Fifteenth Discourse
THE SUPREME SPIRIT
*The Tree of 5amsara.
The Blessed Lord said:
1.
They speak of the indestructible Asvattha-(Peepul Tree), having its root above and branches below, whose leaves are the meters. He who knows it knows the Vedas.
2.
Below and above are its branches spread, nourished by the gunas, sense-objects its buds; and below in the world of man stretch forth the roots ending in action.
* Cut the Tree and seek the Goal
And as to the Tree of Samsara just described,
3.
Its form is not perceived as such here, neither its end nor its origin nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firm-rooted Asvattha with the strong sword of dispassion,
4.
Than That Goal should be sought for, whither having gone none return again. “I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha , from whom has ensued the eternal Manifestation."
* The Path to the Goal
What sort of person reaches that Goal?-Listen:
5.
Free from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, their desires having completely turned away, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that Goal Eternal.
* The Goal is the Lord's Glorious Being
6.
That, the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; That is My Supreme Abode, to which having gone none return.
* Jiva is a ray of the Lord
7.
A ray of Myself, the eternal Jiva in the world of Jivas, attracts the senses, with manas the sixth, abiding in Prakriti.
* How Jiva dwells in the body and departs from it
8.
When the Lord acquires a body, and when He leaves it, He takes these and goes, as the wind takes scents from their seats.
9.
The ear, the eye and the touch, the taste and the smell, using these and the manas, he enjoys the sense-objects.
* The Self is visible only to the eye of knowledge
10.
Him who departs, stays and enjoys, who is conjoined with gunas, the deluded perceive not; they see, who possess the eye of knowledge.
* No self-knowledge without Yoga
11.
Those who strive, endued with Yoga, perceive Him dwelling in the self; though striving, those of unrefined self, devoid of wisdom, perceive Him not.
*Immanence of the Lord, as the all-illumining Light of Consciousness (1)
12.
That light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire, that light do thou know to be Mine.
* As the all-sustaining Life (2)
Moreover,
13.
Penetrating the earth I support all beings by (My) Energy; and having become the watery moon I nourish all herbs.
* As the Digestive Fire in all living: organisms (3)
Moreover,
14.
Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaisvanara-(the fire abiding in the stomach), associated with Prana and Apana, I digest the four-fold food.
* As the Self in the hearts of all (4)
Moreover,
15.
And I am seated in the hearts of all: from Me are memory, knowledge, as well as their loss; it is I who r/.n to be known by all the Vedas, I am indeed the author of the Vedanta as well as the knower of the Vedas.
* The Lord beyond the perishable and the imperishable universe
16.
There are these two beings in the world, the perishable and the imperishable: the perishable comprises all creatures; the immutable is called the imperishable.
17.
But distinct is the Highest Spirit spoken of as the Supreme Self, the indestructible Lord who penetrates and sustains the three worlds.
18.
Because I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, therefore am I known in the world and in the Veda as 'Purushottama,' the Highest Spirit.
* The Glory of Self-knowledge
19.
He who, undeluded, thus knows Me, the Highest Spirit, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole being, O Bharata.
20.
Thus, this most Secret Science has been taught by Me, O sinless one; on knowing this, (a man) becomes wise, O Bharata and all his duties are accomplished.
END OF FIFTEENTH DISCOURSE
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