Chapter 15. "The Path of the Supreme Being".
The Blessed Lord said:
1. They speak of an eternal Ashwattha (tree), rooted above and branching below, whose leaves are the Vedas. He who knows it knows the Vedas.
2. Its branches are spread below and above, nourished by the gunas; the sense-objects are its buds; its roots stretch down below in the world of men, creating actions.
3. Its form is not visible here, neither its end nor its origin, nor its basis. Having cut down this firm-rooted Ashwattha tree by the mighty sword of non-attachment.
4. Then that Goal is to be sought after, attaining which they (the wise) do not return again. I take refuge in that Primeval Being from which streams forth the Eternal (creative) Energy.
5. Free from pride and false conceit, the evil of attachment conquered, ever devoted to spiritual knowledge, desires completely pacified, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that eternal Goal.
6. That (Goal) the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor fire; going there, they (the wise) do not return. That is My Supreme Abode.
7. A portion of Myself has become the living Soul in the world of life from time without beginning. It draws the (five) senses and mind, the sixth (sense), which are in Prakriti.
8. When the Lord (Soul) obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these (senses and mind) and goes forth as the wind (goes forth), carrying away the scents from their seats (the flowers).
9. The embodied soul, presiding over the ear, eye, the sense of touch, of taste and smell, as well as over the mind, experiences sense-objects.
10. Either going forth from the body, or residing in it, or experiencing, or united with the Gunas, the deluded do not see It (the Soul); but those who have the eye of wisdom perceive It.
11. The self-subjugated perceive It, dwelling in themselves; but the impure-hearted and the unintelligent, even though striving, behold It not.
12. The light which resides in the sun, in the moon, in fire, and which illumines the whole world, know that light to be Mine.
13. Entering the earth with My energy, I support all beings and I nourish all the herbs, becoming the watery moon.
14. Dwelling in the body of living beings as Fire, I, being united with Prana (ingoing breath) and Apana (outgoing breath), digest four kinds of food.
15. I am seated in the hearts of all, from Me alone comes memory, wisdom, and also their loss. I am that which is known in all the Vedas. Verily I am the Author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas am I.
16. There are two kinds of beings in the world: the perishable and the imperishable; all beings are perishable, but the Purusha (Self) is imperishable.
17. But there is another, the Highest Being, called the Supreme Self, who is the Immutable Lord, pervading the three worlds and supporting them.
18. As I am beyond the perishable and am above even the imperishable, therefore in the world and in the Veda I am known as the Supreme Being.
19. O descendant of Bharata, he who, free from delusion, thus knows Me as the Supreme Being, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole heart.
20. Thus, O sinless Bharata, has been declared by me the most profound teaching, knowing this one attains enlightenment and the fulfillment of all duties.
Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter called "The Path of the Supreme Being"
The Blessed Lord said:
1. They speak of an eternal Ashwattha (tree), rooted above and branching below, whose leaves are the Vedas. He who knows it knows the Vedas.
2. Its branches are spread below and above, nourished by the gunas; the sense-objects are its buds; its roots stretch down below in the world of men, creating actions.
3. Its form is not visible here, neither its end nor its origin, nor its basis. Having cut down this firm-rooted Ashwattha tree by the mighty sword of non-attachment.
4. Then that Goal is to be sought after, attaining which they (the wise) do not return again. I take refuge in that Primeval Being from which streams forth the Eternal (creative) Energy.
5. Free from pride and false conceit, the evil of attachment conquered, ever devoted to spiritual knowledge, desires completely pacified, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that eternal Goal.
6. That (Goal) the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor fire; going there, they (the wise) do not return. That is My Supreme Abode.
7. A portion of Myself has become the living Soul in the world of life from time without beginning. It draws the (five) senses and mind, the sixth (sense), which are in Prakriti.
8. When the Lord (Soul) obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these (senses and mind) and goes forth as the wind (goes forth), carrying away the scents from their seats (the flowers).
9. The embodied soul, presiding over the ear, eye, the sense of touch, of taste and smell, as well as over the mind, experiences sense-objects.
10. Either going forth from the body, or residing in it, or experiencing, or united with the Gunas, the deluded do not see It (the Soul); but those who have the eye of wisdom perceive It.
11. The self-subjugated perceive It, dwelling in themselves; but the impure-hearted and the unintelligent, even though striving, behold It not.
12. The light which resides in the sun, in the moon, in fire, and which illumines the whole world, know that light to be Mine.
13. Entering the earth with My energy, I support all beings and I nourish all the herbs, becoming the watery moon.
14. Dwelling in the body of living beings as Fire, I, being united with Prana (ingoing breath) and Apana (outgoing breath), digest four kinds of food.
15. I am seated in the hearts of all, from Me alone comes memory, wisdom, and also their loss. I am that which is known in all the Vedas. Verily I am the Author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas am I.
16. There are two kinds of beings in the world: the perishable and the imperishable; all beings are perishable, but the Purusha (Self) is imperishable.
17. But there is another, the Highest Being, called the Supreme Self, who is the Immutable Lord, pervading the three worlds and supporting them.
18. As I am beyond the perishable and am above even the imperishable, therefore in the world and in the Veda I am known as the Supreme Being.
19. O descendant of Bharata, he who, free from delusion, thus knows Me as the Supreme Being, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole heart.
20. Thus, O sinless Bharata, has been declared by me the most profound teaching, knowing this one attains enlightenment and the fulfillment of all duties.
Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter called "The Path of the Supreme Being"
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Text source: Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita. Translated by Swami Paramananda.
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