26
Beyond Birth and Death
themselves to higher planets within this material world.
The self or soul of the individual is a minute spiritual spark. The perfection of  yoga  lies in the transferral of this spiritual spark to the top of the head. Having attained this, the  yogī  can transfer himself to any planet in the material world according to his desire. If the  yogī  is curious to know what the moon is like, he can transfer himself there, or if he is interested in higher planets, he can transfer himself there, just as travellers go to New York, Canada, or other cities on the earth. Wherever one goes on earth, he finds the same visa and customs systems operating, and on all the material planets one can similarly see the principles of birth, old age, disease and death operating.
Om ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma:  at the point of death the  yogī  can pronounce  om ,  omkāra , the concise form of transcendental sound vibration. If the  yogī  can vibrate this sound and at the same time ( mām anusmaran ) remember Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, he attains the highest goal. It is the process of  yoga  to concentrate the mind on Viṣṇu. The impersonalists imagine some form of the Supreme Lord, but the personalists do not imagine this; they actually see. Whether one imagines Him or actually sees Him, one has to concentrate his mind on the personal form of Kṛṣṇa.
ananya-cetāḥ satataṁ
yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ
tasyāhaṁ sulabhaḥ pārtha
nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ