Text 8

abhyasa-yoga-yuktena
cetasa nanya-gamina
paramam purusham divyam
yati parthanucintayan

Translation

He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Partha, is sure to reach Me.

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

In this verse Lord Krishna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One’s memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. Purusham means enjoyer. Although living entities belong to the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord, they are in material contamination. They think themselves enjoyers, but they are not the supreme enjoyer. Here it is clearly stated that the supreme enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different manifestations and plenary expansions as Narayana, Vasudeva, etc. 

The devotee can constantly think of the object of worship, the Supreme Lord, in any of His features—Narayana, Krishna, Rama, etc.—by chanting Hare Krishna. This practice will purify him, and at the end of his life, due to his constant chanting, he will be transferred to the kingdom of God. Yoga practice is meditation on the Supersoul within; similarly, by chanting Hare Krishna one fixes his mind always on the Supreme Lord. The mind is fickle, and therefore it is necessary to engage the mind by force to think of Krishna. One example often given is that of the caterpillar that thinks of becoming a butterfly and so is transformed into a butterfly in the same life. Similarly, if we constantly think of Krishna, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Krishna.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

Therefore, that person who practices remembrance of me will naturally remember me at the time of death. By that, he will attain me. Therefore, remembering me by the mind is the highest yoga. That is expressed in this verse. Abhyasa means to repeatedly remember me. The mind should be engaged in this method (yoga) of repetition of remembering me, without wandering to other objects of remembrance. By this practice one will conquer of the nature of the mind.