[15.1–3]
THE BLESSED LORD SAID:
This realm of sorrow is the world tree
that the sages describe: its roots
above, its branches below,
its green leaves the sacred hymns.
Its branches, spreading below
and above, are fed by the gunas,
and bud into objects of the senses;
its roots, causing action, stretch down
into the world of men;
men here on earth cannot see
how vast and extensive its form is
or where it begins and ends.
[15.3–7]
Cut down this deep-rooted tree
with the sharp-edged ax of detachment;
then search for that primal Person
from whom the whole universe flows.
Find him in the place that one enters
and does not return from; without
arrogance or delusion,
intent on the Self alone,
serene, with desires extinguished,
released from pleasure and pain,
from joy and suffering, the wise
attain that eternal state.
The sun does not give it light,
nor the moon, nor does any fire;
those who reach it, my highest
dwelling, are never reborn.
One fragment of me, becoming
an eternal soul in the world,
draws to itself the mind
and the other five Nature-born senses.
[15.8–12]
When the Lord takes on a body
or leaves it, he carries these senses
just as the wind carries fragrances
from the places where it has been.
Presiding over the senses
of hearing and sight, of touch,
taste, smell, and also of mind,
he savors the senses’ objects.
Whether he leaves or remains,
enjoying his contact with the gunas,
the deluded see nothing; but wise men
see him with their inner eye.
True men of yoga, striving,
see him within themselves;
but men without self-control,
however they strive, do not see him.
The brilliance of the moon, of fire,
the brilliance that flames from the sun
to illumine the entire world—
this brilliance in truth is mine.
[15.13–17]
Entering the earth, I support
all beings by my life-giving power;
becoming the nectar-filled moonlight,
I cause plants and herbs to thrive.
I am the vital fire
in the bellies of all men; joined
with the breath as it flows, I digest
the various kinds of food.
I dwell deep in the hearts
of all beings; I am the source
of memory and knowledge, the author
of all scriptures, their wisdom, their goal.
In this world, there are two persons:
the transient and the eternal;
all beings are transient as bodies,
but eternal within the Self.
Yet beyond these two is the ultimate
Person, the highest Self,
the immutable Lord who, entering
the universe, brings it to life.
[15.18–20]
I am beyond the transient
and am higher than the eternal;
therefore, scriptures and world
call me the Ultimate Person.
Whoever, clear-minded, knows me
as the Ultimate Person, knows
all that is truly worth knowing,
and he loves me with all his heart.
Thus, Arjuna, I have taught you
this most secret doctrine; whoever
learns it, is wise, and has done
all that there is to do.