Chapter 15 of Bhagavad Gita entitled "Purushothama Yoga"is being interpreted here by Mahatma Gandhi. The chapter begins with the Supreme Lord citing the Ashvatha or banyan tree as a metaphor to symbolise the material manifestation- this world- as a place of bondage & enslavement for the immortal Soul trapped as a Jiva in the perpetual cycle of birth & death.

1. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA
Presentation adapted from
The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient
Paperbacks,2011
T K G Namboodhiri

2. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 15
PURUSHOTHAMA YOGA

3. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
CHAPTER 15 - Introduction
In this Chapter Lord Krishna cites the
Ashvattha or banyan tree as a
metaphor to symbolise the material
manifestation– this world– as a place
of bondage & enslavement for the
Atman or the Immortal Soul trapped
as a Jiva in the Samsara of the
perpetual cycle of birth & death. Then
He goes on to describe the Universal
Soul or PURUSHOTHAMA.
T K G Namboodhiri

4. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.1 & 15.2
The Lord said:
With its root above & branches below, the Ashvattha tree, they
say, is imperishable; it has Vedic hymns for leaves; he who
knows it knows the Vedas.
Above & below its branches spread, blossoming because of the
gunas, having for their shoots the sense-objects; deep down in
the world of men are ramified its roots, in the shape of the
consequences of action.
Ashvattha means this transient world, which is changing every
moment. The Vedas are inscribed on every leaf of the banyan
tree. The tree of the world grows from the navel of Brahman.
There is another world with its root below; whose leaves are
the various objects of sense-pleasure; that world is the world of
desire. One who understands this banyan tree knows dharma.
In the first verse Shri Krishna shows the means of going beyond
this world. In the second verse, he has described the world
from another point of view, that of the ignorant man.
T K G Namboodhiri

5. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 15.3
Its form as such is not here perceived, neither is its end,
nor beginning, nor basis. Let men first hew down this
deep-rooted, Ashvattha with the sure weapon of
detachment.
The real form of the banyan tree—this world– is difficult
to perceive. Few understand where it ends, where it
begins. But with strong will & determination one must
get free of the entanglements of this tree of material life
& seek supreme consciousness. Non-attachment is the
weapon to cut down this tree of Samsara. A man who
knows the real nature of this world & also knows
dharma, is a man who possesses spiritual knowledge.
The Imperishable Atman is eligible for attaining the
Supreme Consciousness of Brahman & free itself from
the bondage of this world & the perpetual cycle of birth
& death by detachment from all desires & pursuits.
T K G Namboodhiri

6. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.4 & 15.5
Let him pray to win to that haven from which there is no
return & seek to find refuge in the Primal Being from
whom has emanated this ancient world of action.
To that imperishable haven those enlightened souls go–
who are without pride & delusion, who have triumphed
over the taints of attachment, who are ever in tune with
the Supreme, whose passions have died, who are exempt
from the pairs of opposites, such as pleasure & pain.
They who crave to win that haven—the Supreme
State--- are indifferent to honour & insult; they are
absolutely free from delusion & have triumphed over
attachment. They, who always contemplate on the
Atman, whose cravings for objects of senses have
subsided, are the enlightened souls who go to that
imperishable haven.
T K G Namboodhiri

7. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 15.6
Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor fire
illumine it; men who arrive there return
not--- that is My supreme abode.
Lord Krishna describes the Supreme
Abode of Brahman to which liberated
souls go. This abode is not lit by the sun,
moon or fire. It shines with its own light.
Men who reach there do not return to the
world of birth & death.
T K G Namboodhiri

8. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.7 & 15.8
A part indeed of Myself which has been the eternal
Jiva in this world of life, attracts the mind & the five
senses from their place in Prakriti.
When the Master (of the body) acquires a body &
discards it, He carries these with Him wherever He
goes, even as the wind carries scents from flower-
beds.
The Atman, or the Immortal Soul, in the Jiva or
embodied being, is a manifestation of the
Supreme Being. It migrates from Jiva to Jiva.
When Jiva acquires a new body, it takes along
with it in a subtle body, the mind & the senses
from the previous body, like the breeze
transporting to another location the fragrance
of flowers it has come into contact with.T K G Namboodhiri

9. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.9 & 15.10
Having settled Himself in the senses-ear, eye, touch,
taste & smell- as well as the mind, through them He
frequents their objects.
The deluded perceive Him not as He leaves or settles in (
a body) or enjoys (sense-objects) in association with the
gunas; it is only those endowed with the eye of
knowledge that see Him.
We see only the world, but do not see God who is
immanent in it. The ignorant are not able to discriminate
between the Atman & the physical body. Lacking the
spiritual intelligence, they are oblivious of the reality that
the Atman is distinctly different from the body & the
senses, even though it is experiencing the senses when
dwelling within the body, or when transmigrating from
the body or entering a new body.
T K G Namboodhiri

10. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.11 & 15.12
Yogis who strive see Him seated in themselves;
the witless who have not cleansed themselves
see Him not, even though they strive.
The light in the sun which illumines the whole
universe & which is in the moon & in the fire–
that light, know thou, is Mine.
They alone, who have become purified, who
have suffered in the furnace of tapas, will see
things correctly. Sri Krishna tells that the
Supreme is the source of light in the sun, moon
& fire.
T K G Namboodhiri

11. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.13 & 15.14
It is I who penetrating the earth, uphold all beings
with my strength, & becoming the moon– the
essence of all sap---nourish all herbs.
It is I who, becoming the Vaishvanara Fire &
entering the bodies of all that breathe, assimilate
the four kinds of food with the help of the outward &
the inward breaths.
Pervading the earth, I uphold all beings with my
strength, & becoming the moon, the producer of all
sap, nourish all herbs, food-crops & all else that
grows in the fields. I, as Vaishvanara fire- the heat
that digest food- digest the four types of food (what
is sucked, licked, drunk & eaten)that all creatures
take.
T K G Namboodhiri

12. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.15 & 15.16
And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me proceed
memory, knowledge & intellect– the dispelling of doubt—
it is I who am to be known in all the Vedas, I, the author
of Vedanta & the knower of the Vedas.
There are two beings in the world: Kshara (perishable) &
Akshara (imperishable). Kshara embraces all creatures,
& their permanent basis is Akshara.
I am the origin of all memory, knowledge & intellect. I am
the entity to be known through the Vedas which I have
created.
In this world there are only two beings– akshara &
kshara. Kshara means all beings which are subject to
death, & have name & form. The Immutable Reality
behind them, the power of which sustains all, is akshara-
the immortal Soul.
T K G Namboodhiri

13. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.17 & 15.18
The Supreme Being is surely another– called
Paramatman, who as the imperishable Ishvara,
pervades & supports the three worlds.
Because I transcend the Kshara & am also
higher than the Akshara, I am known in the
world & in the Vedas as Purushothama (the
Highest Being).
Because I transcend Kshara, that is, the world
of name & form, and am also higher than
Akshara, the world & the Vedas know Me as
Purushothama, the highest among all beings.
T K G Namboodhiri

14. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 15.19 & 15.20
He, who, undeluded, knows Me Purushothama, knows all;
he worships Me with all his heart, O Bharata.
Thus I have revealed to thee, sinless one, this most
mysterious Shastra; he who understands this, O Bharata,
is a man of understanding, he has fulfilled his life’s
mission.
He is above all opposites. Once we have risen above this
world, which is but Maya, need we think of God as its
author?
Sri Krishna concludes this chapter saying that He has
disclosed to Arjuna this most secret Shastra; he who
understands this becomes a man of understanding, fulfils
his life’s mission & also becomes free from his debt.
End of Chapter 15.
T K G Namboodhiri