The Supreme Spirit

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Bhagavad Gita

 

XV. THE SUPREME SPIRIT (Purushotama-prapti Yoga)

 

THE BLESSED LORD SAID:

 

1. They speak of the indestructible Asvattha having its root above

and branches below, whose leaves are the metres. He who knows it

knows the Vedas.

 

2. Below and above are its branches spread, nourished by the gunas,

sense-objects its buds; and below in the world of man stretch forth

the roots ending in action.

 

3. Its form is not perceived as such here, neither its end nor its

origin nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firm-rooted

Asvattha with the strong sword of dispassion.

 

4. Then That Goal should be sought for, whither having gone none

return again. " I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed

forth the Ancient Current. "

 

5. Free from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment

conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, their desires having completely

turned away, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure

and pain, the un-deluded reach that Goal Eternal.

 

6. That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; That is My

Supreme Abode, to which having gone none return.

 

7. A ray of Myself, the eternal Jiva in the world of Jivas, attracts

the senses, with Manas the sixth, abiding in Prakriti.

 

8. When the Lord acquires a body and when He leaves it, He takes

these and goes, as the wind takes scents from their seats.

 

9. The ear, the eye and the touch, the taste and the smell, using

these and the Manas, he enjoys the sense-objects.

 

10. Him who departs, stays and enjoys, who is conjoined with gunas,

the deluded perceive not; they see, who possess the eye of knowledge.

 

11. Those who strive, endued with Yoga, perceive Him dwelling in the

self; though striving, those of unrefined self, devoid of wisdom,

perceive Him not.

 

12. That light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world,

that which is in the moon and in the fire, that light do thou know to

be Mine.

 

13. Penetrating the earth I support all beings by (My) Energy; and

having become the watery moon I nourish all herbs.

 

14. Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaisvanara, associated

with Prana and Apana, I digest the fourfold food.

 

15. And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me are memory,

knowledge, as well as their loss; it is I who am to be known by all

the Vedas, I am indeed the author of the Vedanta as well as the

knower of the Vedas.

 

16. There are these two beings in the world the perishable and the

imperishable; the perishable comprises all creatures, the immutable

is called the imperishable.

 

17. But distinct is the Highest Spirit spoken of as the Supreme Self,

the indestructible Lord who penetrates and sustains the three worlds.

 

18. Because I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the

imperishable, therefore am I known in the world and in the Veda

as 'Purushottama', the Highest Spirit.

 

19. He who, un-deluded, thus knows Me, the Highest Spirit, he,

knowing all, worships Me with his whole being, O Bharata.

 

20. Thus, this most Secret Science has been taught by Me, O sinless

one; on knowing this, (a man) becomes wise, O Bharata and all his

duties are accomplished.