13.32 अनादित्वात् being without beginning? निर्गुणत्वात् being devoid of alities? परमात्मा the Supreme Self? अयम् this? अव्ययः imperishable? शरीरस्थः dwelling in this body? अपि though? कौन्तेय O son of Kunti (Arjuna)? न not करोति acts? न not? लिप्यते is tainted.Commentary The Supreme Self is beyond Nature. Therefore It is without alities. It is Nirguna. The activity in Nature is really due to its own alities which inhere in it. The Supreme Self existed before the body came into being and will continue to be after its dissolution. It is eternally the same and imperishable.Avyaya That which is free from the changes of birth and death or appearance and destruction. That which has a beginning has birth. After the object is born it is subject to the changes of being (growth? decay? etc.). As the Self is birthless? It is free from the changes of state (existence? birth? growth? change? decay and death). As the Self is free from all sorts of functions? It is Avyaya. Even if the reflection of the sun in the water moves? the sun does not move a bit. Even so the Supreme Self is not touched by the fruits of action as It is not the doer? as It is without the alities of Nature? or limbs? indivisible? devoid of parts? without action? beginningless and unattached and causeless.This Supreme Self is free from the three kinds of differences? viz.? Sajatiyabheda? Vijatiyabheda and Svagatabheda. A mango tree is different from a fig tree. This is Sajatiyabheda. A mango tree is different from a stone. This is Vijatiyabheda. In the same mango tree there is difference between leaves? flowers and fruits. This is Svagatabheda. But the Supreme Self is one without a second. There is no other Brahman Which is eal to It. Therefore? there cannot be Sajatiyabheda in Brahman. This world is a mere appearance. It is a mere figment of our imagination. It is superimposed on the Absolute on account of ignorance. An imaginary object has no independent existence apart from its substratum? just as the snake in the rope has no independent existence apart from its substratum? the rope. Therefore? there cannot be Vijatiyabheda in Brahman. Brahman is indivisible? partless? without alities? without form and without any limbs. Therefore there cannot be Svagatabheda in Brahman.Brahman or the Supreme Self is beginningless. It is without a cause. It is selfexistent. It is without parts. It is without alities. Therefore Brahman is imperishable. As It is unattached? It is neither the doer nor the enjoyer. If Brahman also is the doer and enjoyer. It is no longer Brahman. It is in no way better than ourselves. This cannot be. Agency and enjoyment are attributed to the ego on account of ignorance. It is Nature that acts. (Cf.V.14XV.9)


13.33 यथा as? सर्वगतम् the allpervading? सौक्ष्म्यात् because of its subtlety? आकाशम् ether? न not? उपलिप्यते is tainted? सर्वत्र everywhere? अवस्थितः seated? देहे in the body? तथा so? आत्मा the Self? न not? उपलिप्यते is tainted.Commentary Ether pervades everything. All are immersed in it. There is no point whereunto ether does not penetrate and pervade and yet it is not tainted by anything. Even so the Self pervades the whole body and the whole world. Being subtler than the body the Self is never tainted by it or anything else. It is unattached and actionless. It has no parts or limbs. So virtuous and vicious actions cannot contaminate the Self. It is ever pure and stainless.


13.34 यथा as? प्रकाशयति illumines? एकः one? कृत्स्नम् the whole? लोकम् world? इमम् this? रविः sun? क्षेत्रम् the field? क्षेत्री the Lord of the field (Paramatma)? तथा so? कृत्स्नम् the whole? प्रकाशयति illumines? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary The Supreme Self is one. It illumines the whole matter from the Unmanifested down to the blade of grass or a lump of clay? from the great elements down to firmness or fortitude. (Cf. verses 5 and 6.) Just as the sun is one? just as the sun illumines the whole world? just as the sun is not tainted? so also the Self is One in all bodies? It illumines all the bodies and It is not contaminated.


13.35 क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोः between the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna? एवम् thus? अन्तरम् distinction? ज्ञानचक्षुषा by the eye of knowledge? भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षम् the liberation from the Prakriti of being? च and? ये who? विदुः know? यान्ति go? ते they? परम् the Supreme.Commentary They who know through the eye of intuition opened by meditation and the instructions of the spiritual preceptor and the scriptures? that the field is insentient? the doer? changing and finite? and that the knower of the field (the Self) is pure consciousness? the nondoer? unchanging and infinite? and who also perceive the nonexistence of Nature? ignorance? the Unmanifested? the material cause of being -- they attain the Supreme. Through the attainment of Selfrealisation or knowledge of the Self? they are entirely liberated from the clutches or the influence of Maya (delusion) and ignorance. They do not assume any more bodies. They are not born again. They attain Kaivalya Moksha.In accordance with the doctrine of the Sankhyas? bondage and freedom do not pertain to the Self because It is always unattached and it is the nondoer and nonenjoyer and also without limbs or parts. But on account of Its union with Nature? It assumes agency through superimposition. When ignorance is annihilated through the knowledge of the Self? Nature which is conjoined with the Self is liberated. Then She gives up Her play or dance in front of the Spirit. She has discharged all Her duties well for the sake of the enjoyment and the release (Bhoga and Apavarga) of the Purusha (Spirit). Therefore the Sankhyas declare that bondage and freedom are states of Nature only. Some interpret that the Self is emancipated from the shackles of Nature and Her modifications.(This chapter is known by the name PrakritiPurushaVibhagaYoga also.)Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the thirteenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Distinction BetweenThe Field and the Knower of the Field. ,


14.1 परम् supreme? भूयः again? प्रवक्ष्यामि (I) will declare? ज्ञानानाम् of all knowledge? ज्ञानम् knowledge? उत्तमम् the best? यत् which? ज्ञात्वा having known? मुनयः the sages? सर्वे all? पराम् supreme? सिद्धिम् to perfection? इतः after this life? गताः gone.Commentary Further analysis of the field is made in this chapter.In chapter XIII? verse 21? it has been stated that attachment to the alities is the cause of Samsara or births in good and evil wombs. In this chapter the Lord gives answers to the estions What are the alities of Nature (Gunas) How do they bind a man What are the characteristics of these alities How do they operate How can one obtain freedom from them What are the characteristics of a liberated soulAll knowledge has no reference to the knowledge described in chapter XIII? verse 7 to 10? but it refers to that kind of knowledge which concerns sacrifices. That kind of knowledge which relates to sacrifices cannot give liberation. But the knowledge which is going to be imparted in this discourse will certainly lead to emancipation. The Lord eulogises this knowledge by the epithets supreme and the best in order to create great interest in Arjuna and other spiritual aspirants.Having learnt this supreme knowledge? all the sages who practised Manana or reflection (Munis) have attained perfection after being freed from bondage to the body.Itah After this life after being freed from this bondage to the body.


14.2 इदम् this? ज्ञानम् knowledge? उपाश्रित्य having taken refuge in? मम My? साधर्म्यम् unity? आगताः have attained to? सर्गे at the time of creation? अपि also? न not? उपजायन्ते are born? प्रलये at the time of dissolution? न not? व्यथन्ति are (they) disturbed? च and.Commentary Having resorted to this knowledge they (the sages) are assimilated into My own nature. They have attained to My Being. They have become identical with Me. They live in Me with no thought of thou or I. They go beyond birth and death. There is no birth for them when creation begins and there is no death for them at the time of dissolution. Having reached Me they attain eternity? immortality and perfection. Having become identical with Me through the attainment of the knowledge of the Self by practising the necessary means? they are neither born at the time of creation nor are they disited at the time of dissolution. Knowledge of the Self is eulogised by the Lord in this verse.


14.3 मम My? योनिः womb? महत् the great? ब्रह्म Brahma? तस्मिन् in that? गर्भम् germ? दधामि bears? अहम I? संभवः the birth? सर्वभूतानाम् of all beings? ततः thence? भवति is? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary My womb is the great Nature. The cosmos is evolved out of His Nature. Nature is called the great Brahma for She is the resting place of the five subtle elements and also the Mahat (cosmic mind). She is callled the great Brahma? because through Her the whole manifestation takes place.All changes arise out of this great Nature. So She has got the name Mulaprakriti or Primordial Nature or the original principle. From the point of view of the Unmanifest She is called Avyakta. The Vedantins call Her Maya (illusion). The Sankhyas call Her Prakriti.This Prakriti is called great because She is greater than all Her effects. This Nature? made of the three alities? is the material cause of all beings. As She is the source or cause of all Her,modifications and also nourishes all the modifications with Her energy? She is called Brahma.I place in it (the Mahabrahma) the embryo of life then all beings begin to come to life therefrom. In the great Brahma or Nature I place the germ or the seed for the birth of Hiranyagarbha and the seed gives birth to all beings. The birth of Hiranyagarbha or Brahma (the Creator) gives rise to the birth of beings. The Primordial Nature is like the clay. She cannot create the forms Herself. She gives birth to Brahma Who creates all beings just as the potter creates various forms from the clay. I am endowed with the two Saktis? viz.? the superior and the inferior Natures (Cf. VII. 4 and 5)? the field and its knower. I unite these two (the Spirit and the matter). The individual soul comes under the influence of the limiting adjuncts? viz.? ignorance? desire and action. On account of ignorance (Avidya)? the individual soul forgets his original divine nature? gets himself entangled in the meshes of desire (Kama) and action (Karma)? and revolves in the wheel of birth and death. The individual soul turns towards ignorance without knowing his own true divine nature. The Jiva (individual soul) being overpowered by ignorance and the modifications? forgets its pristine purity and moves in various forms.The Primordial Nature or the Unmanifested is a dark matrix with infinite potentialities. It is not a substance. Sound and energy are in an undifferentiated state in It. The whole world gets involved into It during the cosmic dissolution. There is no relationship of substance or ality between It and the three Gunas. The alities are the Mulaprakriti and the latter is the former in a state of poise or eilibrium. This manifested world of the three alities is compared to a twisted rope of three colours? viz.? white? red and black. Each colour represents a Guna. Sattvic is white? Rajas is red and Tamas is black. The three are not in a state of eilibrium in the manifested world.Water and the seed coming in contact with the earth produce sprouts which grow into trees. In the womb of Nature? the seed develops into the eightfold elements -- earth? water? fire? air? ether? mind? intellect and egoism. The first fruit of the contact of Nature with the soul is the MahatTattva or intellect. From intellect mind is born from mind egoism from egoism? the five elements.There are four classes of beings? viz.? Jarayuja? Andaja? Svedaja and Udbhijja. The Jarayuja is born of the placenta (viviparous). Human beings? cows? elephants? horses? etc.? belong to this class. In this variety the five senses of knowledge exist. The Andaja is born of eggs (oviparous). In this variety the elements of wind and ether predominate. Lice come under the category of Svedaja they are born of sweat. In this variety fire and water predominate. Trees that are born of seeds are classified under the head Udbhijja in this variety earth and water predominate. (Cf.VII.6IX.17XV.7)


14.4 सर्वयोनिषु in all the wombs? कौन्तेय O son of Kunti (Arjuna)? मूर्तयः forms? सम्भवन्ति are produced? याः which? तासाम् their? ब्रह्म Brahma? महत् great? योनिः womb? अहम् I? बीजप्रदः seedgiving? पिता father.Commentary I am the father The Primordial Nature is the mother. The whole manifested world is the child Nature has produced in its association with me. Therefore I am called the father of this world.Wombs Such as the gods? the manes? men? cattle? beasts? birds? etc.Forms Bodies consisting of parts? limbs? organs? etc.


14.5 सत्त्वम् purity? रजः passion? तमः inertia? इति these? गुणाः alities? प्रकृतिसंभवाः born of Prakriti? निबध्नन्ति bind? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? देहे in the body? देहिनम् the embodied? अव्ययम् the,indestructible.Commentary Sattva is the best. Rajas comes next. Tamas is the lowest and the worst. The three alities indicate the triple mentality. They produce attachment in the individual souls? delude them and bind them down? as it were? to Samsara. Just as the three conditions of childhood? youth and old age are found in the same body? so also the three alities inhere in the mind. The soul gets limited by identifying itself with body and the three alities. It is subject to birth and death and experiences happiness and misery? pleasure and pain? joy and sorrow till it realises its identity with the supreme Self.The word Guna is usually translated as ality. It does not signify property? attribute or ality? such as the blue colour of a cloth. Gunas are really the primary constitutents of Nature and are the basis of all substances. Therefore it is not proper to call them alities inhering in substances.If you want to attain freedom or perfection? if you wish to become immortal? you must rise above the modes of Nature. You must transcend the Gunas.If the water in the vessel is agitated? the reflected sun in the water also appears to be agitated through Pratibimba Adhyasa (superimposition of reflection on water). Even so the pure unchanging Self appears to be bound by the alities of Nature through superimposition. In reality the Self is ever free and untainted. It is beyond them.The Gunas which are only forms of ignorance are ever dependent on the knower of the field. They bind? fast? as it were? the knower of the field. They have him as the basis of their existence.A knowledge of the Gunas and their operation is very necessary. Only if you have this knowledge can you free yourself from their clutches.Mahabaho Mightyarmed with strong and sinewy arms reaching down to the kness. This is a very auspicious sign. Yogis and sages have such beautiful arms.These three Gunas are present in all human beings. No one is free from the operation of any one of the three alities of Nature. They are not constant. Sometimes Sattva predominates at other times Rajas or Tamas predominates.Sattva has the characteristic of effulgence. It is also harmony and goodness or purity. Rajas is passion or activity. Tamas is inertia or darkness.Analyse all phenomena in terms of these three. Know their characteristics. Stand as a witness of these alities. Do not identify yourself with them. Separate yourself from them. Become a Gunatita. You will attain Supreme Peace? immortality and eternal bliss. (Cf.XIII.22)


14.6 तत्र of these? सत्त्वम् purity? निर्मलत्वात् from its stainlessness? प्रकाशकम् luminous? अनामयम् healthy? सुखसङ्गेन by attachment to happiness? बध्नाति binds? ज्ञानसङ्गेन by attachment to knowledge? च and? अनग O sinless one.Commentary Sattva is stainless like the crystal. It lays for one the trap of happiness and knowledge. It is a golden fetter. A Sattvic man compares himself with others and rejoices in his excellence. He is puffed up with his knowledge. His heart is filled with pride when he thinks that he,has more comforts or more pleasant experiences. He thinks? I am happy I am wise? and so he is bound as it were. These ideas really belong to the field but they are transferred through superimposition to the Self on account of the force of SattvaGuna.Rajas and Tamas are pitfalls on the path of knowledge.This attachment to happiness is an illusion. This is ignorance. An attribute of the object cannot belong to the subject. All the alities from desire to firmness (Cf.XIII.6) belong to the field. From ignorance? nondiscrimination is born and so the individual self is not able to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent? the subject and the object.Knowledge is an attribute of the Antahkarana (inner instrument? viz.? mind? intellect? the unconscious and the ego) but not of the Self. It if were an attribute of the Self? it could not produce attachment and bondage. Sattva binds the soul to knowledge through attachment.


14.7 रजः Rajas? रागात्मकम् of the nature of passion? विद्धि know? तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् the source of thirst and attachment? तत् that? निबध्नाति binds? कौन्तेय O son of Kunti (Arjuna)? कर्मसङ्गेन by attachment to action? देहिनम् the embodied one.Commentary The ality of Rajas denotes activity and ambition. The Rajasic man is full of cravings and desires. The cravings force him to act for their fulfilment. He gets attached to those who help him in the fulfilment of his desire and hates those who stand in his way. He is attached to action. He enters on great undertakings. He performs various sorts of sacrifices and rituals and charitable activities. He runs after sensual pleasures and his desires become insatiable like a flame fed by oil. The Self is not the doer. It is the silent witness but Rajas creates in the man the idea? I am the doer.Rajas pleases the mind and keeps alive the passions.A Rajasic man is never contented. He is ever greedy and restless. The more he acires? the more passionate and greedy he becomes. Desires multiply. Nothing gives him satisfaction. If he is a millionaire? he tries to become a multimillionaire. It is like petrol poured into the fire? which inflames it further. A Rajasic man loses his understanding and power of discrimination. His understanding is clouded. He is under intoxication of the pride of wealth. His intellect is turbid. He has a perverted intellect. On account of perversion of intellect misery appears to him to be happiness pain appears to him to be pleasure sorrow appears to be joy. His goal is money and women. He worships mammon as his god.He runs after name? fame and comforts and involves himself in endless activities. Quickness has been associated with the fish? with the flash of lightning and with the glance of a woman. But Rajas is icker than these. A Rajasic man is more active than these. He thinks What will happen to me after my possessions are gone and thus worries himself unnecessarily and engages himself in endless activities. He has no peace of mind.He thirsts for what has not been attained and is attached to what has already been obtained. He wishes and tries to protect his possessions. This is Sanga. I will do such and such an action. I will get such and such a result. I will do this sacrifice. I will enjoy in heaven. This sort of clinging to action and its fruits is Karma Sanga.


14.8 तमः inertia? तु but? अज्ञानजम् born of ignorance? विद्धि know? मोहनम् deluding? सर्वदेहिनाम् to all,embodied beings? प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिः by heedlessness? indolence and sleep? तत् that? निबध्नाति binds fast? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary Tamas is that binding force with a tendency to lethargy? sloth and foolish actions. It causes delusion or nondiscrimination. It binds him who associates the Self with the body. A Tamasic man acts under the compulsion of the wants of the body. He has no power of judgment. Troubled by the wants of the body he acts under pressure to keep himself alive. His actions are not guided by reason. They are on the plane of instinct. His senses are dull. He becomes infatuated and stupefied. He has no inclination to work. He yawns much. He sleeps too much. He always wants to sleep. He nevr knows when and how to act? what? to whom and how to talk. He takes delight in following the wrong path. He does not know how to behave or how to address others. He is thoughtless and ignorant. He forgets everything. He is negligent and indolent. He is just in a stage higher than lifeless matter.He who is under the grip of heedlessness (Pramada) is not able to discriminate between the eternal and the noneternal. This is an enemy of illumination? the effect of Sattva. He who is overpowered by laziness (Alasya) is not able to exert. This is an enemy of Pravritti? the effect of Rajas. Sleep (Nidra) is LayaVritti? (a state of absorption into ignorance) which is dependent on Tamas. This is the enemy of the works done by Sattva and Rajas.


14.9 सत्त्वम् purity? सुखे to happiness? सञ्जयति attaches? रजः active force? कर्मणि to action? भारत O Bharata? ज्ञानम् knowledge? आवृत्य shrouding? तु verily? तमः inertia? प्रमादे to heedlessness? सञ्जयति attaches? उत but.Commentary Just as a dark cloud enshrouds the sun? so also Tamas envelops knowledge or the light of the Self. Tamas creates an attachment for heedlessness? that is? ignorance or forgetfulness of duty or the nonperformance of necessary (obligatory) duties.


14.10 रजः Rajas? तमः inertia? च and? अभिभूय having overpowered? सत्त्वम् Sattva? भवति arises? भारत O Arjuna? रजः Rajas? सत्त्वम् Sattva? तमः inertia? च and? एव even? तमः inertia? सत्त्वम् purity? रजः active force? तथा also.Commentary Just as winter has its sway when summer and autumn have gone? just as sleep has its sway when a man is neither dreaming nor waking? so also Sattva has its sway when Rajas and Tamas are suppressed and makes people say that they are happy. The Sadhana for increasing Sattva is given in the 17th and 18th chapters.Each ality acts in its own turn at different times. All the three alities cannot operate at one and the same time. When one ality asserts itself or prdominates by overpowering or suppressing the other two? it produces its own effect. Sattva produces knowledge and happiness Rajas action Tamas veiling of knowledge? inertia? error? indolence? sloth and sleep. When Sattva is in the ascendant in a man? he is endowed with discrimination. Sublime thoughts roll in his mind. He has pure understanding. His mind turns away from sensual pleasures and moves inward towards the Self.What is the characteristic mark by which you can know that a particular ality is predominant or is in the ascendant The answer is given in the following three verses.


14.11 सर्वद्वारेषु through every gate (sense)? देहे in the body? अस्मिन् in this? प्रकाशः wisdomlight? उपजायते shines? ज्ञानम् knowledge? यदा when? तदा then? विद्यात् (it) may be known? विवृद्धम् (is) predominant? सत्त्वम्,Sattva? इति thus? उत indeed.Commentary When a particular ality becomes predominant? it reveals its distinctive characteristics in man. Just as jasmine scatters its fragrance far and wide? so also knowledge disseminates itself in all directions. Convert Tamas into Rajas and Rajas into Sattva. Now stand firm in Sattva. You will get increase of light? purity? peace and harmony. Sattva will lead you upwards. You will have an upward pull towards the Supreme Light. Sattvic diet? Japa? meditation? study of holy scriptures? living in seclusion? company of holy men? singing His Names and glories? and regulation of breath (Pranayama) will increase Sattva.Introspect. Look within. Watch the Gunas carefully. Be vigilant. Stand as a doorkeeper. Allow only Sattvic thoughts to pass through the door of the mental factory. Check Rajas. Curb Tamas. When Sattva predominates there is unruffled peace of mind? inner harmony? perfect serenity and tranillity. There is clarity or clear vision also. The understanding is not clouded. There is penetrative insight. The door or threshold of intuition is wide open. The senses will not run towards external objects.The senses are the avenues of senseknowledge. They are the gateways of perception for the Self. When light shines in all the gates of the body? such as the eyes? the ears? etc. (in other words when there is the manifestation of the BuddhiVritti of the Antahkarana)? then knowledge arises. You can understand by the mark of knowledge that Sattva is predominant. You can also know that Sattva is increasing by the mark of happiness. Just as the aspirant knows that Sattva is predominant in him by the marks of knowledge and happiness? so also he knows by the mark of knowledge that Rajas and Tamas are gradually decreasing.The ears shun whatever is improper to be heard. The eyes abandon what they should not look at. The tongue avoids to speak anything that is not right to speak of. The mind is not attracted by the sensual objects. Purity thus increases gradually by Japa? meditation? and selfrestraint. If there is increase of Sattva or harmony? there is also increase of knowledge. Sattva is the only sure means for the attainment of the knowledge of the Self. It lays the foundation of knowledge.


14.12 लोभः greed? प्रवृत्तिः activity? आरम्भः the undertaking? कर्मणाम् of actions? अशमः restlessness? स्पृहा longing? रजसि in Rajas? एतानि these? जायन्ते arise? विवृद्धे having become predominant? भरतर्षभ O best of the Bharatas (or O Lord of the Bharatas).Commentary Greed Covetousness Desire to appropriate the property of others a desire to possess more wealth though one has sufficient already.Pravritti Action in general.Asamah Restlessness being agitated by joy? attachment? etc. I will do this and then I wil take up that action. After finishing the second? I will take up the third? and so on. There is no end to the continuity of desire? will and action. This is called Asama or restlessness.Spriha Thirsting or longing for all sensual objects in general.These are the characteristic marks that indicate that Rajas is predominant.Do not mistake Rajasic restlessness or Rajasic movements for Karma Yoga or divine activity. People may say that they are doing selfless service to the world? but if you analyse their motives,there will be the taint of personal desire in some form or other. Many persons cannot sit iet even for a moment. They think that moving about here and there or doing some action or other is to full of life. The Yogi or sage who sits still by calming the mind? who does nothing at all physically? is the most active man in the whole world whereas the man who runs here and there and who is always very busy does nothing at all. This may be paradoxical to you. Very few can comprehend the truth of this statement. Sattva is intense activity. A wheel that revolves very rapidly appears to be at rest. So is Sattva. So is a Sattvic man.


14.13 अप्रकाशः darkness? अप्रवृत्तिः inertness? च and? प्रमादः heedlessness? मोहः delusion? एव even? च and? तमसि in inertia? एतानि these? जायन्ते arise? विवृद्धे have become prdominant? कुरुनन्दन O descendant of Kuru (Arjuna).Commentary When Tamas increases? darkness? a desire to do nothing? forgetfulness of ones duties and confusion ome into existence.Darkness Absence of discrimination.Apravritti Inertness extreme inactivity.Pramada (heedlessness) and Moha (delusion) are the effects of darkness. These are the characteristics or marks which indicate that Tamas is predominant. Tamas is a great stumbling block to spiritual progress and success in any walk of life. It must be destroyed at all costs. People mistake Tamas for Sattva or Santi (peace). They take the Tamasic man for a silent Yogi All is Prarabdha Everything is Maya There is no world Why should I work Work will bind me. I am Brahman. This is not spirituality but pure and thick Tamas.


14.14 यदा when? सत्त्वे in Sattva? प्रवृद्धे having become predominant? तु verily? प्रलयम् death? याति meets? देहभृत् the embodied one? तदा then? उत्तमविदाम् of the knowers of the Highest? लोकान् to the worlds? अमलान् of the spotless? प्रतिपद्यते (he) attains.Commentary Lokan Amalan Sptless worlds Brahmaloka and the like where Rajas and Tamas never predominate.The Highest Deities such as Hiranyagarbha.


14.15 रजसि in Rajas? प्रलयम् death? गत्वा meeting? कर्मसङ्गिषु among those attached to action? जायते (he) is born? तथा so? प्रलीनः dying? तमसि in inertia? मूढयोनिषु in the wombs of the senseless? जायते (he) is born.Commentary Meeting with death in Rajas If he dies when Rajas is predominant in him? he is born among men who are attached to action. If he dies when Tamas is fully predominant in him? he takes birth in ignorant species such as cattle? birds? beasts or insects.He may take his birth amongst the dull and the stupid or the lowest grades of human beings. He need not take the body of an animal. This is the view of some persons.


14.16 कर्मणः of action? सुकृतस्य (of) good? आहुः (they) say? सात्त्विकम् Sattvic? निर्मलम् pure? फलम् the fruit? रजसः of Rajas? तु verily? फलम् the fruit? दुःखम् pain? अज्ञानम् ignorance? तमसः of inertia? फलम् the fruit.Commentary Good action Sattvic action. The fruit of good action is both happiness and,knowledge.They The wise.Rajas means Rajasic action as this verse deals with action. The fruit of Rajasic action is bitter. Rajasic action brings pain? disappointment and dissatisfaction. Rajasic activity leads to greed. When the Rajasic man tries to gratify his original desires? new desires crop up. This opens the door to greed.Tamas Tamasic action? unrighteous deeds or sin (Adharma). There is no knowledge within and no foresight.


14.17 सत्त्वात् from purity? सञ्जायते arises? ज्ञानम् knowledge? रजसः from activity? लोभः greed? एव even? च and? प्रमादमोहौ heedlessness and delusion? तमसः from inertia? अज्ञानम् ignorance? एव even? च and.Commentary From Sattva When Sattva becomes predominant. Sattva awakesn knowledge just as the sun causes daylight. Sattva enlightens the intellect.Greed is insatiable like fire. Greed brings misery and pain. Greed is born of Rajas. Rajas creates insatiable desire. Rajas makes one blind to the interests and the feelings of others. A Rajasic man treats others as tools to be utilised for his own selfadvancement or selfaggrandisement.Tamas produces shortsightedness? torpor and ignorance. A Tamasic man does not think a bit of the future conseences. He completely identifies himself with the body and begins to fight with people if they injure his body or speak ill of him. He is ready to do any sinful act in retaliation. He has no sense of proportion and no sense of balance or poise.


14.18 ऊर्ध्वम् upwards? गच्छन्ति go? सत्त्वस्थाः in Sattva seated? मध्ये in the middle? तिष्ठन्ति dwell? राजसाः the Rajasic? जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्थाः abiding in the function of the lowest Guna? अधः downwards? गच्छन्ति go? तामसाः the Tamasic.Commentary Those who abide in Sattva become the lords of heaven after giving up the physical body. The Rajasic are rorn on this earth as human beings. The Tamasic go downwards? i.e.? they will be born in the wormbs of cattle and beasts. They may take their birth amongst the lowest grades of human beings. The lowest grades of human beings are only brutes though they have assumed human form. Their actions are brutal. Therefore it is not necessary for them to enter into animal incarnation.Man identifies himself with Nature on account of the force of ignorance or illusory knowledge and gets attached to the alities of Nature. This is the cause of his birth in the wombs of high or low creatures. He feels? I am happy? miserable or deluded? on account of the attachment to the Gunas.The nature of the Gunas? their functions? how they bind a man to the Samsara? the effects of each Guna when it is predominant? and the plane reached by the man when he is under the influence of a particular Guna are described in the previous verses. Now the Lord describes in the following verse that liberation comes when one knows Him Who is above the three Gunas.


14.19 न not? अन्यम् other? गुणेभ्यः than the Gunas? कर्तारम् agent? यदा when? द्रष्टा the seer? अनुपश्यति beholds? गुणेभ्यः than the alities? च and? परम् higher? वेत्ति knows? मद्भावम् My Being? सः he? अधिगच्छति,attains to.Commentary The Supreme Self is in no way contaminated by the alities. The liberated sage exclaims I am the witness of the alities. I am neither the enjoyer nor the doer. The alities form the motive power of all actions. I am beyond the Gunas. The Gunas alone are responsible for all actions. I am entirely distinct from the alities. I am pure consciousness. I cannot be touched by the alities. I am like the ether.When a man gets illumination or attains knowledge of the Self? when he realises that there is no agent except the Gunas which are themselves modified as the bodies? the senses and their objects? when he knows that it is the Gunas only that become the agent in all transformations? in all states and in all actions? and when he realises the Supreme Self Who is distinct from the Gunas? Who is the silent witness of the Gunas and their functions? he attains to My state (liberation)? i.e.? becomes identical with Me. He becomes a Gunatita? i.e.? one who has transcended the three Gunas.


14.20 गुणान् Gunas? एतान् these? अतीत्य having crossed? त्रीन् three? देही the embodied? देहसमुद्भवान् out of which the body is evolved? जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैः from birth? death? decay and pain? विमुक्तः freed? अमृतम् immortality? अश्नुते attains to.Commentary Just as a river is absorbed in the ocean? so also he who has? while still alive? gone beyond the alities which form the seed from which all bodies have sprung and of which they are composed? is absorbed in Me. He ever enjoys the bliss of the Eternal. He attains release or Moksha. He attains to My Being.When the Lord said that the wise man crosses beyond the three alities and attains immortality? Arjuna became inspired with the desire of learning more about it. Just as he has asked a estion about the sage of steady wisdom in chapter II? verse 54? he now asks Lord Krishna about the characteristics of a sage who has crossed over the three alities. How does he act What is his conduct or behaviour How has he gone beyond the alities


14.21 कैः by what? लिंगैः by marks? त्रीन् three? गुणान् Gunas? एतान् these? अतीतः crossed? भवति becomes? प्रभो O Lord? किमाचारः what (is his) conduct? कथम् how? च and? एतान् these? त्रीन् three? गुणान् Gunas? अतिवर्तते goes beyond.Commentary Arjuna said O Lord? by what characteristics may a man be recognised as having gone beyond the three alities What is the behaviour of that Trigunatita sage (one who has gone beyond the three alities) and how does he go beyond the world and is above the Gunas Tell me that.These are the characteristics of the sage who has gone beyond the Gunas others should cultivate them.Just as a king is able to remove the grievances and sorrows of his servants? so also the Lord is able to remove the sorrows of His devotees. That is the reason why Arjuna addresses Sri Krishna as Lord and uses the term Prabhu. By using this word? Arjuna hinted to the Lord that He alone was capable of relieving his sorrows and pains. (Cf.II.54)


14.22 प्रकाशम् light? च and? प्रवृत्तिम् activity? च and? मोहम् delusion? एव even? च and? पाण्डव O Arjuna? न not? द्वेष्टि hates? सम्प्रवृत्तानि (when) gone forth? न not? निवृत्तानि when absent? काङ्क्षति longs.Commentary This is the answer to Arjunas first estion. Light is the effect of Sattva? activity of Rajas and delusion of Tamas. The liberated sage does not hate them when they are present. When Sattva shines he is not carried away by pride. He does not think? I am a vey learned man. When the impulse for action is awakened in the body or when there is a divine call for him to do work for the solidarity of the world (Lokasangraha) he does not hate any action and he does not regret it after the action is accomplished. He feels no remorse while performing actions. The work is like the play of a child. While inertia increases in him? he is not deluded by infatuation.Only an ignorant man thinks Tamas has entered into me. I am deluded. I am under the influence of heedlessness? torpor? sloth? laziness and indolence. Now I am under the influence of Rajas. I am forced to do activities. This is painful. I have fallen from my true nature. This gives me a lot of pain. Now Sattva predominates in me. I am attached to happiness and knowledge. I am proud of my learning and better status.The liberated sage who has transcended the Gunas does not thus hate them when they are present.A man of Sattva or Rajas or Tamas longs for light? action or inertia which first manifested themselves and disappeared. But a liberated sage or one who has gone beyond the three alities does not at all long for these states which have vanished. This mark or characteristic is an internal mental state. It cannot be perceived or detected by others. It can be felt by ones own self alone. If one is endowed with clairvoyant vision or the inner eye of intuition? he can directly behold the longins that arise in the mind of another man.In the following three verses the Lord gives His answer to Arjunas second estion What is the conduct of the sage who has crossed over the Gunas


14.23 उदासीनवत् like one unconcerned? आसीनः seated? गुणैः by the Gunas? यः who? न not? विचाल्यते is moved? गुणाः the Gunas? वर्तन्ते operate? इति thus? एव even? यः who? अवतिष्ठति is selfcentred? न not? इङ्गते moves.Commentary He is seated as a neutral (one who inclines to neither party). He is free from likes and dislikes. He is entirely unconcerned whether the alities with their effects and the body come or go. He is like the spectator at a football or a cricket match or a drama. Just as the sky remains unconcerned when the wind blows? so also he remains ite unconcerned when the alities operate.He does not swerve from the path of Selfrealisation. He treads the path firmly. He thinks and feels The alities are modified into the body? senses and senseobjects. They act and react upon one another? remains unshaken by them. He abides in his own Self and stands firm like the mountain Meru. (Cf.III.28V.8to11)


14.24 समदुःखसुखः alike in pleasure and pain? स्वस्थः standing in his own Self? समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः regarding a clod of earth? a stone and gold alike? तुल्यप्रियाप्रियः the same to the dear and the undear? धीरः firm? तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः the same in censure and praise. Commentary Night and day have no meaning to a post fixed in the ground. Even so pleasure and pain have no meaning to a sage who dwells in his own Self. He is above the pairs of opposites. In his eyes cowdung or gold? a jewel or a stone? are of eal value. He is free from the idea of,giving and taking. His mind is not perturbed by anything pleasant or unpleasant. He is the same towards agreeable and disagreeable things. Praise and censure cannot affect him. He stands adamant. He abides in his own essential state as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute. He is ever calm and serene. (Cf.V.18)


14.25 मानापमानयोः in honour and dishonour? तुल्यः the same? तुल्यः the same? मित्रारिपक्षयोः to friend and foe? सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी abandoning all undertakings? गुणातीतः crossed the Gunas? सः he? उच्यते is said.Commentary He keeps a balanced mind in honour and dishonour. He is the same to friend and foe. He is not affected by the dual throng. He has risen above the Gunas. He rests in his own essential nature as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute. He abids in his own Self. He is a Gunatita (one who has transcended the alities of Nature) who is not affected by the play of the alities. He keeps an even outlook amidst changes. He maintains a clam eilibrium.He abandons all actions that can bring visible or invisible fruits or results but he does actions that are necessary for the bare maintenance of his body. The alities described in verses 23? 24 and 25? such as indifference? etc.? are the means for attaining liberation. They represent the ideal that you should have before you. The aspirant should cultivate them. But one attains knowledge of the Self when he abides in his own true nature. These attributes form part and parcel of his nature and serve as marks to indicate that he has crossed beyond the three alities.The Lord gives in the following verse the answer to the third estion of Arjuna How does one go beyond the three alities


14.26 माम् Me? च and? यः who? अव्यभिचारेण unswerving? भक्तियोगेन with devotion? सेवते serves? सः he? गुणान् Gunas? समतीत्य crossing beyond? एतान् these? ब्रह्मभूयाय for becoming Brahman? कल्पते is fit.Commentary A Sannyasi or even a Karma Yogi who serves Him (the Isvara? Narayana Who abides in the hearts of all beings) with unswerving devotion? is endowed with the knowledge of the Self. He then goes beyond the three alities and becomes fit to become Brahman? for attaining liberation or release from birth and death.He attains to the knowledge of the Self through the grace and mercy of the Lord. To these everharmonious devotees worshipping Me in love? I give the Yoga of discrimination by which they come unto Me. Out of pure compassion for them? dwelling within their Self? I destroy the ignorancorn darkness by the shining lamp of wisdom. (Chapter X. 10 and 11)Avyabhicharini Bhakti The devotee constantly meditates on the Lord. He has exclusive devotion to the Lord alone. He has no other thought save that of his Lord. His mind is filled with the thoughts of the Lord. His thoughts flow towards the Lord like the continuous flow of oil from one vessel to another. There is Sajatiya Vritti Pravaha? i.e.? unbroken flow of the one thought of God. There is total abandonment of thoughts of sensual objects. Constant thinking of God is the sure means for crossing beyond the three alities of Nature.


14.27 ब्रह्मणः of Brahman? हि indeed? प्रतिष्ठा the abode? अहम् I? अमृतस्य the immortal? अव्ययस्य the immutable? च and? शाश्वतस्य everlasting? च and? धर्मस्य of Dharma? सुखस्य of bliss? एकान्तिकस्य absolute? च and.Commentary The Self Which is immortal and immutable? Which is attainable by the eternal Dharma or the knowledge of the Self? Which is unending bliss? abides in Me? the Supreme Being.,I? the innermost Self? am the abode of the Supreme Self. The aspirant beholds? with the eye of intuition? that the innermost Self is the very Supreme Self? through Selfrealisation.The Lord bestows grace and mercy on His devotees through His Sakti? energy or power? or Maya. Sakti and the Lord are one. Just as heat is inseparable from fire? so also Maya or Sakti is inseparable from the Lord. Sakti cannot be distinct from the Lord in Whom She inheres.There is another interpretation. By Brahman here is meant the Brahman with attributes or alities? the conditioned Brahman. I? the Absolute Brahman? transcending the attributes or alities? the unconditioned Absolute? am the abode of the Saguna (conditioned) Brahman Who is immortal and imperishable. I am also the abode of the eternal Dharma of Jnananishtha (establishment in the highest wisdom) and the abode of the unending bliss born of that unswerving devotion.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the fourteenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas.,


15.1 ऊर्ध्वमूलम् rooted above? अधःशाखम् branches below? अश्वत्थम् the Asvattha? प्राहुः they speak of? अव्ययम् indestructible? छन्दांसि metres or hymns? यस्य of which? पर्णानि leaves? यः who? तम् that? वेद knows? सः he? वेदवित् is the knower of the Vedas.Commentary The description of the universe as a peepul tree is only metaphorical. This peepul is said to be eternal because it cannot be cut except by the axe of knowledge.All persons depend upon the Lord for the fruits of their actions? because He alone knows the right relation between the actions and their fruits. He alone is the dispenser of the fruits of actions of human beings. The wise persons also depend upon the Lord for the fruit of their knowledge. The Lord alone removes the veil of ignorance through His grace and mercy. The inclination for Advaita Vedantic Sadhana arises through the Lords grace. The desire for the realisation of the Oneness is produced in the minds of wise men by the grace of the Lord? which is the antidote to all fears. (Avadhuta Gita? I.1)Those who serve the Lord with unswerving or singleminded devotion go beyond the three alities of Nature through His grace. They attain knowledge of the Self through the grace of the Lord and get release from the round of birth and death. Those who have a right understanding of the real nature of Brahman or the Supreme Being also get emancipation easily.The Lord teaches Arjuna in this discourse about the real nature of Brahman or the Supreme Self and the path that leads the soul to union with Him. The Lord describes the nature of Samsara or worldly life as a peepul tree in order to create nonattachment or dispassion? because he who is endowed with true and lasting dispassion alone is fit for attaining the knowledge of the Self. Samsara is compared to a tree. because it can be cut off like a tree.All the other trees have their roots below? but this peculiar? strange and most wonderful tree of Samsara (Maya) has its root above? in Brahman. This peepul tree is different from all other trees. Brahman is the resting place or support of everything. It is eternal. It is great. It is the most high. It is the Supreme Being. It is supreme over all things. It is the source of everything. Therefore it is said that It is the One above. This One above is the root of this tree of Samsara. Brahan Who is superior to all is Urdhva. That which has Brahman as its cause is Urdhvamulam.In the Puranas it is said The tree of the Unmanifest has sprung from Brahman. Buddhi is its trunk? the senseopenings are its hollows? the great elements its boughs? the senseobjects its leaves and branches? Dharma and Adhrama (virtue and vice) its beautiful flowers? pleasure and pain its fruits. Having cut asunder this tree with the powerful sword of the knowledge of the Self? and then having attained to the eternal bliss of Brahman? no one comes back from there again.Brahman is the root of this tree. It is the upper part of this tree and so It is called Urdhva. In reality there are no distinctions such as upward? downward or middle in the One Which is the indivisible unity.The name Asvattha is usually derived from Asvattha which means not standing or enduring or remaining till tomorrow. A means not Sva means tomorrow Ttha means remaining. This is ite an appropriate word for this worldtree which is ever changing and passing away.In the Katha Upanishad also there is a mention about this Asvattha tree (II.6.1). The Gita is an essence of the Upanishads only.Samsara is generally understood by the common people as meaning remaining surrounded by ones wife and children and doing ones daily duties. This is a restricted or narrow meaning. Samsara means the whole worldprocess or the cosmic manifestation or the everchanging phenomenal world. Hiranyagarbha? the individual souls? the cosmic intelligence? egoism? the rootelements? etc.? represent the brancehs of this tree of Samsara. They extend downwards. They evolve into grosser and grosser states. Therefore it is said that the tree has its branches below. Egoism is the sprout which goes downwards in three directions? viz.? the three alities of Nature.Mind is the offshoot. Then come the five elements? viz.? earth? water? fire? air and ether? and the five organs of knowledge. Then comes sound which stimulates the ears to hear sweet music. Then comes touch which stimulates the skin to enjoy soft things. Then comes form which stimultaes the eye to behold beautiful objects. Then comes taste which stimulates the tongue to enjoy palatable things. Then comes smell which stimulates the nose to enjoy fragrant and scented objects.From the roots of actions with expectation of fruits a new branch of rirth comes up. The mineral kingdom? the vegetable kingdom? the animal kingdom and the human kingdom are all branches of this tree of Samsara. Man does good and evil actions with the help of the body and takes births to experience the fruits thereof. The human body is the water for this tree of Samsara.The body itself is the peepul tree. The root is the cerrospinal nervous system (brain). The various nerves are the branches that ramify downwards to the various organs distributed over the body.Avyaya Eternal? because this tree rests on an unbroken seires of births without beginning and end it is thus eternal. It can be cut down by the sword of knowledge of Brahman. Just as the leaves of a tree protect it? so also the Vedas protect this tree of Samsara? treating of virtue and vice? with their causes and fruits.He who knows this tree of Samsara and its roots as described above is a knower of the Vedas. He is a knower of the teachings of the Vedas. Not even an iota remains to be known beyond this tree of Samsara and its root. He who knows it is omniscient. The Lord has eulogised the knowledge of the tree of Samsara and its root in order to encourage aspirants to acire this knowledge.


15.2 अधः below? च and? ऊर्ध्वम् above? प्रसृताः spread? तस्य its? शाखाः branches? गुणप्रवृद्धाः nourished by the Gunas? विषयप्रवालाः senseobjects (are) its buds? अधः below? च and? मूलानि the roots? अनुसन्ततानि are stretched forth? कर्मानुबन्धीनि originating action? मनुष्यलोके in the world of men.Commentary The countless objects? large and small? which life needs are all products of the five elements through the activity of the alities. This tree of Samsara is nourished by the three alities of Nature. The senseobjects are its buds and the roots which grow downwards are the bonds of Karma for those who lead a life of passion and attachment in this world? who are under the sway of likes and dislikes. The sprouts of this marvellous tree are the charming objects of the senses with their characteristics of sound? touch? colour? taste and smell. The roots? the Karmic tendencies from the past lives? grow downwards to generate the bonds of Karma in the world of men. These roots strengthen the bondage by further actions.The primal root is ignorance from which arises the eightfold Nature -- the five elements? mind? intellect and egoism. From the stem of the tree spring four branches called Svedaja? Andaja?,Jarayuja and Udbhijja. Eightyfour lakhs (eight million and four hundred thousand) of species came into being.One branch shoots straight upwards. This is the branch of Dharma which yields the fruit of enjoyment in heaven. Another branch is the branch of dispassion which yields the fruit of Selfrealisation. The sun? the planets? the manes and the sages have also come out of this wonderful tree. Above them are the branches of the worlds of Indra and the gods. Still higher are those of the sages and the men of austerities and penance. Still higher is the Satyaloka where Hiranyagarbha dwells.From man down to the immovable objects below and from him up to the realm of the Creator above? whatever regions are attained in accordance with the nature of knowledge or action? they are the ramifying branches of the tree of Samsara. They are nurtured and fattened by the three Gunas which form their material base.The senseobjects such as sound? touch? colour? taste and smell represent the buds that sprout from the branches of the physical bodies which are the products of actions.The highest root of this wondeful tree is Brahman. The secondary roots are the latent impressions (Samskaras) of likes and dislikes? which spread in this world of men and impel them to perform virtuus and vicious actions and bind them fast to actions.Now listen to the way by which this tree can be cut off. Only he who thus cuts his bondage to this tree of Samsara can be happy even in this world. He has the highest wisdom because he stands as a spectator of this tree and knows it as it is? without being tied to it.


15.3 न not? रूपम् form? अस्य its? इह here? तथा as such? उपलभ्यते is perceived? न not? अन्तः (its) end? न not? च and? आदिः (its) origin? न not? च and? संप्रतिष्ठा foundation or resting place? अश्वत्थम् Asvattha? एनम् this? सुविरूढमूलम् firmrooted? असङ्गशस्त्रेण with the axe of nonattachment? दृढेन strong? छित्त्वा having cut asunder.Commentary The idea is continued in the next verse.So long as one is under the sway of ignorance? he cannot understand the form of this tree? its end? origin and foundation (middle). O Arjuna Thou mayest perhaps consider that such a huge tree cannot be uprooted by any means whatever. It is not so. However firmly rooted it may be? it can be cut by the powerful axe of nnattachment or dispassion within the twinkling of an eye.After cutting this tree you will have to look within? meditate on the Self and behold the Supreme.Tatha As such As described above. Is it necessary to pull down castles in the air or to break the horns of a hare or to pluck a flower growing in the sky or to get butter from the milk of a tortoise or oil from stone Similarly? O Arjuna? there is no reality in this tree. Therefore why should you entertain any fear as to whether it may be uprooted or not Its form as such is not perceived by anybody here it is like a dream or a mirage or an imaginary city in the sky formed by the clouds or caused by a juggler. It appears and disappears. This tree has DrishtaNashtaSvarupa like the mirage. That object which is destroyed when one beholds it is DrishtaNashta. Nobody has perceived the end? the origin or the foundation of this illusory tree. No one can say that it has arisen from such and such a place or point.Samsara or the peepul tree is inveterately deeprooted. You will have to struggle hard to uproot it with its seed or the selfreproducing deep root.Asanga Dispassion? freedom from attachment to children? wealth and the world.Dridhena Strong. You will have to cut the tree with a strong axe which is sharpened again and again on the whetstone of the practice of discrimination. Further your mind should be turned towards the Supreme Being with the strong determination that you can attain eternal bliss only in Him and that He is the ony Reality.The desire for sensual pleasure is Sanga. Its opposite (dispassion) is Asanga. Renunciation of the three kinds of Eshanas (desires)? viz.? children? wealth and the world (PutraVittaLokeshana) is Asanga. Just as the axe cuts the tree? so also dispassion cuts this tree of Samsara. Hence dispassion is termed an axe. Cutting the tree of Samsara is annihilation of egoism? ignorance? latent tendencies? and renunciation of the fruits of all actions? through the practice of dispassion? control of the mind and the senses? etc. (Cf.VII.14)


15.4 ततः then? पदम् goal? तत् That? परिमार्गितव्यम् should be sought for? यस्मिन् whither? गताः gone? न not? निवर्तन्ति return? भूयः again? तम् that? एव even? च and? आद्यम् primeval? पुरुषम् Purusha? प्रपद्ये I seek refuge? यतः whence? प्रवृत्तिः activity or energy? प्रसृता streamed forth? पुराणी ancient.Commentary That which fills the whole world with the form of ExistenceKnowledgeBliss is Purusha. Or? that which sleeps in this Puri (city) of the body is the Purusha.Singleminded devotion which consists of ceaselessly thinking of or meditating on the Supreme Being is the sure means of attaining Selfrealisation. Taking sole refuge in the Primeval Purusha is the means to know or realise that supreme goal goind whither the wise do not return again to this world of death.The aspirant should know the abode of Vishnu. He should struggle hard to reach it. He should seek it by taking refuge in the Primeval Purusha. If he reaches this immortal abode of Vishnu or the imperishable Brahmic seat of ineffable splendour and glory he will never return to this mortal world.The Primeval Purusha or the pure? Supreme Being Who is ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute is the goal or the supreme abode or the abode of Vishnu. Just as illusory objects like elephants? horses? etc.? come forth through the jugglery of the magician? so also this ancient energy or the original divine power or emanation of this tree or illusory Samsara has streamed forth from that Primeval Purusha.What sort of persons reach that goal eternal Listen.


15.5 निर्मानमोहाः free from pride and delusion? जितसङ्गदोषाः victorious over the evil of attachment? अध्यात्मनित्याः dwelling constantly in the Self? विनिवृत्तकामाः (their) desires having completely turned away? द्वन्द्वैः from the pairs of opposites? विमुक्ताः freed? सुखदुःखसंज्ञैः known as pleasure and pain? गच्छन्ति reach? अमूढाः the undeluded? पदम् goal? अव्ययम् eternal? तत् That.Commentary Wherever there is pride there is stiff egoism. Absence of discrimination between the Real and the unreal is Moha. Perversion is Moha. Infatuation is Moha. Those who are free from likes and dislikes even when they attain pleasant or unpleasant objects have triumphed over the,evil of attachment. Kartritva Abhimana or the idea I am the doer is Sanga. Likes and dislikes are the Doshas or the evils. Heat and cold? pleasure and pain? honour and dishonour? censure and praise? etc.? are the pairs of opposites. Only those who have destroyed ignorance and who have attained the knowledge of the Self reach the eternal goal.Adhyatmanityah Ever engaged in the contemplation of the nature of Brahman or the Supreme Being.Vinivrittakamah All the desires vanish in toto without leaving any trace or taint behind. They who have reached this stage become Yatis or Sannyasins. In the fire of wisdom all desires are burnt. As the birds fly away from a tree which has caught fire? so do desires go away from him.Tat That (the goal) described above.


15.6 न not? तत् that? भासयते illumines? सूर्यः the sun? न not? शशाङ्कः the moon? न not? पावकः fire? यत् to which? गत्वा having gone? न not? निवर्तन्ते (they) return? तत् that? धाम Abode? परमम् Supreme? मम My.Commentary That supreme abode is selfillumined for Brahman is selfluminous. It existed before the sun? the moon and the fire came into existence during creation. It remains even after they dissolve into the Unmanifested during the dissolution of the world.This verse is taken from the Kathopanishad The sun does not shine there? nor do the moon and the stars? nor does this lightning shine and much less this fire. When It shines? everything shines after It? by Its light? all these shine (Chap.II?5.15). The same idea occurs in the Svetasvatara Upanishad (6.14) and the Mundaka Upanishad (II.2.10). The sun? the moon? etc.? derive their light from Para Brahman. Nothing else is needed for illuminating the Supreme Being because It is selfluminous.Dhama paramam Supreme abode or superexcellent seat or Para Brahman.Though the sun is endowed with the power of illumining all? it cannot illumine the Supreme Being.यत् धाम वैष्णवं पदं गत्वा प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते यत् च सूर्यादिभिः न भासयते तत् धाम पदं परमं मम विष्णोः।That abode? to which having gone? none returns? and which the sun? moon? stars? lightning and fire do not illumine? is the highest abode of Vishnu.(Cf.VIII.21)


15.7 मम My? एव even? अंशः portion? जीवलोके in the world of life? जीवभूतः having become a soul? सनातनः eternal? मनःषष्ठानि with mind as the sixth? इन्द्रियाणि the (five) Indriyas? प्रकृतिस्थानि abiding in Prakriti? कर्षति draws (to itself).Commentary Now the Lord explains how the individual soul comes into being. The individual soul is a ray of the Lord. A ray of the Supreme Being enters Nature? draws to itself the five senses and the mind and becomes an embodied soul (Jiva) by assuming a body. Here is a description of how the subtle body or LingaSariria enters the gross body.Although the sun is reflected in water? it is not in any way tainted. When a crystal comes in,contact with a red cloth or red flower? it seems to be red but it is really not so. Even so the Supreme Beings is not in any way tainted by the actions of the individual soul.Ignorance is the limiting adjunct of the individual soul. On account of the limitation caused by this ignorance the soul experiences that it is the doer and the enjoyer. In essence the individual soul is identical with the Supreme Being or Brahman. When ignorance? the limiting adjunct or principle? is destroyed? the individual soul (Jiva) realises it identity with the Supreme Being (Brahman).Just as the ether in the pot becomes one with the universal ether when the limiting adjunct? the pot? is broken? so also the individual soul becomes one with Brahman when the limiting adjunct? ignorance? is annihilated. Just as there is no return of the potether after it has become one with the universal ether when the pot is destroyed? so also there is no return of the individual soul after the limiting adjunct (the Antahkarana? i.e.? mind and the other inner instruments) is destroyed. It becomes one with Brahman.Pratibimba (reflection) is only a portion of the Bimba (object). The reflected sun is only a portion of the real sun (the rays of the sun). When the water is removed the reflected sun goes back to the original sun? as it were. It does not return to the water again. Even so? when ignorance or the mind is annihilated? the Jiva (individual soul) which is a reflection of Brahman in ignorance is absorbed in the Bimba Brahman. It does not return to this world of birth and death.The individual soul is only an imaginary or fictitious portion of Brahman. It is not a real portion. For the Supreme Being is indivisible. It has no parts. If It has parts? It would be liable to destruction when the parts are disjointed or removed.The senses abide in Nature? in their respective seats such as ear? skin? tongue? eye and nose. A Sannyasi living in the caves of the Himalayas dreams that he is a married man and moves about hither and thither to get a job for his livelihood. Even so? the individual soul forgets its real divine nature? mistakes the impure? perishable body for the pure? immortal Self and imagines that it is the real actor and enjoyer by identifying itself with the body. It says? I am the Karta. I am the Bhokta. I am a soul bound by Samsara. I am happy. I am miserable. It becomes finite.In essence the Jiva is identical with Brahman. The difference is on account of delusion or imagination or superimposition. The illusion of difference is due to the limiting adjunct or principle (the mind) even as the illusion that the ether in the pot is different from the universal ether is caused by the limiting adjunct? viz.? the pot. Jivabrahmabhedabhranti (the delusion of the distinctior between the individual soul and the Supreme Being) is removed when the limiting adjunct (mind) is annihilated. In deep sleep the mind rests in a subtle state along with all the Samskaras (impressions) and Vasanas (tendencies) in its cause (primordial ignorance). Again it comes back from this state of ignorance when you return to the waking state. If the cause (ignorance) is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self? its effect (mind) is also annihilated.Just as the tortoise stretches out its head and feet which were in a state of Laya (absorption) in its body? so also the individual soul strecthces out its mind and senses which were in a state of absorption in primordial ignorance in deep sleep? to enjoy the sensual objects in the waking state.A ray of the Supreme Being enters Nature? draws to itself the five senses and the mind In this verse the formation of the astral body (LingaSarira or Sukshmasarira) is described.The Sruti declaresस एष इह प्रविष्टः आनखाग्रेभ्यः तत् सृष्ट्वा तदेवानुप्राविशत्।।That Supreme Being Itself? having created this aggregate of the body from the head to the toe? entered this body in the form of the Jiva.According to Vedanta there are nineteen principles? viz.? the five organs of knowledge? the five organs of action? the five vital airs (Prana? Apana? Vyana? Samana and Udana)? the mind? intellect? Chitta (the subconscious or the unconscious mind)? and egoism. We will have to conclude that the words the five senses and the mind point to the collection of the remaining thirteen principles also.Amsa This does not mean here a particle or portion which has been cut out. It is like the Amsar of the ether in the pot the ether is not cut out but still remains the whole ether. (Cf.XIV.3)


15.8 शरीरम् a body? यत् when? अवाप्नोति obtains? यत् when? च and? अपि also? उत्क्रामति leaves? ईश्वरः the Lord? गृहीत्वा taking? एतानि these? संयाति goes? वायुः the wind? गन्धान् the scents? इव as? आशयात् from (their) seats (the flowers).Commentary Here is a description of how the subtle body leaves the gross body.When the Jiva? the Lord of the aggregate of the body and the rest takes up this body he brings in with him the mind and the senses when he leavs the body at its dissolution he takes with him the senses and the mind? just as the wind carries with it the fragrance from the flowers. Wherever he goes and whatever form he assumes he again operates through these senses and the mind.Lord Jiva? the Lord of the aggregate of the body and the rest.The Self appears to be an agent or an enjoyer only when he possesses or assumes a body.


15.9 श्रोत्रम् the ear? चक्षुः the eye? स्पर्शनम् the (organ of) touch? च and? रसनम् the (organ of) taste? घ्राणम् the (organ of) smell? एव even? च and? अधिष्ठाय presiding over? मनः the mind? च and? अयम् this (soul)? विषयान् objects of the senses? उपसेवते enjoys.Commentary Here is a description of how the subtle body remaining in the gross body enjoys the objects of the senses.The individual soul uses the mind along with each sense separately and enjoys or experiences the objects of the senses such as sound? touch? colour (form)? taste and smell.It sits on the marvellous car of its mind? passes through the gateway of the ear in the twinkling of an eye and enjoys the various kinds of music of this world. It holds the reins of the nerves of sensation? enters the domain of touch through the portal of the skin and enjoys the diverse kinds of soft objects. It roams about in the hills of beautiful forms and enjoys them through the windows of his eyes. It enters the cave of taste by the avenue of the tongue and enjoyes dainties? palatable dishes and refreshing beverages. It enters the forest of scents through the door of the nose and enjoys them to its hearts content.It makes its abode in the ears? the eyes? the skin? the tongue and the nose? as also in the mind and enjoys the objects of the senses. It gains experiences of the outer world through the mind?,intellect? subconscious mind? egoism? the ten senses and the five vital airs.Ghranameva cha The word cha (and) indicates that we shall have to include the five organs of action? and also the fourfold inner instrument (mind? intellect? subconscious mind and egoism). In the Katha Upanishad it is said आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः।।The Self? the senses and the mind united? the wise call the enjoyer.


15.10 उत्क्रामन्तम् departing? स्थितम् staying? वा or? अपि also? भुञ्जानम् enjoying? वा or? गुणान्वितम् united with the Gunas? विमूढाः the deluded? न not? अनुपश्यन्ति do see (Him)? पश्यन्ति behold (Him)? ज्ञानचक्षुषः those who possess the eye of knowledge.Commentary Though the Self is nearest and comes most easily within their field of vision or consciousness? the ignorant and the deluded are not able to behold Him? because they are swayed by the alities of Nature their minds constantly run towards the sensual objects and are saturated with passion they identify the Self with the body their vision is engrossed in external forms. But those who are endowed with the inner eye of intuition do behold Him.Yama said to Nachiketas The selfexistent Brahma created the senses with outgoing tendencies therefore man beholds the external universe and not the internal Self. He aded But some wise men with their senses turned away from the objects? desirous of immortality? turn their gaze inwards and behold the Self within (seated in their heart). (Katha Upanishad IV.1)Those who possess the inner eye of knowledge behold that the Self is entirely distinct from the body. They realise the Selfs separate existence from the body and know that the body moves and acts on account of Its presence therein? just as the iron moves and acts in the presence of the magnet.


15.11 यतन्तः striving (for perfection)? योगिनः the Yogins? च and? एनम् this? पश्यन्ति see? आत्मनि in the Self? अवस्थितम् dwelling? यतन्तः striving? अपि also? अकृतात्मानः the unrefined? न not? एनम् this? पश्यन्ति see? अचेतसः unintelligent.Commentary The description of the evolution of the individual soul is now complete.The Yogins who strive with an iron determination? fiery resolve? faith? earnestness and wellbalanced mind? see Him established in their hearts. They behold Him dwelling in their own mind or intellect. They recognise Him -- This I am. But those who are of full intellect and without proper discipline of the mind and the senses? who have not been purified by austerity? selfless service and charity? who have not subdued their senses? who have not practised regular meditation? who have not given up their evil ways? who have not eradicated lust? pride? egoism? anger? greed and hypocrisy? who have not developed true discrimination between the Real and the unreal? however hard they may struggle to know Him by means of the study of the sacred scriptures? do not behold Him. They are not able to attain Selfrealisation. Mere study of scriptues alone cannot help one who has an impure mind to attain Selfrealisation. The aspirant should have a calm and pure mind. He should practise constant? protracted and profound meditation on the Self. Only then will he realise? recognise and behold the Self abiding in his own heart.That Goal (the Supreme Being) which the fire? stars? lightning? sun and moon do not illumine? having reached which the aspirants do not return to this Samsara or the world of birth and death? of which the individual souls are only imaginary parts appearing so on account of the limiting adjunct (ignorance)? just as the ether in the pot appears to be limited though it is one with the,universal ether -- is the essence of all worldly experiences.Just as the ether in the pot becomes identical with the universal ether when the limiting adjunct (pot) is broken? so also the individual soul becomes identical with the Supreme Being when the limiting adjunct (ignorance) is destroyed through the knowledge of the Self or Selfrealisation born of meditation on the right significance of the great sentences of the Upanishads? viz.? TatTvamAsi (That thou art) or AhamBrahmaAsmi (I am the Supreme Being). Then he realises that Brahman is the essence of all and tht He is the basis of all experiences.In order to make Arjuna understand this? the Lord gives a brief summary of His manifestations in the following four verses. A description is given here of the allpervasiveness of the Self.


15.12 यत् which? आदित्यगतम् residing in the sun? तेजः light? जगत् the world? भासयते illumines? अखिलम् whole? यत् which? चन्द्रमसि in the moon? यत् which? च and? अग्नौ in the fire? तत् that? तेजः light? विद्धि know? मामकम् Mine.Commentary The immanence of the Lord as the allilluminating light of consciousness is described in this verse.I am the cause and the source of the light by which the sun illumines the world? as also the reflected light of the sun in the moon and that of fire.Tejah Light The light of consciousness.If that is so? an objector says The light of consciousness exists alike in all moving and unmoving objects. Then why has the Lord mentioned this special alification of light as residing in the sun? moon and fire Please explain. We say The higher manifestation of the light of consciousness in the sun? etc.? is due to a large concentration of Sattva in them. Sattva is very brilliant and luminous in them. That is the reason why there is this special alification.Here is an illustration. The face of a man is not at all reflected on a wall? piece of wood or a block of stone? but the same face is reflected beautifully in a very clean mirror. The degree of clearness of the reflection in the mirror is acording to the degree of transparency of the mirror. The more the transparency of the mirror? the better the reflection of the face the less the transparency? the worse the reflection. Even so Gods light shines in the sun and also in the pure heart of a devotee.


15.13 गाम the earth? आविश्य permeating? च and? भूतानि all beings? धारयामि support? अहम् I? ओजसा by (My) energy? पुष्णामि (I) nourish? च and? औषधीः the herbs? सर्वाः all? सोमः moon? भूत्वा having become रसात्मकः watery.Commentary The immanence of the Lord as the allsustaining life is described in this verse.Ojas The energy of the Lord (Isvara). The vast heaven and earth are firmly held by this energy. It permeates the earth to support the world. This energy is destitute of passion and attachment. As the vast earth is supported by the energy of the Lord? it does not fall? it is not broken down to pieces and it does not sink into the nether worlds.The Lord penetrates the earth and supports all movable and immovable objects by His energy.Rasatmakah somah The watery moon The moon is regarded as the repository of all savours or,fluids (Rasas). I? becoming the watery moon? nourish all herbs and plants such as rice? wheat? etc.? by infusing sap into them? and make them savoury. I feed the vegetable kingdom with My vital juice (Ojas) which pervades the soil and generates sweet juice or sap in herbs? plants and trees. The watery or savoury moon nourishes all herbs and plants by infusing sap or savours into them.Moreover --


15.14 अहम् I? वैश्वानरः (the fire) Vaisvanara? भूत्वा having become? प्राणिनाम् of living beings? देहम् the body? आश्रितः abiding? प्राणापानसमायुक्तः associated with Prana and Apana? पचामि (I) digest? अन्नम् food? चतुर्विधम् fourfold.Commentary The immanence of the Lord as the gastric fire in all living beings is described in this verse.Vaisvanara The fire that abides in the stomach. This fire is fanned by the bellows of the incoming and the outgoing breaths continuously and large antities of food are digested. Inside the wonderful laboratory of the stomach I digest the food by taking the form of this gastric fire.Four kinds of food (1) Food which has to be eaten by mastication (Bhakshyam). (2) That which has to be sucked in (Bhojyam). (3) That which has to be licked (Lehyam). (4) That which has to be devoured or swallowed (Choshyam). Another classification is as follows (1) Rice is PrithiviAnnam (solid food) for human beings. (2) Water is Apyannam (watery food) for birds like the Chataka. (3) Fire is Tejasannam (hot food) for certain creatures. (4) Air is Vayvannam (air as food) for serpents.अयमग्निर्वैश्वानरो योऽयमन्तः पुरुषः येनेदमन्नं पच्यते।।This fire which is within man and by which the food is digested is Vaisvanara. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.9.1)He who thinks or meditates and feels that the Vaisvanara fire is the eater? that the food eaten by the fire is the Soma (moon) and that the two together form AgniSoma is not contaminated by the impurities in the food. He who meditates before he takes his food that the whole world which is in the form of eater and eaten is made up of Agni and Soma? is not tainted by the evil arising from eating bad food.Repeat this verse daily before you take your food. You will be free from all taints of impurity in food.


15.15 सर्वस्य of all? च and? अहम् I? हृदि in the heart? सन्निविष्टः seated? मत्तः from Me? स्मृतिः memory? ज्ञानम् knowledge? अपोहनम् (their) absence? च and? वेदैः by the Vedas? च and? सर्वैः (by) all? अहम् I? एव even? वेद्यः to be known? वेदान्तकृत् the author of the Vedanta? वेदवित् the knower of Vedas? एव even? च and? अहम् I.Commentary I am seated in the hearts of all sentient beings as their innermost Self. Therefore from Me? the Self of all beings? are memory? knowledge and their loss. Righteous persons have knowledge and memory as a result of virtuous deeds. Sinful persons have loss of memory and knowledge as a result of vicious deeds. Virtue promotes peace and hence intellectual powers.Apohanam Loss (destruction or absence) of memory and knowledge? as also of the reasoning faculty. The loss of memory and knowledge is due to lust? anger? grief and delusion.Smriti Memory. It is a special modification of the mind (Antahkarana Vritti) born of the Samskaras that causes the revival of the past experiences or enjoyments of sensual objects of this life in a worldy man who has not practised Yoga. A Yogi gets revival of experiences of his past lives and transcendental knowledge that is beyond time? space and causation and visible nature.I am the central topic of the Vedas. To understand the Vedas is to Know Me. I? the Supreme Being? am to be known in all the Vedas. It is I Who know the Vedic teaching or the meaning of the Vedas. I cause the teaching of the Vedanta to be handed down in regular succession. I am the author of what is beyond the Vedas? viz.? the Upanishads that constitute the Vedanta? that deal with the transcendental Supreme Being beyond all names and forms and devoid of all alities.A brief description of the glories of the Lord Narayana as manifested through special vehicles has been given in the above four verses. From the next verse a description of the form of Purushottama Who is free from any limiting adjunct is given. (Cf.X.20)


15.16 द्वौ two? इमौ these? पुरुषौ Purushas (beings)? लोके in the world? क्षरः the perishable? च and? अक्षरः the imperishable? एव even? च and? क्षरः the perishable? सर्वाणि all? भूतानि beings? कूटस्थः the immutable (unchanging)? अक्षरः the imperishable? उच्यते is called.Commentary Now the Lord describes the three aspects of the divine existence. One is the individual soul called the perishable? the second is the imperishable or the Maya Sakti of the Lord and the third is the Purushottama or the Supreme Being.The perishable comprises the whole world of changing forms. From Brahma down to the tiny blade of grass? all movable and immovable objects? all that can be thought of by the mind? all that is made up of the five elements? all that is changing? all that has names and forms? all that appears to the naked eye and what is described as the body and the modifications of the field? in the thirteenth chapter? are Kshara or the perishable. Kshara is the changing one. It is the everchanging form of matter which is inert or insentient. Akshara is the changeless.In Samsara there are two categories arranged in two separate groups of beings? called Purushas? as they are the limiting adjuncts of the Purusha. Maya Sakti? the illusory power of the Lord? is the seed from which the perishable being takes its birth. It is the seat of all the latent impressions of desires? actions? etc.? of various perishable creatures. Maya Sakti is the Akshara Purusha. The unmanifest condition is generally described as deep ignorance or sleep for there is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness. It is only a potential state. It is the condition in which all forms of life with its accompanying limitations lie latent? just as the tree lies latent in the seed of the fruit. In this state matter and energy are one. In this state sound? matter and energy exist in an undifferentiated state. In this state the Gunas exist in a state of eilibrium.The imperishable is known as the Kutastha? i.e.? that which remains immovable like a heap. That which is at the root (Kuta) of all these beings is the Kutastha. Or? Kuta also means illusion? and Kutastha means that which manifests itself in diverse forms of illusion. That which conceals the Truth and shows the false thing and deceives the worldyminded people is Maya or Kuta. That which is of the form of the AvaranaVikshepa Sakti (veiling and vacillating power) is Kutastha. As this Maya Sakti cannot be destroyed except by the knowledge of the Self? it is said to be endless. That is the reason why this is called Akshara. That seed of Samsara has no end. Therefore? it is said to be imperishable in the sense that it is not destroyed in the absence of knowledge of the Self. But the seed is scorched or destroyed in toto when one gets the knowledge of Brahman. The,illusion vanishes and everything is realised as the one Cosmic Consciousness. Only the illusory perception of matter is destroyed.Purushottama or the highest Purusha is distinct from these two -- the perishable and the imperishable. He is not affected by the evils of the two vehicles or limiting adjuncts of the perishable and the imperishable. He is eternal? pure? intelligent and free by nature.


15.17 उत्तमः the Supreme? पुरुषः Purusha? तु but? अन्यः another? परमात्मा the highest? Self? इति thus? उदाहृतः called? यः who? लोकत्रयम् the three worlds? आविश्य pervading? बिभर्ति sustains? अव्ययः the indestructible? ईश्वरः Lord.Commentary Purushottama is beyond the universe though He pervades the three worlds. Therefore He is called the Supreme Being by the Vedas and men of this world. He pervades the three worlds and upholds them yet? He is not tainted by the world. He is above the world or worldliness.Just as the waking state is different from the dram or the deep sleep states? just as the orb of the sun is different from his rays or the mirage they casue? so also is the highest Purusha different from the perishable and the imperishable Purushas.The highest Purusha is the haven of peace. In Him all take their refuge and eternal rest. He is incomparable for He is selfcontained there is nothing like Him. He can only be compared to Himself. The imperishable Being (Akshara Brahman) Who is beyond the world and the Avyaktam (the Unmanifested) are essentially the same as the Purushottama Who transcends both the Kshara and the Akshara.The Purushottama is ite distinct from the two -- Kshara and Akshara. He is the Supreme Being. The physical body? the astral body and the causal body are also termed the Self. But these are secondary selves. Paramatma or the Supreme Self is the primary Self. Purushottama or Paramatma is the supreme or the highest when compared with the other secondary selves created by ignorance. He is the innermost consciousness of all beings. He is the support of everything. He is the Niyanta? the Inner Ruler. He is independent. Therefore He is known as the Supreme Self in the Vedanta.Anyah Another? ite distinct from the two.Lokatrayam The three worlds Bhuh (the earth)? Bhuvah (the midregion) and Svah (heaven) are the three worlds.Purushottama is further described as follows He is the imperishable and omniscient Lord Narayana Who permeates the three worlds by His vital energy and sustains them by His mere existence in them.Avyaya Imperishable? that which is free from the modifications such as birth? death? etc. Just as the king who rules his subjects and controls them is distinct from them? so also the Supreme Being Who is the ruler of the perishable and the imperishable is distinct from them. (Cf.VIII.20)


15.18 यस्मात् as? क्षरम् the perishable? अतीतः transcend? अहम् I? अक्षरात् than the imperishable? अपि also? च and? उत्तमः best? अतः therefore? अस्मि (I) am? लोके in the world? वेदे in the Vedas? च and? प्रथितः declared? पुरुषोत्तमः the Highest Purusha.Commentary Purushottama is a wellknown name of the Lord. The name is ite appropriate as He is the supreme Purusha.Kshara The perishable -- the tree of Samsara.Akshara The imperishable -- the seed of the tree of Samsara.Because I excel the perishable (the tree of illusory Samsara) and am more excellent also than the imperishable (the seed of the tree of the illusory Samsara) and because I am thus superior to the perishable and the imperishable? I am proclaimed in the world and in the Vedas as the highest Purusha. Devotees know Me as such. Poets also describe Me as such.I am beyond all limitations. There is no trace of dualism in Me. Therefore? I am called by all and by the scriptures the highest Purusha.


15.19 यः who? माम् Me? एवम् thus? असम्मूढः undeluded? जानाति knows? पुरुषोत्तमम् the Supreme Purusha? सः he? सर्ववित् allknowing? भजति worships? माम् Me? सर्वभावेन with his whole being (heart)? भारत O Bharata.Commentary The glory of the knowledge of the Self is described in this verse.Asammudhah Undeluded? free from delusion. The undeluded does not identify himself with the physical body. He never looks upon the physical body? the lifeforce? senses? mind? intellect and the causal body as the Self or as belonging to himself? because he is resting in his own essential nature as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute and because he identifies himself with Brahman or the Supreme Being.That aspirant who knows that Sri Krishna is not a human being and that He is the highest Purusha or the Supreme Being is undeluded. Such an aspirant or devotee alone worships Him with his whole being. He is the Sarvavit or Sarvajna? allknower. He knows and realises that Lord Krishna? the supreme Lord? is the Inner Self of all beings. He beholds the One in the many? and the many in the One. For him there is neither high nor low? neither pleasure nor pain? neither virtue nor vice? neither good nor evil? neither likes nor dislikes.Me The Lord as specified above.Sarvavit One who knows everything in detail.Knows that I am He.Sarvabhavena With all his heart? with his whole being? wholeheartedly with his whole thought devoted exclusively to the Self of all with his whole mind centred on the Supreme Self alone.


15.20 इति thus? गुह्यतमम् most secret? शास्त्रम् science (teaching)? इदम् this? उक्तम् has been taught? मया by Me? अनघ O sinless one? एतत् बुद्ध्वा knowing this? बुद्धिमान् wise? स्यात् will become? कृतकृत्यः (who has) accomplished all the duties? च and? भारत O Bharata.Commentary Guhyatamam Most profound secret.Buddhiman means here a knower of the Self or Atmart.The knowledge of the Self which gives emancipation from the round of birth and death? and freedom from the bonds of Karma is eulogised in this verse. If this most profound teaching is rightly understood? known or realised? it makes a man wise and gives him illumination. After this there is nothing left for him to know or strive for. He has reached the goal of life or the aim of human existence. He has arrived at the end of his journey. His endeavour for Selfrealisation is over. He has attained perfection. He has complete knowledge of the Supreme Being. He gets Brahma Jnana. He moves in the consciousness of the Divine. He beholds the Self everywhere. He lives in Brahman. He regards all activities as His divine play.When one realises Brahman? he has discharged all the duties of life. He is liberated from the bonds of Karma. He becomes a Jivanmukta or illumined sage who has transcended the bodyconsciousness? the three alities of Nature? the three states of consciousness (wakeful state? dream and deep sleep)? the pairs of opposites and the cycle of birth and death. He knows fully well that rirth has been destroyed? that what has to be done has been accomplished? that lifes highest goal has been reached and that he has nothing more to do or to learn. He has understood the profound mystery of life -- the riddle of this universe. He is a Sarvavit or allknower.The whole of the Gita is called science? yet the fifteenth discourse alone is here declared as the science for the sake of eulogising it. The fifteenth discourse contains the intessence of the Gita? the Upanishads and the Vedas. This is the butter churned from the milk of the Vedas. It has been said that? He who knows the peepul tree knows the Veda (XV.1). The Lord has also said? It is I Who am to be known by all the Vedas (XV.15). Only when a man knows this science as taught above does he become wise -- but not otherwise. Whatever duty a Brahmana of the highest birth has to do? all that has been doen when one attains the knowledge of the Self. All actions in their entirety culminate in knowledge (IV.33). This is the fulfilment of the birth? particularly of a Brahmana because the twicorn accomplishes all his duties only by attaining to this? but not otherwise? says Manu Smriti.As you have heard from Me this truth about the Supreme Being? you are a happy man and you have done all your duties you have attained Selfrealistion.By using the words Anagha and Bharata? Lord Krishna hints that even when an ordinary man who knows this fifteenth discourse can attain knowledge of the Self and become a Kritakritya? then what to say of Arjuna who was sinless and who was born in a noble family with divine attributes The Lord? by using the word Anagha? also indicates that the Guru who is a knower of Brahman should instruct the most profound secret (the science of the Self) only to alified persons who are free from impurities of the heart or tossing of the mind? who are calm and endowed with the four means of salvation. The man of impure mind will not be able to grasp the truth. The sinful man with his perverted intellect will distort the truth and thus pave the way for the destruction of himself and his followers.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the fifteenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Supreme Spirit. ,,