Gita 8.23
Aksara Brahma Yoga
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ||२३||
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ | prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha ||23||
In essence: Krishna introduces the mystery of cosmic timing - the paths of return and no-return that yogis travel based on the time of their departure.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Does the time of death really matter so much? Isn't it our whole life of practice that counts?"
Guru: "Both matter. Your whole life creates tendencies; the moment of death activates them. A well-tuned instrument still needs the right moment to be played."
Sadhak: "But we can't control when we die. This seems unfair."
Guru: "You're thinking too literally. 'Time' here means state of consciousness, cosmic alignment, inner condition. These can be cultivated."
Sadhak: "So it's not about dying in the morning versus evening?"
Guru: "Externally, perhaps. But more importantly - dying in light versus darkness of consciousness. Dying with remembrance versus forgetting. Dying with surrender versus clinging."
Sadhak: "Then why does Krishna mention specific times at all?"
Guru: "Because the outer and inner correspond. External light supports internal light. Auspicious times support auspicious states. But the inner is primary."
Sadhak: "I'm disturbed by the idea of 'return.' Does hard practice mean nothing if death happens at the wrong time?"
Guru: "Nothing is lost. Even a 'returning' yogi continues with accumulated merit. But the teaching urges us: don't leave liberation to chance. Prepare thoroughly."
Sadhak: "How does one prepare for something so unknown?"
Guru: "By dying every day - releasing attachments, surrendering outcomes, practicing the inner state you wish to die in. Death rehearsal is spiritual practice."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Upon waking, practice a 'mini death-and-rebirth' ritual: before rising, consciously release yesterday completely - let it die. Then arise as if newly born into this day. This trains the psyche in letting go and prepares for the ultimate transition.
Three times today, pause and ask: 'If I died right now, in this state of mind, what would my trajectory be?' Not morbidly, but honestly. Use this awareness to adjust your inner state. Are you in mental light or darkness? Expansion or contraction?
Before sleep (which is called 'little death'), consciously release the day, forgive all, surrender all outcomes. Practice entering sleep in the state you would want to enter death - peaceful, surrendered, remembering the Divine. This nightly practice prepares for the final sleep.