to say that those who know this will take the path of luster and will not return to the birth-and-death cycle.

In this way, The Lord showed the distinction between the Self and the environment. We need to rise above the environment and gain consciousness that’s separate from the environment. In this way we take the path of luster and don’t need to return.

Having realized the true nature of the Self, a person knows that it has the Lord as its Self. The Self exists only for the Lord’s purpose. This is told in the बृहदारण्यक [bRhadAraNyaka]. With this awareness, he gains a form that is equal to attaining the Lord Himself – just like a person who intends to attain the Lord directly.