Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 - Yoga of the supreme person

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15 (20 verses)

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, titled "Puruṣottama Yoga," or "The Yoga of the Supreme Person," 

Life Lesson
The supreme being is the source of everything in the universe
The soul is eternal, unchanged entity that exist beyond this physical body. 
Spiritual knowledge, is the key to realize the ultimate reality and to achieve liberation. 
Attachments to the ultimate reality helps achieving spiritual progress
the ultimate goal of human life is to attain union with the supreme being

Summary:

• verses 1-6  Reflections
• verses 7-11 Transmigration of the soul
• verses 12-15 Lord the Maintainer
• verses 16-20 The essence

This chapter consists of 20 verses, the shortest and it is the essence of the Bhagavad Gita and Vedanta. Sri Krishna speaks to us through Arjuna, using the metaphorical inverted tree: It compares the material world to an upside-down Aśvattha tree. It highlights the importance of transcending material attachments and identifying with the Supreme Spirit (Brahman) to achieve liberation. It is our connection to the higher (the Eternal Self- Divinity). It also emphasizes Lord Krishna's role as the maintainer of the material world and the ultimate goal of spiritual attainment. 

Lord Krishna uses a metaphor to describe the material world as an upside down Aśvattha tree where it's root, faces upwards, representing Brahman, the source of the universe. The branches, extending downward, represent the manifested world with its various forms and activities. The three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) are depicted as nourishing the tree, creating the objects of the senses and binding souls through attachment. 

The chapter emphasizes the need to "cut down" this tree with the weapon of detachment, meaning to detach oneself from the cycle of birth and death and the material world's attachments. 

Lord Krishna is presented as the one who maintains the material world through various functions, including the sun, moon, fire, planets, and the process of digestion. He is also described as the source of all things, including the individual self (Purusha). 

This Chapter underscores the need to understand one's relationship with Lord Krishna and to seek refuge in Him for ultimate liberation. It emphasizes that the Supreme Spirit (Brahman, or Krishna) is the ultimate goal of spiritual attainment. It highlights the importance of devotional service and detachment from material attachments as paths to liberation. 

The Key Concepts in this chapter includes: The nature of the world, of the self and the supreme being. It also deals with the The Path to Liberation. The material world is a temporary, illusionary manifestation of the Supreme Spirit, likened to a Banyan tree. The individual self (Purusha) is a part of the Supreme Spirit and is eternal, though temporarily bound to the material world. Lord Krishna is the source, maintainer, and ultimate goal of spiritual liberation. Detachment from material attachments, understanding one's relationship with Krishna, and devotional service are key steps towards transcending the cycle of birth and death.

At the end of this chapter, Lord Krishna  explains the terms: kshar, akshar, and purushottam.  
kṣhar (perishable)  are the perishable beings residing in the material world 
akṣhar (imperishable) The liberated beings who live in the Abode of God
Purushottam (God) is the eternal source, sustainer, and regulator of the entire world The Supreme Divine Personality. He is transcendental to both imperishable and perishable beings. Therefore, we must worship God with complete surrender.

Summary  Gita Verses has  32 syllables  or 44 syllables 

15:16 There are two kinds of beings in creation, the kṣhar (perishable) and the akṣhar (imperishable). The perishable are all beings in the material realm. The imperishable are the the liberated beings.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15, Verse 1

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śhākham     aśhvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
chhandānsi yasya parṇāni                yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Divine Personality said;

ūrdhva-mūlam—with roots above; adhaḥ—downward; śhākham—branches;

 aśhvattham—the sacred fig tree; prāhuḥ—they speak; avyayam—eternal;

 chhandānsi—Vedic mantras; yasya—of which; parṇāni—leaves; 

yaḥ—who; tam—that; veda—knows; saḥ—he; veda-vit—the knower of the Vedas

The essence of the Bhagavad Gita and Vedanta. Sri Krishna speaks to us through Arjuna, using the metaphorical inverted tree: The roots are above, symbolizing our connection to the higher (the Eternal Self- Divinity) and the branches face down, representing our finite, conditional world (the embodied self) Desires sustain our transmigatory world just as leaves nourish and adorn the tree. Propelled by sattvic desires- lives righteously, gain purity, and use Self knowledge to permanently remove the tree of transmigration . those who know the Truth, revealed by the Vedas, despite seeing the relatively real samsar exist in the Absolute!

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15, Verse 2

adhaśh chordhvaṁ prasṛitās tasya śhākhā

guṇa-pravṛiddhā viṣhaya-pravālāḥ

adhaśh cha mūlāny anusantatāni

karmānubandhīni manuṣhya-loke

adhaḥ—downward; cha—and; ūrdhvam—upward; prasṛitāḥ—extended;

 tasya—its; śhākhāḥ—branches;

 guṇa—modes of material nature; pravṛiddhāḥ—nourished; viṣhaya—objects of the senses; pravālāḥ—buds;

 adhaḥ—downward; cha—and; mūlāni—roots; anusantatāni—keep growing;

 karma—actions; anubandhīni—bound; manuṣhya-loke—in the world of humans

BG 15.2: The branches of the tree extend upward and downward, nourished by the three guṇas, with the objects of the senses as tender buds. The roots of the tree hang downward, causing the flow of karma in the human form. Below, its roots branch out causing (karmic) actions in the world of humans.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15, Verse 6

न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावक: |
यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम || 6||

na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śhaśhāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

na—neither; tat—that; bhāsayate—illumine; sūryaḥ—the sun; na—nor; śhaśhāṅkaḥ—the moon; na—nor; pāvakaḥ—fire; yat—where; gatvā—having gone; na—never; nivartante—they return; tat—that; dhāma—abode; paramam—supreme; mama—Mine

na tad bhasayate suryo na shashanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama

Translation

BG 15.6: Neither the sun nor the moon, nor fire can illumine that Supreme Abode of Mine. Having gone There, one does not return to this material world again.

Bhagavad Gita 15.1

The Supreme Divine Personality said: They speak of an eternal aśhvatth tree with its roots above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns, and one who knows the secret of this tree is the knower of the Vedas.

Bhagavad Gita 15.2

The branches of the tree extend upward and downward, nourished by the three guṇas, with the objects of the senses as tender buds. The roots of the tree hang downward, causing the flow of karma in the human form. Below, its roots branch out causing (karmic) actions in the world of humans.

Bhagavad Gita 15.3 – 15.4

The real form of this tree is not perceived in this world, neither its beginning nor end, nor its continued existence. But this deep-rooted aśhvatth tree must be cut down with a strong axe of detachment. Then one must search out the base of the tree, which is the Supreme Lord, from whom streamed forth the activity of the universe a long time ago. Upon taking refuge in Him, one will not return to this world again.

Bhagavad Gita 15.5

Those who are free from vanity and delusion, who have overcome the evil of attachment, who dwell constantly on the self and on God, who are free from the desire to enjoy the senses, and are beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, such liberated personalities attain My eternal Abode.

Bhagavad Gita 15.6

Neither the sun nor the moon, nor fire can illumine that Supreme Abode of Mine. Having gone There, one does not return to this material world again.

Bhagavad Gita 15.7

The embodied souls in this material world are My eternal fragmental parts. But bound by material nature, they are struggling with the six senses including the mind.

Bhagavad Gita 15.8

As the air carries fragrance from place to place, so does the embodied soul carry the mind and senses with it, when it leaves an old body and enters a new one.

Bhagavad Gita 15.9

Using the sense perceptions of the ears, eyes, skin, tongue, and nose, which are grouped around the mind, the embodied soul savors the objects of the senses.

Bhagavad Gita 15.10

The ignorant do not perceive the soul as it resides in the body, and as it enjoys sense objects; nor do they perceive it when it departs. But those who possess the eyes of knowledge can behold it.

Bhagavad Gita 15.11

Striving yogis too are able to realize the soul enshrined in the body. However, those whose minds are not purified cannot cognize it, even though they strive to do so.

Bhagavad Gita 15.12

Know that I am like the brilliance of the sun that illuminates the entire solar system. The radiance of the moon and the brightness of the fire also come from Me.

Bhagavad Gita 15.13

Permeating the earth, I nourish all living beings with My energy. Becoming the moon, I nourish all plants with the juice of life.

Bhagavad Gita 15.14

It is I who take the form of the fire of digestion in the stomachs of all living beings, and combine with the incoming and outgoing breaths, to digest and assimilate the four kinds of foods.

Bhagavad Gita 15.15

I am seated in the hearts of all living beings, and from Me come memory, knowledge, as well as forgetfulness. I alone am to be known by all the Vedas, am the author of the Vedant, and the knower of the meaning of the Vedas.

Bhagavad Gita 15.16

There are two kinds of beings in creation, the kṣhar (perishable) and the akṣhar (imperishable). The perishable are all beings in the material realm. The imperishable are the the liberated beings.

Bhagavad Gita 15.17

Besides these, is the Supreme Divine Personality, who is the indestructible Supreme Soul. He enters the three worlds as the unchanging Controller and supports all living beings.

Bhagavad Gita 15.18

I am transcendental to the perishable world of matter, and even to the imperishable soul; hence I am celebrated, both in the Vedas and the Smṛitis, as the Supreme Divine Personality.

Bhagavad Gita 15.19

Those who know Me without doubt as the Supreme Divine Personality truly have complete knowledge. O Arjun, they worship Me with their whole being.

Bhagavad Gita 15.20View commentary »

I have shared this most secret principle of the Vedic scriptures with you, O sinless Arjun. By understanding this, a person becomes enlightened, and fulfills all that is to be accomplished.