Chapter 8, Verse 22
Akshara Brahma Yoga — Sanskrit shloka, transliteration, word meanings, English translation, and commentary.
Original Sanskrit verse
Transliteration
Word meanings
puruṣhaḥ—the Supreme Divine Personality; saḥ—he; paraḥ—greatest; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; bhaktyā—through devotion; labhyaḥ—is attainable; tu—indeed; ananyayā—without another; yasya—of whom; antaḥ-sthāni—situated within; bhūtāni—beings; yena—by whom; sarvam—all; idam—this; tatam—is pervaded
English translation
That highest Purusha, O Arjuna, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone, within Whom all beings dwell and by Whom all this is pervaded.
— Swami Sivananda
Listen to Shloka 8.22
Commentary
All the beings (effects) dwell within the Purusha (the Supreme Person; the cause) because every effect rests within its cause. Just as the effect; pot; rests within its cause; the clay; so also all beings and the worlds rest within their cause; the Purusha. Therefore the whole world is pervaded by the Purusha. Sri Sankara explains exclusive devotion as Jnana or knowledge of the Self. Purusha is so called because everything is filled by It (derived from the Sanskrit root pur which means to fill) or because It rests in the body of all (derived from the Sanskrit root pur). None is higher than It and so It is the Supreme Person. (Cf. IX.4XI.38XV.6and7)
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
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