' Bhagavad Gita Quotes on Life and Death '...

The states of sattva, rajas, and tamas come from me, but I am not in them. The three Gunas make up my divine Maya, difficult to overcome. But they cross over this Maya who takes refuge in me. Some come to the spiritual life because of suffering, some in order to understand life; some come through a desire to achieve life’s purpose, and some come who are men and women of wisdom. Unwavering in devotion, always united with me, the man or woman of wisdom surpasses all the others. After many births the wise seek refuge in me, seeing me everywhere and in everything. Such great souls are very rare. The world, deluded, does not know that I am without birth and changeless. I know everything about the past, the present, and the future, Arjuna; but there is no one who knows me completely. Delusion arises from the duality of attraction and aversion, Arjuna; every creature is deluded by these from birth. Those who see me ruling the cosmos, who see me in the adhibhuta, the adhidaiva, and the adhiyajna, are conscious of me even at the time of death. The Lord is the supreme poet, the first cause, the sovereign ruler, subtler than the tiniest particle, the support of all, inconceivable, bright as the sun, beyond darkness. Remembering me at the time of death, close down the doors of the senses and place the mind in the heart. Then, while absorbed in meditation, focus all energy upwards to the head. Repeating in this state the divine name, the syllable Om that represents the changeless Brahman, you will go forth from the body and attain the supreme goal. I am easily attained by the person who always remembers me and is attached to nothing else. Such a person is a true yogi, Arjuna. Every creature in the universe is subject to rebirth, Arjuna, except the one who is united with me. The six months of the northern path of the sun, the path of light, of fire, of day, of the bright fortnight, leads knowers of Brahman to the supreme goal. The six months of the southern path of the sun, the path of smoke, of night, of the dark fortnight, leads other souls to the light of the moon and to rebirth. Under my watchful eye, the laws of nature take their course. Thus is the world set in motion; thus the animate and the inanimate are created. I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am true medicine and the mantram. I am the offering and the fire which consumes it, and the one to whom it is offered. I am the father and mother of this universe, and its grandfather too; I am its entire support. I am the sum of all knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om; I am the sacred scriptures, the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas. I am the goal of life, the Lord, and support of all, the inner witness, the abode of all. I am the only refuge, the one true friend; I am the beginning, the staying, and the end of creation; I am the womb and the eternal seed. Those who follow the rituals given in the Vedas, who offer sacrifices and take soma, free themselves from evil and attain the vast heaven of the gods, where they enjoy celestial pleasures. When they have enjoyed these fully, their merit is exhausted and they return to this land of death. Thus observing Vedic rituals but caught in an endless chain of desires, they come and go. Those who worship me and meditate on me constantly, without any other thought – I will provide for all their needs. Those who worship the devas will go to the realm of the devas; those who worship their ancestors will be united with them after death. Those who worship phantoms will become phantoms, but my devotees will come to me. Those who worship the devas will go to the realm of the devas; those who worship their ancestors will be united with them after death. Those who worship phantoms will become phantoms, but my devotees will come to me. Fill your mind with me; love me; serve me; worship me always. Seeking me in your heart, you will, at last, be united with me. All the scriptures lead to me; I am their author and their wisdom.