Gita 02.72 – Nirvana may be extinction, but brahma-nirvana is not

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eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha
naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati
sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi
brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati (Bg 2.72)

Word-for-word:
eṣā — this; brāhmī — spiritual; sthitiḥ — situation; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; na — never; enām — this; prāpya — achieving; vimuhyati — one is bewildered; sthitvā — being situated; asyām — in this; anta-kāle — at the end of life; api — also; brahma-nirvāṇam — the spiritual kingdom of God; ṛcchati — one attains.

Translation:
That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.

Explanation:
This is the concluding verse of the second chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, where Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna how one can live in this world in such a way that one remains unbewildered and ultimately becomes liberated. It serves as the conclusion to both the fourth answer and the chapter as a whole.

The fourth question, to which this is the concluding answer, is—How does a self-realized person move about in this world—vrajeta kim? Kṛṣṇa answers this by saying—without desires, without attachment, without ego, without proprietorship. The previous verse described this state, explaining that such a person becomes truly peaceful.

In this verse, Kṛṣṇa concludes:
eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha: This is the spiritual (brāhmī) position, O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna).
naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati: Upon attaining this, one is never deluded again.
sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi: If one remains situated in this state even at the time of death,
brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati: one attains supreme liberation.

Here, Kṛṣṇa essentially conveys two points—first, how to live without being deluded, and second, how to become liberated. For both, we must cultivate a particular state of consciousness—brāhmī sthiti, the spiritual state of consciousness.

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in his purport that in such a condition, one is already liberated, and returning to the kingdom of God, the spiritual world, is only a matter of time. Such liberation can happen in a single moment, or it may not occur even after many lifetimes—it is simply a matter of understanding and accepting the truth.

That understanding and acceptance mean recognizing that we are not the body but the soul, and that we are meant to live at the level of the soul. One will not be bewildered (naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati) upon attaining the spiritual state (brāhmī sthitiḥ).

Arjuna had become bewildered, even though he had led a virtuous and dharmic life. Despite this, he became confused because, generally, kṣatriyas follow dharma but do not always follow para-dharma. They follow dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—pursuing material desires framed within a dharmic context.

However, such material desires, although regulated, cannot truly free one from illusion, because they themselves are part of the illusion. Although by following dharma one may eventually progress towards mokṣa and ultimately transcend illusion, that journey can take many lifetimes.

However, Kṛṣṇa explains that there is an alternative way to work—not at the level of karma-kāṇḍa, but at the level of karma-yoga, or more generally, at the level of yoga, which ultimately culminates in bhakti-yoga. If one works in this way, one will be situated at the spiritual level—brāhmī sthitiḥ—and will not be bewildered (naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati).

Arjuna had said sammūḍha-cetāḥ (Bhagavad-gītā 2.7). The word mudhā was used there, and here muhiya is employed; it is a similar word. The words mudhā, muhiya, and moha are all related. Here, Kṛṣṇa assures that one will not become deluded. There is a state of consciousness attainable by us that lies beyond delusion.

At our present stage of life and spiritual evolution, our consciousness oscillates—sometimes we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and sometimes we slip into sensory consciousness. The way to address this oscillation is through purification. Purification means bringing ourselves closer and closer to the all-pure person, Kṛṣṇa, and distancing ourselves further and further from impurities.

Kṛṣṇa explains this by speaking about acting with detachment. Attachment is a form of impurity. When one works with detachment, one distances oneself from that impurity. When one fixes the mind on the ātmā, the ātmā itself being pure, or fixes the mind on Kṛṣṇa, who is supremely pure, then purification steadily takes place.

By steadily cultivating connection with Kṛṣṇa and maintaining disconnection from matter—specifically from material attachments (not from matter itself, since we must live in the body and in the world)—we can minimize material attachments. Living in this way, we can come to a stage where we will no longer be illusioned.

Brāhmī sthiti is the spiritual state of consciousness. If one is situated in this state (sthitvāsyām) even at the time of death (anta-kāle ’pi), one attains liberation. This is the first time in the Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa specifically refers to the time of death.

In almost all cultures of the world, especially in spiritual traditions, the moment of death is considered highly significant. A scholar of Vaiṣṇavism, Stephen Rosen (Satyarāja Prabhu), has written a book titled “Death and Dying in the World Traditions,” where he describes how various world traditions—despite having widely differing specific beliefs—all generally consider the moment of death to be important. It is not only important in the sense that one should have as peaceful a death as possible, with proper emotional closure, though that is valuable in its own way. Even more important is that a person should experience spiritual stimuli while departing from the world.

The principle of providing spiritual stimuli at the time of death is deeply developed in the ancient spiritual culture of India, in many different ways. One of the most riveting examples of facing anta-kāla with profound absorption in spiritual impressions, sounds, and atmosphere is that of Parīkṣit Mahārāja. With only seven days remaining in his life, he renounced his kingdom and focused entirely on hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on the banks of a sacred river, for seven continuous days, from the great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī.

Kṛṣṇa does not elaborate on the importance of anta-kāla here because He is speaking to Arjuna, who lives in a culture that implicitly recognizes the significance of the final moment. Thus, Kṛṣṇa simply assumes the importance of anta-kāla and states that if one is situated in this spiritual consciousness at the time of death, one will attain brahma-nirvāṇa.

What exactly is brahma-nirvāṇa may seem a little confusing, or at this stage, it may not be entirely clear. ‘Brahma’ refers to the spiritual, and ‘nirvāṇa’ is often associated with the Buddhist term for liberation.

Some mundane commentators or historians argue that since nirvāṇa is a Buddhist term and the Bhagavad-gītā features this term, it indicates that the Bhagavad-gītā was composed after the propagation of Buddhism. However, this is an extremely weak and tenuous line of reasoning.

Various philosophies, such as nihilism—which Buddhism often represents—along with theism and atheism, have always existed. These schools of thought had prominent proponents at different points in history. It is not that Buddhism, as a way of thought, did not exist before Buddha. The tendency to reject tradition, rely solely on empiricism and inference, and dismiss scripture as a revelation of God characterized the early centuries even before Buddha’s widespread propagation of Buddhist teachings.

Thus, the term brahma-nirvāṇa in and of itself has nothing intrinsically to do with Buddhism. It is rooted in the broader Vedic spiritual tradition.

Nirvāṇa in Buddhism is often described as a conception of nothingness. However, even within Buddhism, nirvāṇa does not actually mean complete nothingness; rather, it refers to existence at a higher level.

The standard example used is that of a candle being extinguished—when the flame goes out, the visible candlelight ceases to exist. Similarly, it is said that our consciousness ceases to exist in the same way upon attaining nirvāṇa. However, the Dalai Lama has clarified that even when a candle is extinguished, the energy that sustained the flame does not vanish—it continues to exist at a different, higher, invisible level.

Similarly, we continue to exist. Brahma-nirvāṇa here has nothing specifically to do with Buddhism. It simply refers to liberation in the spiritual reality. One is liberated from material existence, but equally, if not more importantly, is where one goes after liberation. A person may be freed from jail, but the critical question is—where do he go after leaving the prison? Similarly, we are liberated from material existence, and then we enter Brahman.

When brahma-nirvāṇa is brought together, the entire concept of the Buddhist śūnya (emptiness) and its associated idea of nirvāṇa were propagated to counter the Vedic conception of Brahman and mukti (liberation). Brahma-nirvāṇa together explains that at liberation, there is not an extinction of existence, but rather an elevation of existence to a higher level—to the Brahman level. This is attained by living at the Brahman level in this life.

Hence, brahmī sthiti (the spiritual state of consciousness) will bring about brahma-nirvāṇa, and both are achieved by one who lives with detachment.

This is the concluding message of this chapter.

Thank you.