ब्रह्मभूत

Brahmabhuta names a person who has become one with Brahman, that is, one who is established in it. The Gita gives the signs instead of describing a distant place.

The eighteenth chapter says that when ego, the force of insistence, pride, desire, anger and possessiveness are given up, the sense of “mine” goes. The seeker is then peaceful and fit for the state of Brahman (Gita 18.53). The next verse describes the one who is established in it. This person is serene in mind, neither grieves nor craves, and is equal toward all beings. From there comes supreme devotion (Gita 18.54). The fifth chapter gives the same state from within: one who finds happiness, delight and light inside attains Brahman and supreme peace (Gita 5.24).

The signs are inner ones: peace, no grief, no craving, equality. Nothing in these verses says that the person stops acting; the last verse of the passage has the seeker always doing all actions (Gita 18.56).

Common misreading: that becoming Brahman means leaving the world or ceasing to act.

Better sense: it is a state of mind, marked by serenity and equality, in which action continues and devotion can grow.

The topic that sets this state in its place is Freedom Through Action.