Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15: Puruṣhottama Yogam, Verse 3 & 4:
(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)
The Soul Only Thinks Of Itself As The Person In Flesh And Bones When It Is In The Physical Form It Is Indifferent With Its Origins And Eternal Existence
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते
नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा |
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल
मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा || 15.3||
तत: पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं
यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूय: |
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये
यत: प्रवृत्ति: प्रसृता पुराणी || 15.4||
na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate
nānto na chādir na cha sampratiṣhṭhā
aśhvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam
asaṅga-śhastreṇa dṛiḍhena chhittvā|| 3||
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ
yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
tam eva chādyaṁ puruṣhaṁ prapadye
yataḥ pravṛittiḥ prasṛitā purāṇī|| 4||
Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 15- Ver. 3 & 4:
This tree’s true form, as well as its beginning, end, and continuous existence, are not visible in this world. However, a heavy axe of detachment must be used to cut down this deep-rooted ashvatth tree. Then one must seek out the tree’s base, which is the Supreme Lord, from whom the universe’s activities a long time ago flowed. One will never return to this world after seeking refuge in Him.
Explanation
According to Shree Krishna, the embodied souls are intimately involved in the constant cycle of life and death; hence the mystery of the ashvattha tree is difficult to comprehend. The tree’s buds, which are objects of the senses, entice them to create desires.
Ignorant souls continue to labour hard to gratify these cravings, which merely multiply in number and nurture the tree’s growth. When such desires are satisfied, they eventually come back, resulting in greed. When it is obstructed, however, it creates anger, which clouds the intellect and develops ignorance.
The soul only thinks of itself as the person in flesh and bones when it is in the physical form. It is unconcerned with its origins and eternal existence. It uses its human name, family, nation, and so on to identify itself. As a result, in order to meet bodily requirements and seek financial enjoyment, the living being engages in fruitless attempts.
Sometimes, in order to satisfy one’s materialistic desires, a human being commits sins, whether deliberately or unknowingly. It is reincarnated in the lower species and nether areas as a result of these factors. It is occasionally drawn to the leaves of this tree, which are the Vedic ritualistic rites that aid in the accumulation of pious merits. The human being’s inclination for material pleasures encourages him or her to get involved.
The pious virtues assist the soul in ascending to the celestial abodes, but once these merits are depleted, the soul is sent back to the lower forms, and the cycle repeats.
The material energy is subjecting the soul to worldly afflictions because it has been forgetful of God throughout eternity. It lifts the soul to the celestial realms at times and lowers it to the hellish realms at other times. A soul stuck in the material world’s tree of life, it is moved back and forth between the top and lower areas based on its merits. When a soul is born in a celestial form, it experiences some momentary comfort, but this soon passes and the soul is returned to its human form.
Several incarnations have passed, yet the soul is still striving for earthly pleasure. As a result, the tree’s desire roots have spread further and the tree has grown enormously. However, Lord Shree Krishna claims that this tree can be cut down without regret.
Asanga, which meaning detachment, is the cure for the soul’s never-ending pain. The axe of detachment has the ability to cut the roots of wants fed by the three forms of material nature. The Lord goes on to say that this axe of detachment can only be acquired by self-knowledge.
“I am not this material body, but an eternal spiritual existence,” one must realize. Material items cannot provide me with the everlasting happiness that I want. My efforts to satisfy the material needs of this material body are not satisfying, and they are just trapping me deeper in the samsara, or web of life and death.”
The next stage is to locate the upside-down tree’s base, which is at the very top and far higher than everything else. The Supreme Lord of all creation is seated here. “I am the origin of all existence,”
Lord Shree Krishna said earlier. Everything starts with Me. The wise, who are fully aware of this, adore Me with deep devotion and faith.” As a result, in order to discover the ultimate source, we must resign to God” I submit unto Him from whom the universe a long time ago came into being.”
The infinite tree can be overcome and axed in this manner. “My holy energy, Maya, which consists of the three forms of nature, is very difficult to overcome,” Shree Krishna declared in an earlier verse. Those who surrender to Me, on the other hand, effortlessly pass through.” As a result, the only way to cut down the ashvattha tree is to surrender completely to the Supreme Lord and seek refuge in him. We will not return to this material world as a result of this, but will instead travel to His holy Abode after death.
Verse & what we can learn
Most of us, according to Shri Krishna, do not see the big picture of our existence in this planet. We merely exist in a never-ending cycle of attraction to sense objects, want, action, consequence, and more desire. He shows us the example of the samsara tree in the previous two shlokas to help us get out of this restricted view of existence.
He clearly emphasizes that we are all entangled in this upside down tree of samsara, regardless of whether we are rich or poor, educated or ignorant, fit or sick. We never see ourselves as we truly are. It has no beginning, middle, or end that we can see. It is, in fact, a massive illusion that has sprung to life as a result of our long-held ignorance of our true nature.
To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.
There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.
Shree Krishna reveals the conditions for the surrender phase in the next verse.
Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…