Chapter 15
Purushottama Yoga
The fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Purushottama Yoga". In Sanskrit, Purusha means the "All-pervading God", and Purushottam means the timeless & transcendental aspect of God. Krishna reveals that the purpose of this Transcendental knowledge of the God is to detach ourselves from the bondage of the material world and to understand Krishna as the Supreme Divine Personality, who is the eternal controller and sustainer of the world. One who understands this Ultimate Truth surrenders to Him and engages in His devotional service.
20 Verses
Verse 1
The Blessed Lord said: They (the wise) speak of the indestructible peepul tree, with its roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the meters or hymns; he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas.
Verse 2
Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the Gunas; its buds are sense-objects, and its roots stretch forth below in the world of men, originating action.
Verse 3
Its form is not perceived here as such, nor its end, origin, foundation, or resting place; having cut asunder this firmly rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment.
Verse 4
Then, that goal should be sought for, to which, having gone, none returns again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha, from whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
Verse 5
Free from pride and delusion, victorious over the evil of attachment, dwelling constantly in the Self, their desires having completely turned away, freed from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, they, the undeluded, reach the eternal goal.
Verse 6
Neither does the sun illuminate there, nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone there, they do not return; that is My supreme abode.
Verse 7
An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to itself the five senses, with the mind as the sixth, abiding in Nature.
Verse 8
When the Lord, as the individual soul, obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these with Him, just as the wind takes the scents from their seats (flowers, etc.).
Verse 9
Presiding over the ears, eyes, touch, taste, smell, and mind, it enjoys the objects of the senses.
Verse 10
The deluded do not see Him who departs, stays, and enjoys; but those who possess the eye of knowledge behold Him.
Verse 11
The yogis striving for perfection behold Him dwelling in the Self; but, the unrefined and unintelligent, even though striving, do not see Him.
Verse 12
That light which resides in the sun, illuminating the whole world; that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that light to be Mine.
Verse 13
Permeating the earth, I support all beings with My energy; and having become the watery moon, I nourish all herbs.
Verse 14
Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the bodies of living beings and, associated with the Prana and the Apana, digest the fourfold food.
Verse 15
And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily That which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
Verse 16
Two Purushas there are in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable, and the Kutastha—the unchanging—is called the imperishable.
Verse 17
But distinct is the Supreme Purusha, called the highest Self, indestructible and Lord, who pervades the three worlds and sustains them.
Verse 18
As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to be the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.
Verse 19
He who, undeluded, knows Me as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole being (heart), O Arjuna.
Verse 20
Thus, I have imparted to you this most secret science, O sinless one; by knowing this, one becomes wise, and all their duties are accomplished, O Arjuna.
