Bhagwad Gita - Post 187

Verse 6

Neither doth the sun illumine there, nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My Supreme Abode.

Lord Krishna briefly explains some characteristics of that imperishable Supreme state, His eternal abode. 

There the light of the sun or the moon or fire is not necessary because His eternal abode is self-illuminating and self-effulgent without any association with material existence and always beyond the darkness of nescience. 

This is confirmed in the Svetasvatara Upanishad III.VIII beginning: veda hametam purusam meaning: The Supreme Lord, more resplendent then the sun, illuminates all within and without, only by realizing Him is a jiva or embodied being able to transcend samsara the perpetual cycle of birth and death, there is no other possibility. 

This glorious sun, with so much brilliance, does not shine there. 

Kathopanishad says, 

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ

nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ

tameva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ

tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti

The sun does not shine there; nor do the moon and the stars, nor do these lightnings shine. How could this fire? Him shining, all shine after. All this shines by his light.

Sankara’s Commentary for the above verse,

“The reply here is that it shines and is perceived as shining. The sun, though the enlightener of all, does not shine in the Brahman, being his âtman, i.e., the sun does not illumine the Brahman. 

Similarly, the moon and the stars do not; nor do these lightnings illumine. How could this fire, perceivable by us? Why say much? All these, the sun and the rest who shine, shine only after him, the lord of all; as water, firebrand, etc., from their contact with fire, burn after the burning fire and not by their own inherent virtue. 

It is by his light only, that all this, the sun and the rest shine. This being so, that Brahman alone shines and shines variously. 

From the various kinds of light possessed by its effects, the self-luminosity of the Brahman is inferred. It is not possible for one to impart to another luminosity, which one does not possess, because pots, etc., are found incapable of illumining other objects and the sun and the rest, luminous in their nature, are found capable of that.”

Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ: The sun does not shine there, because the light of the sun is like darkness before that radiance. 

Na śaśāṅkaḥ: Not even the moon is there. 

Na pāvakaḥ: The radiance of the earth, which is born of the fire and heat, that too is not there to illumine. 

Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. Because of the impurities in the mind, we cannot understand the meaning of ‘not coming back’. So the great Vedanta Shastras—the Upanishads, Bhagavadgita, etc., are supposed to be studied with pure mind,  not attached to family, things, and the value of the earth—minds, without  considering  this earth as very solid 

Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: “My abode is that, after having attained which, you will not return to this world of sorrow.” 

We may put a question: “After reaching that state, what will I do there?” Many people ask this question: “What shall I do there, after reaching that place? You don’t want me to come back, so will I sit there gazing at the face of God? But how long I will gaze? I will be tired.” 

There is no necessity to have fear of this kind, and it is impossible to describe in words why it is not good to come back, and why it is good to be there. By any kind of logic or scriptural quotation, one cannot be convinced as to why that attainment, from where there is no return, is necessary. 

Let us take a dream. Did we not see many people in dream? We were fathers, we were mothers, we had children and family, and there was a big society of people. Why did we wake up, leaving them all in the dream world? We could have waited until all of them had woken up. We suddenly woke up, leaving all the family, etc., in the dream world. What happened to those many individuals whom we saw in dream? And the whole dream world with which we were concerned so much—what happened to it now that we have left it and, like a selfish person, have woken up into waking consciousness? 

These are some illustrations that will clear the cobweb of our mind and make us feel inwardly convinced that it is good to reach God, and it is not good to come back from That. 

Yad gatvā na nivartante: “After having reached That, you will not come back.” Tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: “That is My Abode.” 

Love.