|| 8.13 ||

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन्। यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम्।।

oṁ ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ sa yāti parāṁ gatim

om (the sacred syllable om) iti (thus) eka-akṣaram (the one syllable) brahma (Absolute) vyāharan (vibrating) mām (Me) anusmaran (remembering) yaḥ (whoever) prayāti (leaves) tyajan (quitting) deham (the body) saḥ (he) yāti (attains) parām (the supreme) gatim (destination)

After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable Oṁ, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.

Kṛṣṇa gives the final instruction for the path of meditation. The yogī should vibrate the sacred syllable Oṁ, the sound representation of the Absolute, while constantly remembering the Supreme Lord. If a person leaves their body in this state of consciousness, they reach the supreme destination. Oṁ is the primal sound from which the universe emerged. It is the ‘bridge’ between the material and the spiritual. But Kṛṣṇa adds a vital condition: ‘mām anusmaran’—remembering Me. Even while chanting the sacred sound, the heart must be fixed on the Person behind the sound. This verse provides the mantra and the motive for liberation. It emphasizes that death is not the end of a soul, but a departure toward a ‘parāṁ gatim’, a higher destination. For those who can master their breath and their sound, the moment of death becomes the moment of absolute freedom. The goal is clear: leave the material frame behind while vibrating the name of the Divine.