(From the discourses of Pujya Sri Swamiji)

Compiled by Swami Datta Pada Renu

"Having attained Me, the great souls do not get rebirth, which is the repository of pain and is not eternal; for, they have reached the highest perfection."(15-VIII).
‘Samsara’ or the worldly life is the abode of sorrow (duhkhaalayam) and ephemeral (ashaashwatam). So long as a man is caught in the whirlpool of ‘Samsara’, he cannot escape birth and death and sufferings and pain. If he wants liberation from all pain and sufferings and from the cycle of births and deaths he has to attain to the Lord. He alone who has attained the Lord is free from rebirth in this short-lived world of pain and sorrow and he alone can enjoy the Eternal Bliss, that is God.
Man in his ignorance thinks that he enjoys the happiness of family life, wealth, power or position in this world. But in reality these enjoyments are all short-lived and mixed with pain. Yet, he is not prepared to give them up and to try to attain God, the abode of eternal bliss and happiness. The worldly objects are very attractive to him and he never wants to give them up. It is so sad that he does not realize that so long as he is given to worldly desires he cannot have peace of mind.

On the other hand, the attractive objects of this world do not delude the high-souled ones. They know that the worldly enjoyments are short-lived and evanescent and those who hanker after them are bound to have not only pleasure but also pain. So they take refuge in the Lord and through devotion and dispassion attain Him. Thereafter they are no longer subject to rebirth in this transitory abode of misery and pain.

"All the worlds together with the world of Brahma are subject to return, O Arjuna; but on reaching Me, there is no rebirth, O son of Kunti." (16-VIII)

All the heavens including the heaven of Brahma, the creator of the world process, are not permanent. If a man performs good deeds he may go to heaven and remain there for a long period and enjoy the results of his actions done on earth. But after the expiration of the fruits of his good deeds he would be forced to come back to this world again. Of course, a few who have attained to the highest realization of Godhead through Krama Mukti (gradual liberation) will reach Mukti from the heaven of Brahma at the end of the cycle. But only those who have attained the highest perfection through Krama Mukti can attain such a liberation from Brahma’s abode. All others will have to take birth again on this earth as soon as the stock of their meritorious deeds is exhausted. Thus even the Brahma Loka, the region which is the abode of the Hiranyagarbha Brahma comes within the domain of nescience (Ajnana) and is impermanent.

Therefore, the wise do not seek to enjoy the pleasures of heaven. Instead, they work hard to attain the Lord, the Supreme Being, the abode of supreme peace and happiness. Once they attain the Supreme Lord, they are freed from the cycle of births and deaths.

"Those who know that the day of Brahma is a thousand Yugas (ages) long and that his night lasts a thousand Yugas, they are knowers of day and night. (17-VIII)
why the worlds including that of Brahma are subject to recurrence? Because they are finite in time. The Lord further gives a description of the duration of the duration of day and night of Brahma. The day of Brahma is a thousand Yugas (ages) and the night another thousand Yugas. There are four Yugas (ages) namely, Satya Yuga (Krita Yuga), Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. The duration of Satya Yuga is 17,28,000 years. Treta Yuga’s duration of 12,96,000 years, that of Dvapara Yuga is 8,64,000 years and of Kali Yuga 4,32,000 years. The total duration of one cycle of four Yugas thus comes to 43,20,000 years.

One thousand cycles of the four Yugas form the day of Brahma and one thousand similar cycles make a night. 365 such days and nights make one year of Brahma. A hundred such years constitute his life span. Thus, Brahma’s life span is also conditioned by time.

He who is the knower of day and night knows even the movements of the days and nights of Brahma. He knows that even Brahma, the creator is a Jeeva marching towards liberation. After his span of life at the time of Maha Pralaya, the whole universe dissolves and he merges in the Supreme Brahman leaving the place for the succeeding Brahma. Thus although Brahma’s span of life expands into infinity it is also delimited by time. He has his own days and nights, his own life span and his own liberation. He who understands this truth, understands the cosmic plan of the Lord and so he is styled as the real knower of day and night.