THE FIFTEENTH TEACHING

THE TRUE SPIRIT
OF MAN

Lord Krishna

Roots in the air, branches below,
the tree of life is unchanging,
they say; its leaves are hymns,
and he who knows it knows sacred lore.

1

Its branches
stretch below and above,
nourished by nature's qualities,
budding with sense objects;
aerial roots
tangled in actions
reach downward
into the world of men.

2

Its form is unknown
here in the world;
unknown are its end,
its beginning, its extent;
cut down this tree
that has such deep roots
with the sharp ax
of detachment.

3

Then search to find
the realm
that one enters
without returning:
“I seek refuge
in the original spirit of man,
from which primordial
activity extended.”

4

Without pride or delusion,
the fault of attachment overcome,
intent on the self within,
their desires extinguished,
freed from dualities,
from joy and suffering,
undeluded men
reach that realm beyond change.

5

Neither sun nor moon
nor fire illumines
my highest abode—
once there, they do not return.

6

A fragment of me in the living world
is the timeless essence of life;
it draws out the senses
and the mind inherent in nature.

7

When the lord takes on a body
and then leaves it,
he carries these along, like the wind
bearing scents from earth.

8

Governing hearing, sight,
touch, taste, smell,
and thought, he savors
objects of the senses.

9

Deluded men do not perceive him
in departure or presence
or enjoyment of nature's qualities;
but the eyes of knowledge see him.

10

Men of discipline who strive
see him present within themselves;
but without self-mastery and reason,
even those who strive fail to see.

11

Know that my brilliance,
flaming in the sun,
in the moon, and in fire,
illumines this whole universe.

12

I penetrate the earth
and sustain creatures by my strength;
becoming Soma, the liquid of moonlight,
I nurture all healing herbs.

13

I am the universal fire
within the body of living beings;
I work with the flow of vital breath
to digest the foods that men consume.

14

I dwell deep
in the heart of everyone;
memory, knowledge,
and reasoning come from me;
I am the object to be known
through all sacred lore;
and I am its knower,
the creator of its final truth.

15

There is a double spirit of man
in the world, transient and eternal—
transient in all creatures,
eternal at the summit of existence.

16

Other is the supreme spirit of man,
called the supreme self,
the immutable lord who enters
and sustains the three worlds.

17

Since I transcend what is transient
and I am higher than the eternal,
I am known as the supreme spirit of man
in the world and in sacred lore.

18

Whoever knows me without delusion
as the supreme spirit of man
knows all there is, Arjuna—
he devotes his whole being to me.

19

Arjuna, thus I have taught
this most secret tradition;
realizing it, one has understanding
and his purpose is fulfilled.

20