Sārathi

Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga, verse 3

श्री भगवानुवाच śhrī bhagavān uvācha

अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते।
भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ॥

Say itakṣharaṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvo ’dhyātmam uchyate
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-sanjñitaḥ

Practice reciting

Translation

The Blessed Lord said, "Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; its essential nature is called Self-knowledge; the offering (to the gods) that causes the existence and manifestation of beings and sustains them is called action."

Swami Sivananda

Classical commentariesFor deeper study. Most are in the original Sanskrit.

Advaita

Non-dual: the self and the absolute are one.

Vishishtadvaita

Qualified non-dual: souls are real parts of the divine.

Dvaita

Dual: the soul and God are eternally distinct.

Shuddhadvaita

Pure non-dual, centred on grace and devotion.

Kashmir Shaivism

The Gita read through Trika Shaiva philosophy.

Modern teachers

20th-century teachers writing for today's readers.