Chapter 15: Puruṣhottam Yog

The Yog of the Supreme Divine Personality

In the previous chapter, Shree Krishna explained that by transcending the three
modes of material nature one attains the divine goal. He also revealed that the
best means for going beyond the guṇas is to engage in exclusive devotion. To
engage in such devotion, we must detach the mind from the world and attach it to
God alone. Thus, it is necessary to understand the nature of the world. In this
chapter, Shree Krishna explains this material world in a graphic manner, to help
Arjun develop detachment from it. He compares the material world to an upside
down aśhvatth tree (sacred fig). The embodied soul wanders up and down the
branches of the tree, from lifetime to lifetime, without comprehending from where
it originated, how long it has existed, and how it keeps growing. The roots of the
tree are above, as it has its source in God. The fruitive activities described in
the Vedas are like its leaves. The tree is irrigated by the three modes of
material nature. These modes create sense objects that are like the buds on the
tree. The buds sprout aerial roots that engender further growth of the tree. The
chapter describes this symbolism in detail, to convey the idea of how the embodied
soul suffering in this material world only keeps perpetuating its bondage here, in
ignorance of the nature of this tree of material existence. Shree Krishna explains
that the axe of detachment must be used to cut down the tree. Then, we must search
for the base of the tree, which is the Supreme Lord Himself. Finding the source,
we must surrender to Him in the manner described in this chapter, and then will
attain the divine Abode of God, from where we will not return to the material world
again.

Shree Krishna then describes how the souls in this world are divine, being His
eternal fragmental parts. But bound by material nature, they are struggling with
the six senses including the mind. He explains how the embodied soul, though
divine, savors the material objects of the senses. He also describes how the soul
transmigrates to a new body at the time of death, carrying with it the mind and
senses from the present life. The ignorant neither realize the presence of the
soul in the body, nor when it departs from it upon death. But yogis perceive it
with the eyes of knowledge and by the purity of their mind. In the same way, God
is also present in His creation, but He needs to be perceived with the eyes of
knowledge. Shree Krishna reveals how we can cognize the existence of God in this
world through His glories that shine forth everywhere. The chapter ends with
explanations of the terms: kṣhar, akṣhar, and Puruṣhottam. Kṣhar are the
perishable beings of the material realm. Akṣhar are the liberated beings in the
Abode of God. Puruṣhottam is the Supreme Divine Personality, who is the unchanging
controller and sustainer of the world. He is transcendental to both the perishable
and imperishable beings. He must be worshipped with all our being.

Bhagavad Gita 15.1

The Supreme Divine Personality said: They speak of an eternal aśhvatth tree with
its roots above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns, and one who
knows the secret of this tree is the knower of the Vedas.

Bhagavad Gita 15.2

The branches of the tree extend upward and downward, nourished by the three guṇas,
with the objects of the senses as tender buds. The roots of the tree hang downward,
causing the flow of karma in the human form. Below, its roots branch out causing
(karmic) actions in the world of humans.

Bhagavad Gita 15.3 – 15.4

The real form of this tree is not perceived in this world, neither its beginning
nor end, nor its continued existence. But this deep-rooted aśhvatth tree must be
cut down with a strong axe of detachment. Then one must search out the base of the
tree, which is the Supreme Lord, from whom streamed forth the activity of the
universe a long time ago. Upon taking refuge in Him, one will not return to this
world again.

Bhagavad Gita 15.5

Those who are free from vanity and delusion, who have overcome the evil of
attachment, who dwell constantly in the self and God, who are freed from the desire
to enjoy the senses, and are beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, such
liberated personalities attain My eternal Abode.

Bhagavad Gita 15.6

Neither the sun nor the moon, nor fire can illumine that Supreme Abode of Mine.
Having gone There, one does not return to this material world again.

Bhagavad Gita 15.7

The embodied souls in this material world are My eternal fragmental parts. But
bound by material nature, they are struggling with the six senses including the
mind.

Bhagavad Gita 15.8

As the air carries fragrance from place to place, so does the embodied soul carry
the mind and senses with it, when it leaves an old body and enters a new one.

Bhagavad Gita 15.9

Using the sense perceptions of the ears, eyes, skin, tongue, and nose, which are
grouped around the mind, the embodied soul savors the objects of the senses.

Bhagavad Gita 15.10

The ignorant do not perceive the soul as it resides in the body, and as it enjoys
sense objects; nor do they perceive it when it departs. But those who possess the
eyes of knowledge can behold it.

Bhagavad Gita 15.11

Striving yogis too are able to realize the soul enshrined in the body. However,
those whose minds are not purified cannot cognize it, even though they strive to do
so.

Bhagavad Gita 15.12

Know that I am like the brilliance of the sun that illuminates the entire solar
system. The radiance of the moon and the brightness of the fire also come from Me.

Bhagavad Gita 15.13

Permeating the earth, I nourish all living beings with My energy. Becoming the
moon, I nourish all plants with the juice of life.

Bhagavad Gita 15.14

It is I who take the form of the fire of digestion in the stomachs of all living
beings, and combine with the incoming and outgoing breaths, to digest and
assimilate the four kinds of foods.

Bhagavad Gita 15.15

I am seated in the hearts of all living beings, and from Me come memory, knowledge,
as well as forgetfulness. I alone am to be known by all the Vedas, am the author of
the Vedānt, and the knower of the meaning of the Vedas.

Bhagavad Gita 15.16

There are two kinds of beings in creation, the kṣhar (perishable) and the akṣhar
(imperishable). The perishable are all beings in the material realm. The
imperishable are the the liberated beings.
Bhagavad Gita 15.17
Besides these, is the Supreme Divine Personality, who is the indestructible Supreme
Soul. He enters the three worlds as the unchanging controller and supports all
living beings.

Bhagavad Gita 15.18

I am transcendental to the perishable world of matter, and even to the imperishable
soul; hence I am celebrated, both in the Vedas and the Smṛitis, as the Supreme
Divine Personality.

Bhagavad Gita 15.19

Those who know Me without doubt as the Supreme Divine Personality truly have
complete knowledge. O Arjun, they worship Me with their whole being.

Bhagavad Gita 15.20 View commentary »

I have shared this most secret principle of the Vedic scriptures with you, O
sinless Arjun. By understanding this, a person becomes enlightened, and fulfills
all that is to be accomplished.