The Blessed Lord said: They (the wise) speak of an eternal ashvattha tree, with roots above and boughs beneath, whose leaves are Vedic hymns. He who understands this tree of life is a Veda-knower.
Its branches spread above and below, nurtured by the gunas; its buds are the sense objects; and downward, into the world of men, extend the rootlings that force man to actions.
The true nature of this tree, its beginning, its end, and its modes of continuity—none of these are understood by ordinary men. The wise, having destroyed the firmly rooted ashvattha with the powerful axe of nonattachment; thinking, “I take refuge in the Primeval Purusha from whom alone issued the immemorial processes of creation,” seek the Supreme Goal. Reaching It, they return to phenomenal existence no more.
The true nature of this tree, its beginning, its end, and its modes of continuity—none of these are understood by ordinary men. The wise, having destroyed the firmly rooted ashvattha with the powerful axe of nonattachment; thinking, “I take refuge in the Primeval Purusha from whom alone issued the immemorial processes of creation,” seek the Supreme Goal. Reaching It, they return to phenomenal existence no more.
Without craving for honor, free from delusion and malignant attachment, all longings banished, disengaged from the pair of opposites—pleasure and pain—ever established in the Self, the undeceived attain the immutable state.
Where no sun or moon or fire shines, that is My Supreme Abode. Having reached there, men are never reborn.
An eternal part of Myself, manifesting as a living soul in the world of beings, attracts to itself the six senses, including the mind, which rest in Prakriti.
When the Lord as the jiva acquires a body, He brings with Him the mind and the senses. When He leaves that body, He takes them and goes, even as the wind wafts away scents from their dwelling places (in flowers).
Presiding over the mind and the senses of hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, He enjoys the sensory world.
The deluded do not perceive Him staying or departing or experiencing the world of the gunas. Those whose eye of wisdom is open see Him.
The yogis striving for liberation see Him existing in themselves; but those who are unpurified and undisciplined are unable to perceive Him even when they struggle to do so.
The light of the sun that illumines the whole world, the light from the moon, and the light in fire—know this radiance to be Mine.
Permeating earth with My effulgence, I support all beings; having become the watery moon, I bring forth all plant forms.
Having become Vaishvanara (fiery power), I exist in the body of living creatures; and, acting through prana and apana, I digest food that is eaten in four ways.
Also, I am seated in the heart of all beings; and from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their loss. Verily I am That which is to be known through the Vedas; indeed, I am the Veda-Knower and the Author of the Vedanta.
There are two Beings (Purushas) in the cosmos, the destructible and the indestructible. The creatures are the destructible, the Kutastha is the indestructible.
But there exists Another, the Highest Being, designated the “Supreme Spirit”—the Eternal Lord who, permeating the three worlds, upholds them.
I (the Lord) am beyond the perishable (Prakriti) and am also higher than the imperishable (Kutastha). Therefore, in the worlds and in the Veda (the intuitive perception of undeluded souls) I am proclaimed Purushottama, the Uttermost Being.
Whosoever, freed from delusion, knows Me thus as the Supreme Spirit, knows all, O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna). He worships Me with his whole being.
Herewith, O Sinless One (Arjuna), have I taught thee this most profound wisdom. Understanding it, a man becomes a sage, one who has successfully fulfilled all his duties, and yet continues in dutiful actions.