Chapter 15

The Supreme Person

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Gita 15.1
श्रीभगवानुवाच। ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्। छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित्॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit

"The Blessed Lord said: They speak of an imperishable ashvattha tree with roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedas. One who knows it is a knower of the Vedas."

All 20 verses of Chapter 15

  1. 15.1The Blessed Lord said: They speak of an imperishable ashvattha tree with roots above and branches below...
  2. 15.2Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the gunas, with sense objects as shoots; and below, its...
  3. 15.3Its form is not perceived here as such, nor its end, nor its origin, nor its foundation. Having cut this...
  4. 15.4Then that state must be sought, reaching which one returns not again, saying: 'I take refuge in that...
  5. 15.5Free from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, with...
  6. 15.6That the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor fire; having gone to which they return not, that is My...
  7. 15.7An eternal portion of Myself, having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to itself the senses...
  8. 15.8When the lord of the body acquires or leaves a body, it takes these along and goes, as the wind carries...
  9. 15.9Presiding over the ear, eye, touch, taste, and smell, as well as the mind, this one experiences the sense...
  10. 15.10The deluded do not see the soul when it departs or stays, or when it experiences, accompanied by the...
  11. 15.11Striving yogis also see this Self established in themselves; but the unprepared, whose minds are not...
  12. 15.12That light which resides in the sun and illumines the whole world, which is in the moon and in fire, know...
  13. 15.13Entering the earth, I sustain all beings with energy; and becoming the watery moon, I nourish all plants.
  14. 15.14Becoming the digestive fire, I dwell in the bodies of all living beings; united with the outgoing and...
  15. 15.15I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory, knowledge, and their removal. By all the Vedas I am...
  16. 15.16There are two persons in the world, the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are the perishable...
  17. 15.17But different from these is the Supreme Person, called the Supreme Self, who pervading the three worlds...
  18. 15.18Because I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world...
  19. 15.19One who, undeluded, thus knows Me as the Supreme Person, that one, knowing all, worships Me with whole...
  20. 15.20Thus this most secret teaching has been taught by Me, O sinless one. Understanding this, one becomes truly...