Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 The Yoga of the Supreme Person

Shloka 1 The Cosmic Tree of Worldly Existence śhrī bhagavān uvācha | ūrdhvamūlam adhaḥśākham aśhvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam | chhandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa vedavit || 15.1 || The Supreme Lord said: They speak of an eternal aśhvattha tree that has its roots above and its branches below. The Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree is a knower of the Vedas. → Shloka 2 Branches of the Gunas and Roots of Karma adhaśh chordhvaṁ prasṛitās tasya śhākhā guṇapravṛiddhā viṣhayapravālāḥ | adhaśh cha mūlāny anusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣhyaloke || 15.2 || Its branches spread downward and upward, nourished by the three guṇas, with the sense objects as their tender shoots. Its roots also extend downward, binding one to actions in the human world. → Shloka 3 Cutting the Tree of Worldly Existence with the Axe of Detachment na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na chādir na cha sampratiṣhṭhā | aśhvatthamenaṁ suvirūḍhamūlam asaṅgaśhastreṇa dṛiḍhena chhittvā || 15.3 || Its true form is not perceived here in this world, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut down this aśhvattha tree, whose roots are deeply grown, with the strong weapon of detachment, → Shloka 4 Seeking the Supreme Abode and Surrendering to the Primeval Being tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ | tam eva chādyaṁ puruṣhaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛittiḥ prasṛitā purāṇī || 15.4 || Then that abode must be sought, reaching which one does not return again. I take refuge in that primeval Supreme Person, from whom this ancient flow of creation has spread forth. → Shloka 5 Qualities of Those Who Reach the Imperishable Abode nirmānamohā jitasaṅgadoṣhā adhyātmanityā vinivṛittakāmāḥ | dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukhaduḥkhasaṁjñair gachchhanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat || 15.5 || Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, ever established in the Self, with desires completely ceased, and freed from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that imperishable abode. → Shloka 6 The Self-Luminous Supreme Abode na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śhaśhāṅko na pāvakaḥ | yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama || 15.6 || Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor fire illumines that. Having gone there, they do not return. That is My supreme abode. → Shloka 7 The Soul as an Eternal Fragment of the Divine mamaivāṁśho jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ | manaḥṣhaṣhṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛitisthāni karṣhati || 15.7 || An eternal fragment of Myself, having become the individual soul in the world of living beings, draws to itself the senses, with the mind as the sixth, which abide in material nature. → Shloka 8 The Soul Carries the Mind and Senses From Body to Body śharīraṁ yad avāpnoti yach chāpy utkrāmatīśhvaraḥ | gṛihītvaitāni saṁyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśhayāt || 15.8 || When the lord of the body takes on a body, and when he departs from it, he takes these along with him, as the wind carries fragrances from their source. → Shloka 9 How the Soul Experiences the World Through the Senses and Mind śhrotraṁ chakṣhuḥ sparśhanaṁ cha rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva cha | adhiṣhṭhāya manaśh chāyaṁ viṣhayān upasevate || 15.9 || Presiding over the ear, eye, skin, tongue and nose, and also the mind, he enjoys the objects of the senses. → Shloka 10 Only the Eye of Knowledge Sees the Soul utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam | vimūḍhā nānupaśhyanti paśhyanti jñānachakṣhuṣhaḥ || 15.10 || The deluded do not see him as he departs, stays, or enjoys, accompanied by the guṇas. Those who have the eye of knowledge see him. → Shloka 11 Striving Yogis See the Self; the Impure-Minded Cannot yatanto yoginaśh chainaṁ paśhyanty ātmany avasthitam | yatanto 'py akṛitātmāno nainaṁ paśhyanty achetasaḥ || 15.11 || Striving yogis see him established in the Self. But those of unpurified minds and lacking understanding, though striving, do not see him. → Shloka 12 The Divine Splendour in the Sun, Moon and Fire yad ādityagataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate 'khilam | yach chandramasi yach chāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam || 15.12 || Know that the splendour residing in the sun, which illumines the entire world, and that which is in the moon and in fire, to be Mine. → Shloka 13 The Lord Sustains Life as the Earth's Support and the Nourishing Moon gām āviśhya cha bhūtāni dhārayāmy aham ojasā | puṣhṇāmi chauṣhadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ || 15.13 || Entering the earth, I support all beings by My energy. And becoming the moon, full of nourishing juice, I nourish all plants. → Shloka 14 The Lord as the Digestive Fire Within All Living Beings ahaṁ vaiśhvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśhritaḥ | prāṇāpānasamāyuktaḥ pachāmy annaṁ chaturvidham || 15.14 || Becoming the digestive fire, I reside in the bodies of living beings, and, united with the prāṇa and apāna breaths, I digest the four kinds of food. → Shloka 15 The Lord in the Heart as Memory, Knowledge and Forgetfulness sarvasya chāhaṁ hṛidi sanniviṣhṭo mattaḥ smṛitir jñānam apohanaṁ cha | vedaiśh cha sarvair aham eva vedyo vedāntakṛid vedavid eva chāham || 15.15 || I am seated in the hearts of all. From Me come memory, knowledge and their loss. I alone am to be known through all the Vedas. I am the author of the Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas. → Shloka 16 Two Kinds of Beings: The Perishable and the Imperishable dvāv imau puruṣhau loke kṣharaśh chākṣhara eva cha | kṣharaḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho 'kṣhara uchyate || 15.16 || There are two kinds of beings in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable, and the unchanging one is called imperishable. → Shloka 17 The Supreme Person Beyond the Perishable and the Imperishable uttamaḥ puruṣhas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛitaḥ | yo lokatrayam āviśhya bibharty avyaya īśhvaraḥ || 15.17 || But distinct from these is the Supreme Person, called the Supreme Soul, the imperishable Lord who enters the three worlds and sustains them. → Shloka 18 Why the Lord Is Called Purushottama, the Supreme Person yasmāt kṣharam atīto 'ham akṣharād api chottamaḥ | ato 'smi loke vede cha prathitaḥ puruṣhottamaḥ || 15.18 || Since I am beyond the perishable and even higher than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Person. → Shloka 19 The One Who Knows the Supreme Person Worships Him Fully yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣhottamam | sa sarvavid bhajati māṁ sarvabhāvena bhārata || 15.19 || O Bharata, one who, undeluded, thus knows Me as the Supreme Person, is all-knowing and worships Me with his whole being. → Shloka 20 The Most Secret Teaching and the Fulfilment of Wisdom iti guhyatamaṁ śhāstram idam uktaṁ mayānagha | etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt kṛitakṛityaś cha bhārata || 15.20 || O sinless one, thus this most secret teaching has been spoken by Me. Understanding it, one becomes wise and has accomplished all that is to be done, O Bharata. →