15.1
Lord Krishna said:
The ancients speak of the immortal Asvattha tree, whose roots reach up to the sky and whose branches reach down to earth. Its leaves are the songs of the scriptures. He who grasps the significance of this tree, knows the Vedas.
15.2
Its downward-extending branches also curve upward, nourished by the gunas. Sense-objects are the tender buds of twigs. The upward-reaching roots cascade downwards, driving man to act for his own benefit.
15.3
The form of this tree cannot be found in this world. No one knows when it arose, where it can be found, or even if it exists. But one must determine to find this tree, and cut it down with the sword of detachment.
15.4
From then on he must search in earnest for that place from which, having entered, one never returns, and there surrender to the Supreme Being, from whom all things eternally arise.
15.5
One who is free of pride and delusion, who has conquered the evil of attachment, who abides always in Self, who has had enough of desires and sense-objects, who is not subject to the tyranny of opposites, like pleasure and pain — such a liberated person will attain the Eternal Kingdom.
15.6
In this Place the sun does not shine, nor does the moon glow, Neither is this Place illumined by fire. One who attains it, does not again return to the material world. This Place is My Home.
15.7
The embodied souls of the world are fragments of Me, bound by nature, struggling with the senses and the mind.
15.8
When a soul leaves a body and enters a new one, the mind and senses go with it, just as air carries the fragrance of flowers.
15.9
The soul then continues to enjoy a certain type of hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, experienced through those senses and perceived through that mind.
15.10
The ignorant cannot feel the soul as it rests in the body, nor as it moves under the spell of the gunas, nor when it departs the body. But those with the eyes of wisdom behold it all.
15.11
The practicing yogi who is established in self-knowledge sees all this clearly. But the ignorant man with clouded mind cannot see what’s going on, no matter how hard he may try.
15.12
The brilliance of the sun that illumines the world, and the light of the moon, and the light from fire — that light is Me.
15.13
I permeate the earth and sustain all beings with my vitality. As the moon, I nourish all plants with the nectar of life.
15.14
I am the fire of digestion in all bodies. I am the incoming and outgoing breath. With fire and air I digest the four foods.
15.15
I abide in the heart of everyone. From Me comes knowledge, memory, and forgetfulness. I am That which the Vedas seek to make known. I am the author of Vedanta. I am the Knower of the meaning of the Vedas.
15.16
There are two kinds of life in Me — the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable. Self is imperishable.
15.17
I am above it all. I am the Supreme Lord of All That Is And Is Not. I pervade the three worlds and sustain them.
15.18
I am beyond the concept of perishable and imperishable. I am the primal Source and Cause celebrated in the Vedas.
15.19
He who knows Me without doubt as the Lord Absolute, wisely engages himself in full devotional service to Me.
15.20
Thus, Arjuna, I have revealed to you the most secret science. Knowing this, one achieves wisdom ,and his actions are perfect.