Puruṣhottam Yog
Yoga of the Supreme Being
Chapter Theme
This chapter uses the image of an inverted banyan tree to show how the material world is a vast, confusing, and ultimately perishable web. The tree’s roots point upward to the spiritual source, while its branches spread downward into the world of change and attachment.
Krishna teaches that we must cut this tree with the weapon of detachment and right knowledge. By seeing the self as distinct from body and mind, a person can escape the cycle of birth and death.
The text separates reality into three levels: the perishable (kṣara), the imperishable (akṣara), and the Supreme Person (puruṣottama) beyond both. The Supreme pervades and supports all, gives knowledge and memory, and is the final refuge.
Knowing and fixing attention on the Supreme brings steady peace and freedom. Real insight combines self-knowledge, detachment from transient things, and devotion to the Supreme Divine Personality.
Key Teachings
- The world is like an inverted, perishable tree that must be cut down with detachment and true knowledge.
- Distinguish between the changing self (body/mind), the imperishable soul, and the Supreme beyond both.
- The Supreme Divine pervades every heart, guides remembrance and knowledge, and is the final refuge.
- Realization of the Supreme leads to liberation from the cycle of rebirth and inner calm.
Life Application
- Practice letting go of strong attachments to outcomes, possessions, and identities; use simple daily reminders of impermanence.
- Spend time in self-inquiry: notice thoughts and feelings without identification; ask “Who am I beyond this body and mind?”
- Cultivate a steady sense of connection or devotion to a higher presence to gain inner guidance and peace.
Reflection Question
What one attachment could you begin to loosen today to see more clearly who you really are?
Verses in this Chapter
The Blessed Lord said: They (the wise) speak of the indestructible peepul tree, with its roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the meters or hymns; he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas.
Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the Gunas; its buds are sense-objects, and its roots stretch forth below in the world of men, originating action.
Its form is not perceived here as such, nor its end, origin, foundation, or resting place; having cut asunder this firmly rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment. Then, that goal should be sought for, to which, having gone, none returns again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha, from whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
Free from pride and delusion, victorious over the evil of attachment, dwelling constantly in the Self, their desires having completely turned away, freed from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, they, the undeluded, reach the eternal goal.
Neither does the sun illuminate there, nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone there, they do not return; that is My supreme abode.
An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to itself the five senses, with the mind as the sixth, abiding in Nature.
When the Lord, as the individual soul, obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these with Him, just as the wind takes the scents from their seats (flowers, etc.).
Presiding over the ears, eyes, touch, taste, smell, and mind, it enjoys the objects of the senses.
The deluded do not see Him who departs, stays, and enjoys; but those who possess the eye of knowledge behold Him.
The yogis striving for perfection behold Him dwelling in the Self; but, the unrefined and unintelligent, even though striving, do not see Him.
That light which resides in the sun, illuminating the whole world; that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that light to be Mine.
Permeating the earth, I support all beings with My energy; and having become the watery moon, I nourish all herbs.
Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the bodies of living beings and, associated with the Prana and the Apana, digest the fourfold food.
And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily That which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
Two Purushas there are in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are perishable, and the Kutastha—the unchanging—is called the imperishable.
But distinct is the Supreme Purusha, called the highest Self, indestructible and Lord, who pervades the three worlds and sustains them.
As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to be the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas.
He who, undeluded, knows Me as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole being (heart), O Arjuna.
Thus, I have imparted to you this most secret science, O sinless one; by knowing this, one becomes wise, and all their duties are accomplished, O Arjuna.