Gita Satsangh Chapter 15 Verses 1 through 3

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Dandavat pranams to all on this Shri Krishna Janmashtami!!!

I have included the introduction to the English translation of this chapter from

Gita Verses from Swami Sivananda's Ebook to provide an overview in addition to

the recent posting by our dear Shri Ramji:

 

The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit

 

Summary of Fifteenth Discourse

 

This discourse is entitled " Purushottama Yoga " or the " Yoga of the Supreme

Person " . Here Lord Krishna tells us about the ultimate source of this visible

phenomenal universe from which all things have come into being, just like a

great tree with all its roots, trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and

fruits which spring forth from the earth, which itself supports the tree and in

which it is rooted. Sri Krishna declares that the Supreme Being is the source of

all existence, and refers allegorically to this universe as being like an

inverted tree whose roots are in Para Brahman, and whose spreading branches and

foliage constitute all the things and factors that go to make up this creation

of variegated phenomena. This is a very mysterious " Tree " which is very

difficult to understand, being a product of His inscrutable power of Maya; and

hence a marvellous, apparent appearance without having actual reality. One who

fully understands the nature of this Samsara-Tree goes beyond Maya. To be

attached to it is to be caught in it. The surest way of transcending this

Samsara or worldly life is by wielding the excellent weapon of dispassion and

non-attachment.

 

In verses four and five of this discourse the Lord tells us how one goes beyond

this visible Samsara and attains the supreme, imperishable status, attaining

which one does not have to return to this mortal world of pain and death.

 

Lord Krishna also describes for us the wonderful mystery of His Presence in this

universe and the supreme place He occupies in sustaining everything here. The

Lord declares that it is a part of Himself that manifests here as the individual

soul in each body. He Himself is the indwelling Oversoul beyond the self. He is

the effulgence inherent in the sun, moon and fire. He is present as the

nourishing element in the earth. He is the inner witness of all beings. He is

the supreme Knower even beyond Vedic knowledge. He is the resplendent Person who

is beyond both this perishable phenomenal creation as well as the imperishable

individual soul which is a part of His eternal essence. Thus, because He is

beyond perishable matter and superior to the imperishable soul (enveloped in

Maya), He is known in this world as well as in the Vedas as the Supreme Person.

 

 

Gita Satsangh Chapter 15 Verses 1 through 3

 

To listen to Swami Brahmanananda of the Chinmaya Mission

chanting this Chapter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn3Hro5Ib4U & feature=channel_page

 

To listen to Meena Mahadevan of KailashMusic

chanting this Chapter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9FyEwbZAOs

 

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

 

Oordhwamoolam adhahshaakham ashwattham praahuravyayam;

Cchandaamsi yasya parnaani yastam veda sa vedavit.

 

The Blessed Lord said:

1. They (the wise) speak of the indestructible peepul tree, having its root

above and branches below, whose leaves are the metres or hymns; he who knows it

is a knower of the Vedas.

 

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

CHAPTER 15: THE SUPREME PERSON

 

'Since the result of actions of those who perform their rites and duties and the

result of those who tread the path of Knowledge are at My disposal, therefore

those who worship Me through the Yoga of Devotion, they, having transcended the

qualities through the stages leading to Illumination, attain Liberation by My

grace.' It goes without saying that those who fully know the reality of the

Self itself attain it (Liberation). Hence, though not asked by Arjuna, the Lord

said, 'With roots above,' etc., with the intention of speaking about the reality

of the Self.

 

Now then, for the sake of arousing dispassion He first describes the real nature

of the world through the imagery of a tree; because the competence for the

knowledge of the nature of God is only his who has become detached from the

world; not of any other. Hence,-

 

The Blessed Lord said:

 

1. They say that the peepul Tree, which has its roots upward and the branches

downward, and of which the Vedas are the leaves, is imperishable. He who

realizes it is knower of the Vedas.

 

Urdhva-mulam, that which has its roots upwards:- Brahman, possessed of the

unmanifest power in the form of Maya, is referred to by the word 'upward'

because of Its subtleness in point of time by virtue of Its being the Cause,

and also because of Its eternality and vastness; and That is the root (mulam) of

this world. The Tree of the World which is such, is urdhva-mulam. This accords

with the Upanisadic text, 'This has its roots above and branches below' (Ka.

2.6.1). In the Purana also we have:

 

It sprouts from the Root in the form of the Unmanifest; it grows through the

sturdiness of that very One. And it has abundance of intelligence as its trunk,

and the appertures of the organs as the hollows.

 

The great elements are its boughs [A.G. takes the word visakha (boughs) in the

sense of stambha, perhaps meaning the aerial roots.-Tr.]; so also, it has the

objects of perception as its leaves. It has virtue and vice as its beautiful

flowers, and happiness and sorrow are the fruits it bears.

 

This eternal Tree presided over by Brahman is a means of livelihood to all

creatures. And this verily is the resort of Brahman [Or, etat brahma-vanam

means: This Tree has Brahman as its object of adoration, its support. For, the

world has nothing but Brahman as its support.] In it Brahman dwells for ever.

 

Having felled and split this Tree with the great sword of Knowledge, and then

attaining the bliss of the Self, one does not return from that (bliss).' (Cf.

Mbh. As. 47.12-15.)

 

That Tree which has its roots upwards and is constituted by the enchantment of

mundane existence, and adhah-sakham, which has the branches downwards-mahat,

[see under 7.4.-Tr.] egoism, subtle elements, etc. are its branches (sakhah), as

it were, extending downwards (adhah); so, it has its branches downwards-; that

Tree with its branches downwards, which does not (a) last (stha) even for the

morrow (svah), is asvatthah (lit. Peepul tree). Ahuh, they say; that the

asvatthah, Peepul Tree, undergoing destruction every moment; is avyayam,

imperishable, and constituted by the enchantments of mundane existence. Having

been in existence from time without beginning, that Tree of the World is

imperishable. It is, indeed, well known as the sustainer of the beginningless

and ceaseless series of bodies etc. They call that the imperishable.

 

Of that very Tree of the World here is another qualification: Yasya, that Tree

of the World of which; chandamsi-chandas being derived in the sense of covering

(protecting)-, the Vedas in the form of Rk, Yajus and Sama; are the parnani,

leaves, as it were. As leaves serve as protectors of a tree, so the Vedas

serve as the protectors of the world; for they reveal what are virtue and vice

as also their causes and results.

 

Yah, he who; veda, knows; tam, that-the Tree of the World along with its root,

as has been explained; sah, he; is a vedavit, knower of the Vedas, i.e. versed

in the meaning of the Vedas.

 

Since, apart from this Tree of the World along with its root, not even an iota

of any other thing remains to be known, therefore he who knows the purport of

the Vedas is omniscient. In this way the Lord eulogizes the knowledge of the

Tree together with its root.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

The Blessed Lord said: 1. They (wise people) speak of the indestructible

ASHWATTHA tree as having its roots above and branches below, whose leaves are

the VEDAS ; he who knows it, is alone a Veda-knower.

 

Reminiscent of the casual picture of the " Peepal-tree " brought up in the

Kathopanishad (VI-1), here Vyasa exhaustively paints the Tree-of-life and shows

its relationship with the Infinite. If the Spirit be one-without-a-second, out

of this one Consciousness how did the world-of-matter --- constituted of the

body and its perceptions, the mind and its feelings, the intellect and its

thoughts --- arise? Even if it has so risen up, what nourishes it and sustains

it? What exactly is the relationship between God, the CREATOR, and the world,

the CREATED --- the Infinite and the finite? These are some of the questions

that generally rise up in any human intellect, once it is set to contemplate

upon life.

 

The picture of the " Peepal-tree " unveiled in these three stanzas serves as a

beautiful allegory of the entire spiritual concept expounded in this chapter.

 

Ashwattha is botanically known as Ficus Religiosa, popularly called the

Peepal-tree, which, according to some, has gathered its name " because horses

used to stand under its shade (Ashwattha). " According to Shankara, this tree has

been chosen to represent the entire cosmos because of its derivative meaning ---

Shwa means " tomorrow " ; Stha means " that which remains " ; therefore: A-shwattha:

" that which will NOT remain the same till tomorrow. " In short, the word

indicates the ephemeral, the ever-changing, world of the phenomena.

 

It is described here that the Ashwattha-tree has its roots " up " (Urdhwa).

Accepting directly the literal meaning, we have got some spiritually absurd,

religiously mischievous, and aesthetically ugly 'pictures' of this

Tree-of-Samsara, painted by some illiterate artists, and made easily available

in the Indian markets. It is an insult to the mighty majesty of this scriptural

picture.

 

According to Anandagiri, Samsara is represented as a tree (Vriksha) because of

the etymological meaning of the Sanskrit term, Vriksha: " that which can be cut

down. " The experiences of change and sorrow which the world-of-plurality gives

us can be totally ended through detachment. The Tree-of-Multiplicity that has

seemingly sprung forth from the Infinite Consciousness Divine, can be cut down

by shifting our attention from the tree to the Divine.

 

Luckily, we who are educated in modern universities, have a similar use of the

term " tree " in our history text-books. The 'family trees' of kings and dynasties

are, without any exception, shown as branching down from their ancestral

'source.' Similarly, the Tree-of-Samsara has its roots UP in the Divine

Consciousness. A tree holds itself up and gets nourished by its roots;

similarly, the " experiences " of change, and the " experiencer " of them, are all

established in the Infinite and draw their sustenance from It alone.

 

" Even then, " many of our friends doubt, " why is the word 'UP' (Urdhwa) used? " It

is used here in the same connotation as we use the term 'up' in our every- day

expressions, like 'HIGH-command': 'HIGHER-officials': 'TOP-men': 'UPPER-class':

'HIGH-class jewellery' etc. In all these cases, by the term HIGH or UP or TOP,

no geometrical elevation is indicated, but it indicates a superiority, a greater

nobility, or value. Psychologically, it is natural for man to concede, for the

subtler and the diviner, a HIGHER place of reverence and to consider the grosser

and the devilish as belonging to a LOWER status. The Perfect is the Highest

Consciousness, illumined and vitalised by which alone can the

body-mind-intellect equipment experience its world of

" perception-emotion-thought. " Naturally, therefore, the world-of-plurality is

allegorically pictured here as the fig-tree --- arising from and sustained by

the Higher Consciousness, the Reality.

 

This world-of-change (Ashwattha) is considered here as eternal (Avyaya), only in

a relative sense. Any peepal-tree in any village must have observed many

generations playing and growing up under its shade, and thus, with reference to

man's average age, the fig-tree can be considered as RELATIVELY eternal.

Similarly, with reference to the generations that grow, conceive, plan, strive,

achieve and die away, the world itself can be considered as RELATIVELY immortal.

 

For this tree-of-life " THE VEDAS THEMSELVES ARE THE LEAVES " --- Veda means

'knowledge.' Knowledge does bring forth a greater spurt of dynamism of life into

the world. In comparison with the modern world --- with its colossal endeavours,

mighty achievements, and superhuman aspirations --- the ancient generations

were, relatively speaking, not even alive. More the knowledge a generation

acquires, clearer becomes its vision of a greater future and diviner

possibilities, and therefore, more is the amount of effort put forth by it to

achieve the perceived goal. Now to compare Veda-'knowledge,' to the leaves of

the " Tree " is not quite inappropriate. Leaves are areas from which the water

contents get evaporated in all trees, and this, in its turn, creates the

'osmotic-pressure' in the roots and facilitates the roots to draw more quantity

of nourishment from the earth. Cut down the leaves of a tree and its growth is

immediately stunted; the larger the number of branches and leaves, the greater

is the tree's dimension and growth. Where there is greater knowledge, there we

are sure to find a greater flare of manifest-life.

 

HE WHO KNOWS IT, IS A KNOWER OF THE VEDA --- He alone, who has realised not only

the Ashwattha-tree, but also the Higher, from which it derives its existence, is

the one who has fulfilled his knowledge of the Vedas. The Vedas indicate the One

Eternal Principle from which all the realms of experience have sprung. Neither

pure science, nor mere devotion, can achieve the Truth of perfect knowledge, is

the conclusion of the Geeta. Knowledge is perfect only when we know of the here

and the hereafter, of the finite and the Infinite, of the created and the

Creator. All the rest of the pursuits of knowledge, however spectacular they

might be, are, at best, only one-sided views of the whole Truth. The

Man-of-Perfect-'Wisdom,' as conceived by the Vedas, is the knower of both the

PERISHABLE and the IMPERISHABLE; and such a man alone is recognised by Krishna

as the Vedavit --- knower of the Vedas.

 

NOW FOLLOWS ANOTHER FIGURATIVE RE-PRESENTATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS TREE OF

SAMSARA:

 

Adhashchordhwam prasritaastasya shaakhaah

Gunapravriddhaa vishayapravaalaah;

Adhashcha moolaanyanusantataani

Karmaanubandheeni manushyaloke.

2. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects

are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots, originating

action.

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

An imagery of the other parts of that very Tree of the World is being presented:

 

2. The branches of that (Tree), extending down-wards and upwards, are

strengthened by the qualities and have sense-objects as their shoots. And the

roots, which are followed by actions, spread down-wards in the human world

[According to A.G. and M.S. manusya-loke means a body distinguished by

Brahminhood etc.].

 

Sakhah, the branches, as it were; tasya, of that Tree; prasrtah, extending;

adhah, downwards, from the human beings to the immobile (trees etc.); ca, and;

urdhvam, upwards, upto Brahma-beginning from the Creator of the Cusmos to Dharma

(Death) [According to A.G. 'human beings' stands for the world of human beings,

and 'Brahma ' for the 'world of Brahma' (Satva-loka). So Dharma may mean the

'world of Death' (pitr-loka).-Tr.], which, 'in accordance with their work and

in conformity with their knowledge' (Ka. 2.2.7), are the results of knowledge

and actions; are guna-pravrddhah, strengthened, made stout, by the qualities

sattva, rajas and tamas, which are their materials; and visaya-pravalah, have

the sense-objects as their shoots. The sense-objects (sound etc.) sprout, as it

were, like new leaves from the branches (bodies etc.) which are the results of

actions. Thereby the branches are said to have sense-objects as their shoots.

 

The supreme Root, the material cause of the Tree of the World, has been stated

earlier. And now, the latent impressions of attraction, repulsion, etc. born of

the results of action are the subsidiary roots, as it were, which grow later on

and become the cause of involvement in righteousness and and unrighteousness.

And those mulani, roots; karma-anubandhini, which are followed by actions;

anu-santatani, spread, enter; adhah, downwards, as compared with the world of

gods; manusya-loke, into the world of human beings particularly-for it is well

known that (only) here men have competence for rites and duties. They (these

roots) are said to be karma-anubandhini since actions (karma) that are

characterized as righteous and unrighteous follow as their product (anubandha),

(i.e.) succeed the rise of those (attraction, repulsion, etc.).

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

 

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

sense-objects are its buds; and below, in the world of men, stretch forth the

roots, originating in action.

Continuing to paint the picture of the Tree-of-Samsara, we have here the etching

in more details. Such mystical representations should not be taken too

literally, whether in literature or in art. The very style of the Vedas is

couched in mysticism. Taking any convenient object of the world and describing

it in such a poetic style so as to express some of the subtler philosophical

truths and thereby to convey some deeper religious message, is called mysticism.

 

Describing the Tree-of-life and adding more details to it, Vyasa says: " UPWARDS

AND DOWNWARDS ITS BRANCHES SPREAD " --- the flow of life in the individual, as

well as in the world, is sometimes towards the higher evolutionary purposes, but

more often it tends to cater to the lower animal nature. These two tendencies

are significant here when it is said that the branches of the Tree-of-life grow

both " upwards and downwards. "

 

PATTERNED BY THE GUNAS --- These urges for living the higher and the lower

values are maintained and nourished by the particular type of psychological

tendencies gunas available in the individual. In an earlier chapter (XIV) the

play of the gunas (moods of the mind) has been exhaustively discussed.

 

In any tree there are nodular buds which are potential branches that have not

yet developed, but are waiting for a chance to burst forth. Corresponding to

them, Krishna says, in the Ashwattha-tree, are the sense-objects, the 'buds.' It

is a fact that in the presence of an 'object' our tendencies revolt against all

our higher concepts and ideals, and run amuck to gain their gratification: a new

" branch. "

 

DOWNWARD THE ROOTS EXTEND --- If the main root of the Tree-of-Samsara is lost in

the Absolute Reality, High above, the " secondary roots " which spring from it are

spread all around, and grow even downward, " IN THE WORLD OF MAN, INITIATING ALL

ACTIONS. " Here, secondary roots are thought-channels (vasanas), which are

created in us, and which propel each one of us towards his own typical actions

and reactions in the world. They are the very causes that promote man's evil as

well as meritorious activities in the world. Just as the main tap-root, while

spreading its secondary roots, claws the earth through them and gets the plant

well-rooted, so too, these Samskaras, actions and their reactions, both good and

evil, bind the individuals fast to the earthy plane of likes and dislikes, of

profits and losses, of earning and spending.

 

THE FOLLOWING TWO STANZAS INDICATE HOW WE CAN ANNIHILATE THE TREE AND THEREBY

COME TO EXPERIENCE THE PURE SOURCE OF ALL LIFE'S MANIFESTATIONS, THE INFINITE

LIFE:

 

Na roopamasyeha tathopalabhyate

Naanto na chaadirna cha sampratishthaa;

Ashwatthamenam suviroodhamoolam

Asangashastrena dridhena cchittwaa.

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

its foundation nor resting place; having cut asunder this firmly-rooted peepul

tree with the strong axe of non-attachment,

 

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

3. Its form is not perceived here in that way; nor its end, nor beginning, nor

continuance, After felling this Peepul whose roots are well developed, with the

strong sword of detachment-;

 

But, asya, its-of this Tree of the World which has been described; rupam, form,

as it has been presented; na, is not at all; upalabhyate, perceived; iha, here;

tatha, in that way. For, being like a dream, water in a mirage, jugglery, an

imaginary city seen in the sky, it is by nature destroyed no sooner than it is

seen. Therefore, na, there exists neither; its antah, end, limit, termination;

so also, neither; its beginning. It is not comprehended by anyone that it comes

into existence beginning from any definite point. Its sampratistha,

continuance, the middle state, too, is not perceived by anyone.

 

Chittva, after felling, uprooting, together with its seeds; enam, this, above

described; asvattham, Peepul, the Tree of the World; suvirudha-mulam, whose

roots (mula) are well (su) developed (virudham); drdhena, with the

strong-hardened by a resolute mind directed towards the supreme Self, and

sharpened on the stone of repeated practice of discrimination; asanga-sastrena,

sword of detachment-detachment means turning away from the desire for progeny,

wealth and the worlds; with that sword of detachment-.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

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

its foundation, nor its resting-place; having cut asunder this firm-rooted

ASHWATTHA -tree with the strong axe of non-attachment. [There is no additional

commentary to this verse by Swami Chinmayanandaji]

 

 

to be continued...

 

 

 

 

Hare Krishna!!!