Having answered Arjuna's first six questions, Bhagavān now begins answering the seventh: Why is remembering Bhagavān at the time of death important, and how can it be achieved? This becomes the main subject of the rest of Chapter 8.

Bhagavān says that a person who leaves the body remembering Him alone attains His nature. Here, antakāle means at the time of death, mām eva smaran means remembering Me alone, and muktvā kalevaram means leaving the physical body. He assures Arjuna that there is no doubt about this result.

To understand this teaching, we must first understand why people meditate upon Bhagavān.

A devotee may choose a form of Bhagavān, such as Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, or Devī, and regularly meditate upon that form. The scriptures describe Bhagavān's appearance and attributes to help the devotee focus the mind. This practice is called saguṇa-Īśvara-upāsanā [meditation upon Bhagavān with attributes].

People practise this meditation for two different purposes.

Some seek particular benefits, such as health, wealth, success, heavenly pleasures, or even extraordinary powers. These benefits may be enjoyed in this life or another, but they are temporary. Worship undertaken for such benefits is called sakāma upāsanā [worship for desired rewards].

Others gradually recognize that even the greatest worldly or heavenly pleasures cannot provide lasting fulfilment. Rather than seeking more temporary rewards, they want freedom from limitation and suffering. Their goal is mokṣa [liberation], described in devotional language as attaining oneness with Bhagavān.

Such worship is called niṣkāma upāsanā [worship directed toward the spiritual goal rather than worldly rewards]. It requires a growing freedom from attachment to temporary pleasures, known as vairāgyam [dispassion].

For a person whose goal is liberation, there are two possible courses.

In the first course, the devotee meditates upon Bhagavān to prepare the mind for spiritual knowledge. Once sufficiently prepared, the seeker undertakes Vedāntic study and gains knowledge of the ultimate reality, which is beyond all attributes.

Through this knowledge, liberation is attained in the present lifetime. This is called sadyomukti [immediate liberation], or jīvanmukti [liberation while living].

In the second course, the devotee sincerely wants liberation but is not yet ready to pursue knowledge of the attributeless reality. Instead, the person continues meditating upon Bhagavān in a chosen form throughout life.

At the time of death, this devotee remembers Bhagavān with the spiritual orientation developed through lifelong meditation. After leaving the body, the devotee reaches Brahmaloka [the realm of Brahmā], where the necessary spiritual knowledge is gained. Through that knowledge, liberation is attained.

This second course is called krama-mukti [liberation through a gradual course]. It is the particular course Bhagavān begins explaining in this chapter.

An important distinction must be understood: liberation comes through knowledge in both courses. In the first, the seeker gains that knowledge during this lifetime. In the second, the devotee reaches Brahmaloka and gains it there. Reaching Brahmaloka is part of the journey, not the final liberation itself.

This also explains why remembrance of Bhagavān at death matters. Bhagavān is not describing a casual, last-minute thought that replaces lifelong spiritual preparation. He is explaining the result of sincere meditation undertaken throughout life with liberation as the goal.

Gaining the necessary knowledge and liberation in this very lifetime is preferable to postponing the goal. Nevertheless, for a sincere devotee who is not yet ready for that knowledge, Bhagavān explains the alternative gradual course.

Thus, 8.5 introduces meditation upon Bhagavān as a spiritual discipline. Such meditation may be directed toward temporary rewards or toward liberation. A devotee seeking liberation can gain the required knowledge in this life or continue lifelong meditation and progress through the gradual course. Bhagavān concludes with nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ [there is no doubt about this], assuring Arjuna of the promised result.