VEDIC
SCRIPTURES
A Song of Fortune
- A modern Gîtâ -

CHAPTER 15
The nature of the
supreme person

(1) The
fortunate
one said: 'He who knows that the tree of life is an eternal
tree with its roots upwards, its branches downwards and of which the
leaves are the filognostic songs28, is someone who knows the culture of knowledge. (2) This
tree extending downwards and upwards, developed to its twigs downward
the domain of the senses and to its roots the karma which binds one to
the human world. (3-4) The form of this tree has no beginning or end,
nor a foundation that can be perceived out here; persevering with the
weapon of detachment one must be of cessation with this deeply rooted
tree. After having renounced with that tree of life, one must figure
out where that place is one is heading for and from where one never
returns, and surrender to Him, the original personal integrity and
animating principle29, from whom, and from which, everything extended since the
earliest days of the universe. (5) That everlasting refuge is attained
when one, not being bewildered, is free from self-importance and
illusion, has defeated bad association, understands what lasts forever,
and when one has dissociated oneself from the lust and has freed
oneself from the dualities under the heading of happiness and distress.
(6) Going for that superior place of mine, which is not lit by the sun,
the moon or by lamps, one never returns. (7) Living a conditioned life,
with the mind as the sixth sense, the individual living being,
struggling hard in its material position, is an eternal part of me. (8)
It is as the controller of the body it obtained and also has to give
up, in all of that carried along like a fragrance by the wind from its
source. (9) With its hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, smelling and
also minding it is ruled by the objects of the senses. (10) The notion
of having a body, quitting a body and, under the spell of the modes,
enjoying a body is something that the foolish don't understand, but
those who share the filognostic vision do understand this. (11) Those
who endeavor and unify in consciousness, realize it from within their
soul, but those endeavoring who do not act in favor of the soul, do not
have this vision, however developed their minds are.
(12) The splendor you see in the light of the sun
which illuminates the entire world, as also in the light of the moon
and the fire, you should understand as all originating from me. (13)
With my ethereal energy I permeate this earth and sustain these living
beings, and as their life-juice I, by my appearance in the form of the
moon, nourish all the plants. (14) As the fire of digestion within the
bodies of all living beings, I maintain the balance between the in- and
outgoing breath, while I digest the four types of foodstuff.30 (15) Residing in the heart of all beings
they have from me their remembrance, knowledge and reason. It is by the
sacred scriptures that I am known; I'm their doctrine and the knowledge
of their meaning.
(16) There are these integrities of service in this
world: the perishable and the imperishable one; the service of all the
living beings is perishable but the service of the stationary and
constant integrity of the multitude of the natural order is known to be
imperishable. (17) The highest integrity of service is another service,
viz. the service of the supreme self of the Lord of whom one says that
He, pervading the three departments of the world18, is the inexhaustible maintainer. (18)
Because I am, relative to the perishable, transcendental and, relative
to the imperishable, the best, I am in the world and in the sacred
literatures celebrated as the Supreme Personality. (19) Anyone who,
free from doubt, knows about me as being that Supreme Personality,
knows all there is to know, and will serve me any way he can, oh son of
the Many dynasty. (20) Understanding this most confidential part of the
revealed scripture I now disclosed, oh sinless one, one will become
intelligent and find perfection in one's line of work, oh son of the
Many line.'
2007 © Aadhar, Enschede
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