Sunday Gita Class Summary – 05/16/2021

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 8: Attaining the Supreme: Text 8

abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā paramaṁ puruṣaṁ divyaṁ yāti pārthānucintayan

Synonyms: abhyāsa-yoga — by practice of meditation; yuktena — being engaged; cetasā — by the mind and intelligence; na anya-gāminā — without being deviated; paramam — the Supreme; puruṣam — Personality of Godhead; divyam — transcendental; yāti — one achieves; pārtha — O Arjuna; anucintayan — constantly thinking of.

Translation: He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Arjuna, is sure to reach Me.

In this verse, Lord Krishna describes the process of abhyasa-yoga — the yoga of constant practice. The key instruction is that the mind should be constantly engaged in remembering the Supreme Lord, without deviation.

Srila Prabhupada explains that this constant remembrance is achieved through the regular practice of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam, and associating with devotees. These practices train the mind to remain fixed on Krishna even in the midst of daily activities.

The class discussed how we can practically implement this in our lives: by chanting our daily rounds attentively, by keeping pictures of Krishna in our home and workplace, by reading Srila Prabhupada's books regularly, and by attending temple programs as much as possible.