In the previous śloka, Bhagavān described the preparation of an accomplished devotee at death: withdrawing the senses, concentrating the mind inward, and directing the life force toward the crown. He now explains how the devotee remembers Bhagavān during that departure.

The devotee uses the sacred syllable Oṃ as the support for remembrance.

Oṃ is a symbol of Bhagavān, not a separate deity.

The scriptures provide different forms and symbols through which we can meditate upon the limitless Bhagavān. Some devotees choose Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Śiva, or Devī. Others use a symbol such as Oṃ.

Oṃ is called ekākṣaram [a single-syllable expression]. Bhagavān calls it Brahma because it represents the supreme reality.

A person who has chosen Oṃ as the support for meditation is an Oṃkāra-upāsaka [one who meditates upon Bhagavān through Oṃ].

Such a devotee has practised remembering Bhagavān through Oṃ throughout life. Therefore, at the time of death, the familiar sacred syllable becomes the means of remembering Him.

The important point is not merely uttering a sacred sound.

Bhagavān uses two expressions together: vyāharan [uttering] and mām anusmaran [remembering Me].

The devotee utters Oṃ while remembering the limitless Bhagavān whom Oṃ represents. The sound and the remembrance must be connected.

Repeating Oṃ without remembering Bhagavān does not fulfil the teaching. The sound is the support; Bhagavān is the object of meditation.

Is everyone required to utter Oṃ at death?

No. Oṃ is the particular example Bhagavān has chosen for this explanation.

A devotee who has worshipped Rāma throughout life may remember Bhagavān through the name Rāma. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa may remember Him through Kṛṣṇa's name. A devotee of Śiva may use Śiva's name.

What matters is that the name has become a familiar means of remembering Bhagavān through sustained practice.

A person cannot reliably postpone spiritual practice until the last moment and then expect a particular divine name to arise automatically. As explained earlier, the mind's familiar tendencies become especially important when deliberate control is weak.

Therefore, remembrance at death is connected with lifelong devotion.

Who is the devotee being described here?

This person is a niṣkāma upāsaka [a devotee who meditates upon Bhagavān with liberation as the goal].

The devotee has understood that temporary pleasures and achievements cannot provide lasting fulfilment. Bhagavān alone has become the highest priority.

However, this devotee has not yet gained the knowledge of the essential identity of the individual Self and the limitless reality. If that knowledge had already been gained, liberation would be assured in this lifetime, without requiring the gradual course described here.

For this reason, the devotee continues to depend upon meditation upon Bhagavān with attributes.

What happens when such a devotee leaves the body?

Bhagavān says tyajan deham [leaving the physical body] and prayāti [departs or travels].

The physical body does not undertake this journey. It is left behind.

Nor does pure consciousness travel, because consciousness is all-pervading and cannot move from one location to another.

According to the traditional teaching, what continues the journey is the individual associated with the subtle and causal bodies, carrying accumulated karmic results.

This individual follows a special upward course, called śukla-gati [the bright path], which Bhagavān explains later in the chapter.

The destination is Brahmaloka. There, the devotee gains the knowledge of the ultimate reality and attains liberation.

This is krama-mukti [gradual liberation].

Bhagavān calls the result paramāṃ gatim [the highest goal]. Brahmaloka is a stage along this course; liberation through knowledge is its final fulfilment.

Thus, 8.13 completes the explanation of the devotee's remembrance at death. The person who has meditated upon Bhagavān through Oṃ throughout life departs uttering Oṃ and remembering Him. The sacred syllable serves as the support for remembering the limitless Bhagavān. Through the prescribed journey to Brahmaloka, the devotee eventually gains liberating knowledge and attains the highest goal. The same principle applies to devotees who have consistently remembered Bhagavān through other divine names.