Stories of the Great Bharata - A Retelling

Arc 2 - Bhagavad Gītā Parva - Chapter 20 - The Yoga of the Supreme Person (Bhagavad Gītā XV)

Puruṣottama Yoga

Vaiśampāyana said

Then the Blessed Lord, Śrī Bhagavān, desiring to reveal the essence of all the Vedas in one supreme image, spoke of the eternal cosmic tree—the Asvattha—and of the Highest Person beyond all.

The Cosmic Tree

Śrī Bhagavān said

“They speak of the eternal Asvattha tree, whose roots are above and branches below. Its leaves are the Chandas (the Vedic hymns); he who knows this tree knows the Vedas.

Downward and upward stretch its branches, nourished by the guṇas (qualities), and its tender shoots are the objects of the senses. Downward, its roots spread into the world of men, binding the soul to action.

Its form is not perceived here as such, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its support. Having cut down this firmly rooted Asvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment, one should then seek that Supreme State from which none return. Thinking thus—‘I take refuge in the Primal Sire from whom this ancient stream of existence has flowed’—he reaches that abode of immortality.”

“Rooted above, its boughs below,

The cosmic fig-tree spreads its shade;

Cut with the sword of detachment’s glow—

Seek where no returning foot is laid.”

The Qualities of Those Who Reach the Supreme

“Those who are free from pride and delusion, who have conquered the evil of attachment, who dwell constantly in the knowledge of the relation between the Supreme and the individual self, who are free from desire and the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain—undeluded, they go to that eternal seat.

That realm is not lit by sun or moon or fire. Having gone there, none return. That is My supreme abode.”

The Divine Fragment in All Beings

“An eternal portion of Myself becomes the living soul in the world of life. It draws to itself the senses and the mind as the sixth, which all depend on Nature.

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When the Lord of the body takes up a body or leaves one, He carries these senses away as the wind carries scents from their seats. Presiding over ear, eye, touch, taste, smell, and mind, He enjoys the objects of the senses.”

“Like breeze that bears the fragrance near,

The soul bears mind and senses too;

Unseen it comes, unseen it leaves—

The seer of wisdom sees it true.”

The Splendour of the Supreme

“The deluded do not perceive Him when He departs or dwells in the body or enjoys the qualities. Only those with the eye of knowledge behold Him. The striving devotees perceive Him dwelling within themselves, but the unwise, whose minds are uncontrolled, do not perceive Him even though they strive.

That splendour which dwells in the sun, illumining the universe—that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that splendour to be Mine.

Entering the earth, I sustain all beings by My power; becoming the nourishing moon, I feed all plants. Becoming the digestive fire (Vaiśvānara), I reside in the bodies of creatures, uniting with the upward and downward breaths, digesting the four kinds of food.

I am seated in the hearts of all beings. From Me come memory, knowledge, and their loss as well. I am to be known by all the Vedas; I am the author of Vedānta, and the knower of the Vedas.”

The Mutable, the Immutable, and the Supreme

“In this world there are two beings the mutable and the immutable. All creatures are mutable; the unchanging is called the immutable. But there is another, the Supreme Being, called the Paramātman—the Eternal Lord, who, pervading the three worlds, sustains them.

Since I transcend the mutable and am higher than even the immutable, therefore I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person.

He who, undeluded, knows Me thus as the Supreme Person, knowing all, worships Me in every way.

Thus, O sinless one, has this most secret teaching been declared by Me to thee. Knowing this, a man becomes truly wise, and all that needs to be done is accomplished.”

“Beyond the changing, changeless still,

Beyond the changeless stands My throne;

He who knows Me as Supreme Person—

Knows the Truth and Me alone.”

Then Vaiśampāyana said to Janamejaya

Thus did the Lord speak of the cosmic tree, of the soul as a spark of His own essence, and of the Supreme Person beyond the mutable and immutable. He who knows this mystery—cutting the bonds of attachment—reaches the imperishable seat of the Lord and is freed forever from return.

Thus ends the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā,

entitled Puruṣottama Yoga – The Yoga of the Supreme Person,

wherein Śrī Bhagavān teaches that cutting the tree of saṃsāra with the sword of detachment,

and knowing Him as the Supreme Person,

one attains the Highest Abode from which there is no return.