Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna:
“They describe it as the imperishable Peepal tree, with its roots above and branches spread downwards. Its leaves are the Vedas, the one who perceives this knows the Vedas.” (XV; 1)
“Its branches spread downwards and upwards, propelled by the modes, with sense objects for its leaves. The roots spread downwards to the human world, bound to the Karmas.” (XV; 2)
If we observe a tree, its roots grow downwards and entrench themselves in Mother Earth. Similarly, as human awareness moves downwards, it gets entangled in the coils of negativity accumulated in the lower chakras.
- The third chakra (Nabhi) governs consumption. When attention gets trapped here, it is pulled into consumerism, greed, and possessiveness.
- Below it, the second chakra grants pure knowledge, but if one accepts false knowledge about God, attention is lost in superstition and blind faith.
- The lowest chakra embodies innocence and balance, but when attention becomes obsessed with sex, it turns mental.
However, to understand Lord Krishna’s analogy of the roots growing upwards, we must visualize the tree upside down—where the roots grow higher and higher to absorb the all-pervading power of Divine love. Such a tree bears the fruit of true knowledge, ripened by Divine love.
“However, here, its real form is not comprehended, because neither it has a beginning, nor an end, nor its anchor. One should first cut off this firmly rooted Peepal tree with the strong weapon of non-attachment.” (XV; 3)
The Peepal tree is evergreen because its roots are deeply attached to Mother Earth. Since the roots spread far and wide, it is difficult to determine where they begin or end. Similarly, attachments of the mind are difficult to trace. No one knows their exact origin or end, so they must be axed with a sharp weapon.
The Mandukya Upanishad speaks of a tree on which two birds are perched—
- One is Jiva (the human Spirit).
- The other is Paramatma (the Absolute Reality).
The lower bird (Jiva) slowly ascends the branches of the tree to become one with the higher bird (Paramatma).
“Thereafter, one should seek the path from those who have made it to that abode, never to return to the world, praying, ‘I take refuge in the Primordial Purusha from whom emanates this cosmic energy.’” (XV; 4)
“Those who are devoid of ego and infatuation, having overcome the sin of attachment, whose passions are sublimated, ardently devoted to the Supreme Being, who are free from the duality of pleasure and pain—they are not deluded and attain the highest state.” (XV; 5)
“Attaining that abode from which they never return, which the Sun does not illuminate, nor the Moon nor the fire—that is My Supreme abode.” (XV; 6)
The Journey of the Individual Spirit
“A fraction of My own Self transforms into the individual Spirit in the sentient world, and draws the senses and the mind as the sixth, which is inherent in Prakriti.” (XV; 7)
There are five sense organs, and the mind is regarded as the sixth. The senses are inherent in nature, and human attention is naturally drawn towards them.
“Whenever the Master (of the senses) takes up a body or relinquishes it, He carries these with Him—just as the wind sweeps the fragrance from their abode.” (XV; 8)
When the Spirit leaves the body, it carries along with it:
- The Kundalini
- The content of the chakras
Likewise, when the Spirit takes rebirth in a newborn, the Kundalini enters it along with the content of the chakras from the previous life.
- Those who see death as an escape from their traumas will carry the same damaged condition of their chakras into the next life.
- It is better to mend these damages within one’s lifetime than to wait for death with false expectations.
- Those who commit suicide hoping to escape suffering will undergo the very trauma they tried to escape in the next life.
Lord Krishna teaches us how to face our struggles in this lifetime rather than try to escape from them.
“Pervading the senses, He experiences the objects of the senses through the ears, eyes, touch, taste buds, nose, as well as the mind.” (XV; 9)
“When He relinquishes the body or remains in it and experiences the modes, the deluded do not perceive it, but those with the eye of wisdom do.” (XV; 10)
The ignorant identify with the outer shell and, hence, do not perceive the Spirit seated within the body.
The sages who endeavor perceive Him as dwelling within, but the gross ones, who have not attained purity, despite their efforts, do not perceive Him. (XV; 11)
There is something inbuilt in a human being that makes him try to think beyond the mind. But to attract the attention within, something has to happen—we must withdraw our attention within and purify the heart.
With intense meditation, the sages purified themselves and discovered the way to go beyond the mind. They found their Spirit, which fulfilled their inner quest.
“The effulgence of the Sun that illumines this whole universe, and that radiance which is in the moon and fire—know that effulgence is Mine.” (XV; 12)
“Pervading the earth, I sustain all beings by My vital force. I also nurture the plants by becoming Soma, which is the sap.” (XV; 13)
“By becoming the fire in the body of beings and, in conjunction with the outgoing and incoming vital airs, I digest the four-fold foods.” (XV; 14)
“I am seated in the heart of everyone. From Me emanate memory, knowledge, and their decline. I am the subject of the Vedas, I am the source of the Vedas, and also the knower of the Vedas.” (XV; 15)
The Vedas were compiled by seers from the insight they gained from collective consciousness. They state that if, by reading them, knowledge is not ‘vid,’ then it is of no use reading them. ‘Vid’ is that which is known on our central nervous system.
The purpose of knowledge is to know the truth—that the same light shines in every heart.
Likewise, if Lord Krishna is seated within each of us, then who are we really helping? It is truer to say that when we serve others, we serve our own self.
“There are two kinds of Purushas in this world—the mutable and the immutable. The mutable is all this existence, and the spirit is the immutable.” (XV; 16)
“But above these, there is the highest Purusha, who is the Supreme Self, who pervades the three spheres, sustaining them as God Almighty.” (XV; 17)
“Since I am beyond both the mutable and the immutable, I am recognized as the highest Being by the world and the Vedas.” (XV; 18)
“O Arjuna! He who is free from delusion perceives Me as the Supreme; he is enlightened and worships Me wholeheartedly.” (XV; 19)
“O Arjuna! This is the secret of secrets revealed by Me. Knowing this, one becomes wise and enlightened.” (XV; 20)
Science and the Path Beyond the Mind
According to Einstein, there exists a torsion area beyond the mind. This torsion area is wired to the cosmic intelligence. Thus, a person who enters the torsion area gains access to cognitive knowledge.
However, before doing anything, such an enlightened being asks himself, “What is the wisdom of doing it?”
A thinking process rooted in wisdom allows us to choose a response that determines the outcome. Thus, we can navigate through the chaos of the world without losing our way.