Bhagavad Gita (15)

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CHAPTER 15DEVOTION TO THE SUPREME SELF(Purushottama Yoga)"The one who grasps this great

secret will become enlightened; all duties and missions in life and the goal of millions of years of evolution will have been achieved."1.

Krishna pauses as though carefully weighing his next words. "Arjuna,

let us now briefly delve into certain profound and esoteric truths

regarding My most exalted nature and the highest goal of all, reaching

My dwelling place. I will approach it through an analogy."Prakriti, the world of matter, can be likened to the mythical Ashvatta

tree, a giant, upside-down fig tree with its roots high in God and its

branches stuck in the mud below. Like the aspen, its leaves are

constantly shivering, always in movement; and like the banyan, it sends

its branches downward toward the earth rather than upward - and those

branches become firmly rooted in the earthly."ASHVATTA, THE TREE OF WORLDLY LIFE2. "The Ashvatta,

referred to as the tree of worldly life, is comprised of higher

branches, closer to God, and lower ones at the worldly level. The

tree's buds and quaking leaves are likened to human senses, fed by the

saplike powers of nature, the gunas. The downward branches, stuck deep, are attachments that bind the individual soul (jiva) to earthly existence. To understand the nature of this upside-down tree is to see the inverted way that humans perceive life.3-4.

"Although the origin and totality of this tree of worldly life may be

beyond the ken of humanity, know that its branches stuck in the world

must be cut by the ax of nonattachment. When you sever these

attachments an attitude of sacred dispassion comes, which is the

prerequisite for spiritual vision. Then, spiritual intuition supplants

your usual seeing, and your whole spectacle of the universe undergoes a

dramatic change."But cutting the root bonds is not enough.

After the ax has done its work, you must seek the supreme goal of life,

liberation from the cycle of rebirth.5. "Nondeluded people who cleave off their ignorance (their unawareness of Atma)

reach that Supreme Goal. When they are free of pride and have slashed

their attachments, when they have dropped their craving for pleasure

and aversion to pain, then these clear-seeing ones enter the light of

the Supreme goal.6. "That light is indeed bright beyond all

light! Neither the sun, the moon, nor star, nor flash of lightning, nor

fire lit on earth can shine in the self-luminescence of My realm. Once

the individual soul achieves this ultimate enlightenment he or she is

forever with Me and is never restored to a separate existence."THE JIVA'S JOURNEY7. "I will now explain more about the individual soul (jiva). The Atma

(a part of Divinity) enters into a body in the womb before birth; thus

it enters the world of matter. It draws around itself the five senses,

with the mind as the sixth. The mind and senses, remember, are prakriti, a part of nature.8. "Like a breeze wafting the scent of perfume, the Atma,

when it migrates from one body to the next, carries with it the mind

and the senses. That means it brings along the intellect, the ego

(sense of being a separate identity), and the lower mind; transferring

thoughts and tendencies from previous lifetimes.9. "The individual soul (jivatma), because it has drawn the senses around itself, experiences the pleasures, desires, and pains of the world.10. "People who are unaware of the True Self Within (Atma), do not recognize this jiva in them that is using the senses. As the senses are limited to the mind level, they are incapable of comprehending Atma, which is above the mind. Yogis, however, possessing the eye of wisdom (intuitive faculty), do see Me, their Atmic Self within.11.

To obtain this 'eye of wisdom' you must do two things: surrender your

ego and purify your mind. Only by accomplishing both of these will you

behold Me. Those with only halfhearted surrender or only partially

purified minds are not granted the capacity to see their Atmic Self."GOD'S IMMANENCE IN ALL12.

"Remember, dear friend, that I am subtly inherent in everything,

everything in the universe! I am the all-illuminating light of the sun,

the light in the moon, the brilliance in fire - all light is Mine. I am

even the consciousness of light, and indeed, I am the consciousness in

the entire cosmos.13. "A minute drop of My primordial energy (prana)

entering the earth supports and sustains all beings. I become the

life-giving sap that nourishes all plants (including all healing

herbs). In fact, it is My energy that gives rise to all forms of matter

and energy.14. "I enter the bodies of living beings as the

warmth of life. I am in their digestive systems as heat that turns food

into strength. I am the in-going and out-going breath. These powers are

aspects of My energy.15. "I am in all hearts. I reside

throughout the cosmos as consciousness. From Me comes knowledge,

understanding, and memory. I bring all these powers, and I also take

them away."Try to contemplate the vastness and mind-boggling

impermanence of the entire physical universe, Arjuna, and you just

begin to gather an idea of My absolute permanence. By ruminating on the

utter immensity of the cosmos you begin to receive hints of the

incomprehensible scope of My omnipresence. I am present everywhere in

all this vastness."I am

beauty and bliss, Arjuna. It is I of whom all the different scriptures

in the world speak. In fact, it is I who authored them.16.

"There are two orders of beings in this world: mortal (temporal,

perishable) beings and immortal (eternal, imperishable) Spirit. All

creatures are perishable. The Spirit is imperishable.17-18. "But distinct from and above both of these - higher than either mortals or Spirit, higher even than the highest deities - I exist as the Supreme Atma,

the Immutable, Eternal, Imperishable Godhead. It is this utmost-level

'I' who pervades, and yet remains above and beyond all three worlds

(earth, the in-between levels, and the heavens). As I transcend both

the perishable and the imperishable, I am known in this aspect of

Myself as the 'Supreme Absolute Highest Self', or Purushottama.19.

"There is only one Reality, Arjuna, one! Those who know and see this

Supreme level of Self in Me know and see the Truth. These enlightened

souls devote themselves to Me with full hearts.20. "I have

revealed this most profound and esoteric of all truths to you. The one

who grasps this great secret will become enlightened; all duties and

missions in life and the goal of millions of years of evolution will

have been achieved. There is no higher knowledge. That one has done

what has to be done."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/