A core teaching · reflective in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“The end follows the state you have trained.”
Whatever state a person remembers at the end, that state is reached, because the mind has been shaped by it.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallywhatever · also indeed · remembering · state of being · abandons · at the end · the body · that very · attains · O son of Kunti · always · formed by that state
The final thought at death shapes where consciousness goes next. A person tends toward whatever state has been cultivated again and again.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Akshara Brahma Yoga" (The Imperishable Absolute).
Verse 6 sits in Chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita — Akshara Brahma Yoga, "The Imperishable Absolute". The chapter has 28 verses in total.
You lie awake after a hard conversation, replaying the same fear. That repeated inner loop does not just reflect you — it trains the direction your mind takes next.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from the last moment alone to the whole pattern of what the mind has been fed.
What this verse means
The final thought at death shapes where consciousness goes next. A person tends toward whatever state has been cultivated again and again.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Arjuna is frozen between duty and grief. Krishna deepens the teaching on the final moment: the state of mind at death is not random, but the result of a life repeatedly formed by habit and attention.
Why this verse still matters
You lie awake after a hard conversation, replaying the same fear. That repeated inner loop does not just reflect you — it trains the direction your mind takes next.
“What you repeatedly dwell on becomes the shape of your ending.”
Explore related themes: manas (49 verses)