Gita Series – 93: Bhagavad Gita Chapter VIII. Verses 9 – 10:

He who meditates upon Omniscient, the Eternal, the Ruler of the universe, subtler than the subtlest, the One who sustains the universe, having a form beyond human comprehension, radiating like the sun, beyond the darkness of ignorance, at the time of his death, fixes his prana by the power of his yoga, in the place between his two eye brows, contemplating on the Lord with a steadfast mind that is full of devotion, reaches the Supreme Effulgent Lord.”

Krishna now describes the Lord and the means to attain Him. Lord cannot be described even by using any number of superlative degrees. The Brahman can at the most be explained as the Supreme amongst all the known objects to humanity. He is Omniscient because He knows past, present and future of everyone who exists in the universe. Though the universe originates from Him and dissolves unto Him, He never undergoes any changes. He is subtler than the subtlest and is the cause of creation. Because of this, He is omnipresent and supports and maintains the universe. Without Him, the universe cannot exist. Because He is subtler than the subtlest, He is ubiquitous. He is called as the Supreme Ruler because He creates, sustains and dissolves the entire universe. He alone is Self-illuminating. Sun and other luminaries derive light from Him alone. Because every superlative degree is used to describe Him, He is beyond ignorance. Ignorance is the quality associated with perishables only. Immutable is beyond ignorance. He has to necessarily have these qualities, as everything originates from Him. When one becomes embodiment of something, then only he can share with others. The same principle applies to the Brahman. Because He is complete in everything, He is able to give everything to the universe. What one does not have, cannot be shared with others. In spite of all these superlative degrees used to describe Him, still He is beyond human comprehension. He creates, sustains and dissolves the universe based on several automated mechanisms. Let us take for example, the law of karma. The Brahman need not decide the quality of every being. His quality is determined by the law of karma. Another example is the creation of five basic elements – ether, air, fire, water and earth. It is not that everything appeared on a single day like a magic. Upanishads affirm that ether came into existence first, from ether air was created, from air fire was created and from fire water was created and from water earth was created, from earth food is being created on which the universe is being sustained. Such meticulously operated principles are beyond general human perception. Hence the Lord is considered as the Supreme. He is the source of every energy that exists.

When a person, at the time of his/her death should fix his/her awareness in between the two eyebrows, the life energy called prana rushes to this point of focus. The basic principle in kundalini meditation is fixing awareness in different psychic chakras. When awareness is fixed on a chakra, the prana rushes to that point and activates that chakra. The highly effective point of concentration is the place between two eyebrows, known as ajna chakra or third eye. This is the place where pineal gland is placed in a human body. Pineal gland can be explained as the gland of divinity and when this gland is energized, it gets illuminated and it draws necessary cosmic energy for illumination from the Self. The third eye is the place of commands. One’s mind can be easily conquered, when ajna chakra is activated. A highly qualified meditator can fix his consciousness on ajna chakra and can get whatever he needs or heals, whomever he wants to. Ajna chakra is a very powerful tool available to mankind. That is why Krishna says to fix one’s consciousness at this place. The Lord notices all those who fix their consciousness at ajna chakra. The soul gets its final purification at ajna chakra for its ultimate merger into the Brahman. Brahman being the embodiment of purity, no partially purified element can merge with Him. Hence, the soul undergoes final purification process at ajna chakra. When one’s consciousness is fixed on the third eye, his consciousness becomes steadfast at this point without wandering elsewhere. When the process of death unfolds, one has to fix his awareness at the third eye, where the soul undergoes final purification and gets endowed with God consciousness as he is already contemplating on the Lord at this point. When his soul leaves his body, it is not only purified, but also endowed with full of divine qualities, so as to merge with the Brahman in no time. That soul is not born again and is absorbed into the ever radiating Lord Himself. The whole process takes just a few seconds. Lord is always compassionate and the difficulty is that His compassion is not utilized properly to redeem ourselves.

Further Readings:

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VIII. 6 - 8

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VIII. 11-14

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VIII. 15-19