October 15, 2026
na rūpam asye ’ha tatho ’palabhyate
nā ’nto na cā ’dir na ca saṁpratiṣṭhā
aśvattham enaṁ suvirūḍhamūlam
asaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā (XV-3)
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ
yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
tam eva cā ’dyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye
yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī (XV-4)
XV/3. Its form is not perceived here as such,
neither its end nor its origin, nor its foundation
nor resting place; having cut asunder this firmly
rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment,
XV/4. Then that goal should be sought for, whither
having gone none returns. I seek refuge in that
primeval puruṣa whence streamed forth the ancient
activity or energy.
Swamiji's Commentary
The cosmic tree which has its root in the transcendental being, shares its characteristics. What is hidden in the root becomes manifest in the tree. It is all God and only God. Yet, whereas we are ready to admit that God is indescribable and imperceivably subtle, we boast that we know what this world is!
That is a mistake. We only see what we wish or fear to see. The world outside is a cloud with forms and figures projected on to it by our mind. The cloud is real, but the forms are not. The substratum of the world is real, but the appearance is a manifestation and projection on to it of our own likes and dislikes, fears and delusions. These phantoms are the offspring of attachment. Non-attachment removes them, enabling us to perceive the underlying reality.
Think of a banana. The skin adheres to it and seems to encase it. Peel it, and the fruit is left perfect. Such is the spirit of non-attachment in The Bhagavad Gītā. Do your duty but do not get attached. Neither must you let detachment make you neglect your duty. The banana is like the soul, not to be held and encased by its skin body. That must eventually be dropped, leaving the soul to attain mokṣa (liberation).
‘I seek refuge’, as said by Krishna, is only initiation where he teaches Arjuna the formula: he who takes refuge in the supreme puruṣa returns not to this world. The mature seeker surrenders the idea that he is somehow distinct from the cosmos; the drop joins the ocean and becomes the divinity of the ocean. That oneness cannot be fragmented, it is indivisible.