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Only Those Who Achieve Ishvara Achieve Eternal Liberty

आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोका: पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन |
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते || 8.16||

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate|| 8.16||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 8- Ver. 16:

You will be reborn in all the worlds of this material creation, up to the greatest abode of Brahma, O Arjun. There is no more reincarnation after obtaining My Abode, O son of Kunti.

Explanation

There are fourteen worlds in our cosmos, according to Vedic literature. There are seven realms of existence, starting with Earth and progressing above. The Swarga, or celestial abodes, are the highest realms. The hellish abodes known as narak are the remaining seven planes below Earth. The lokas, or many worlds of our cosmos, are the fourteen planes of existence.

The lokas, or many worlds of our cosmos, are the fourteen planes of existence. The highest among them is satya lok, also known as Brahma Lok, the home of Brahma, while the lowest is ptl lok. All of these lokas, however, are governed by Maya, God’s material energy. As a result, the inhabitants of all fourteen lokas go through the birth and death cycle. It’s due to their transient character.

All fourteen worlds of this cosmos are within the sphere of Shree Krishna’s material energy Maya, according to the scripture. As a result, the occupants are vulnerable to the birth and death cycle. Only those who achieve God-realization are freed from the shackles of illusion. They leave their physical bodies when they die and go to His holy dwelling, where they will spend eternity.

They are given divine bodies and eternally engage in God’s divine pastimes. They don’t have to be born in this world. Some saints and devout spirits, on the other hand, return to our earth. They do so to engage in the divine welfare of humanity, despite their liberation. The great Masters and Prophets are these religious beings. They come to Earth to assist others in breaking free from the bonds of maya and guiding them on the path to God-realization.

Verse & what we can learn

There are planets or heavens that are more subtle than our apparent cosmos. After death, all beings on our planet who do good things go to one of those heavens. All entities who find themselves in these heavens, including Lord Brahma’s universe, do not dwell there forever. At some point, they must return to Earth. Only those who achieve Ishvara achieve eternal liberty.

They will be sent to the appropriate heaven based on the sincerity of their deeds and worship. Only a few people reach Lord Brahma’s dwelling, which is the highest imaginable heaven. The residents are simply interested in having pleasure. There is no sadness or pain at all.

When they reach Lord Brahma’s dwelling, they must make a decision. They have the option of continuing to be interested in pleasure seeking or achieving release. Liberation is the same as attaining Ishvara. If they continue to be interested in pleasure seeking, if they consider Brahma loka to be yet another dimension of space and time, they will eventually return to Earth and begin their lives over. If they desire liberation, they will find it when Brahma loka, together with all the other realms, is dissolved. “Krama mukti” is the term for this type of emancipation.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna about cosmic creation and dissolution.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…