श्रीभगवानुवाच |
ऊर्ध्वमूलमध:शाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् |
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् || 1||
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śhākham aśhvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
chhandānsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Divine Personality said; ūrdhva-mūlam—with roots above; adhaḥ—downward; śhākham—branches; aśhvattham—the sacred fig tree; prāhuḥ—they speak; avyayam—eternal; chhandānsi—Vedic mantras; yasya—of which; parṇāni—leaves; yaḥ—who; tam—that; veda—knows; saḥ—he; veda-vit—the knower of the Vedas
Translation:
The Lord said: They speak of an imperishable Aśvattha Tree with its root above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedas, and he who knows it knows the Vedas.
Commentary:
Samsara is compared to a tree. It is unlike any other tree that we see in nature. All trees have roots below and branches above. But this tree of Samsara has roots above and branches below. What is the explanation?
1. From Paramatma originate Avyakta, Mahadahankara, and from them arise the whole universe along with all beings. So Paramatma is the highest source (above), and down below we find the Universe and the beings in it. So this tree is said to have its roots above (in Paramatma) and its branches below. Paramatma is the root, and the universe the branches of this tree of Samsara.
2. Another explanation may be offered. The work of Maya is to show everything upside down. The impure appears pure and the pure impure; the good appears to be bad, and the bad good, the unreal appears to be real and the real unreal; pain appears to be pleasure and happiness pain. Accordingly Patanjali describes avidya thus-“anitya asuchi duhkha anatmasu ninya suchi sukhatmakhyatir avidya” A tree reflected in water appears upside down. So is the tree of Samsara reflected through Maya.
3. A tree by the side of the road in its natural form is not an obstacle. But if it is turn up by the roots and falls across the road, it becomes an obstacle to the way-farers with branches down and the roots sticking up. To the pilgrims on the path of Brahmavidya, this tree of Samsara is definitely an obstacle.
Asvattham: ‘svah‘ means ‘tomorrow’, and ‘na sthah‘ means ‘not existing’. So Asvattha means ‘not existing tommorow’. This tree of Samsara is of doubtful existence. No one can say whether it exists the next day or even the next hour, or even the next minute. It is perishable. It is rightly described as ‘Asvatthah’, because of its perishable and mutable character. But it is described here as ‘avyayam‘ – not perishing. How? The explanation is, here Samsara, like a flood, flows ceaselessly, birth and death occuring in an endless series for man. It continues till the moment when true knowledge is attained. It stops and disappears then. So it is in one sense imperishable and in another sense perishable. To the ignorant, it exists continuously. To the wise, it ceases to exist. So the word ‘avyayam‘ here should not be interpreted as eternal. If it is eternal, nothing can destroy it. In the third verse, the Lord instructs Arjuna to strike down the tree with the sword of Vairagya.
Yas tam veda sa vedavit: He who understands the nature of Samsara, is the knower of the Vedas. The essence of the Vedas is known by him. The Vedas declare that this reflected Universe proceeds from Paramatma, who is the origin and source of all. From Him, this Universe is projected as the tree is projected from the seed. So the sage who knows this is the real knower of the Vedas.
Story of Gold Ganesha and Mouse
A man visited a gold shop with the intention of selling the idols of Ganesha and Mouse. He inquired about the value of the idol, and to his surprise, the shop owner quoted that the idol, regardless of whether it was of Ganesha or a mouse, would fetch the same price of ten thousand rupees for 100 grams.
Perplexed, the man asked, “How can a sacred idol of Ganesha and a mere mouse have the same value?”
The shop owner smiled and explained, “To you, it may seem like Ganesha and a mouse, but to me, they are simply gold.
In the same way, a Brahmajnani sees all things as manifestations of the same Brahman. Yet, to the ordinary eye, the world is full of distinctions and differences.
The man left the shop reflecting on this profound insight, understanding that beneath the surface of apparent diversity, the essence of all things remains unchanged.
- Hanuman said to Rama: ‘I saw Sita in Ceylon; but it was only her body. Her mind and soul were lying at Your feet.’ (Source)
- Sri Ramakrishna on Attributeless & Attributes
Swami Vivekananda Says —
It is true that the Upanishads have this one theme before them: कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवति। — “What is that knowing which we know everything else?” In modern language, the theme of the Upanishads is to find an ultimate unity of things. Knowledge is nothing but finding unity in the midst of diversity. Every science is based upon this; all human knowledge is based upon the finding of unity in the midst of diversity; and if it is the task of small fragments of human knowledge, which we call our sciences, to find unity in the midst of a few different phenomena, the task becomes stupendous when the theme before us is to find unity in the midst of this marvellously diversified universe, where prevail unnumbered differences in name and form, in matter and spirit — each thought differing from every other thought, each form differing from every other form. Yet, to harmonise these many planes and unending Lokas, in the midst of this infinite variety to find unity, is the theme of the Upanishads. On the other hand, the old idea of Arundhati Nyâya applies. To show a man the fine star Arundhati, one takes the big and brilliant nearest to it, upon which he is asked to fix his eyes first, and then it becomes quite easy to direct his sight to Arundhati. This is the task before us, and to prove my idea I have simply to show you the Upanishads, and you will see it. Nearly every chapter begins with dualistic teaching, Upâsanâ. God is first taught as some one who is the Creator of this universe, its Preserver, and unto whom everything goes at last. He is one to be worshipped, the Ruler, the Guide of nature, external and internal, yet appearing as if He were outside of nature and external. One step further, and we find the same teacher teaching that this God is not outside of nature, but immanent in nature. And at last both ideas are discarded, and whatever is real is He; there is no difference. तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो — “Shvetaketu, That thou art.” That Immanent One is at last declared to be the same that is in the human soul. Here is no Compromise; here is no fear of others’ opinions. Truth, bold truth, has been taught in bold language, and we need not fear to preach the truth in the same bold language today, and, by the grace of God, I hope at least to be one who dares to be that bold preacher. [Source]
Question: Describe the tree of Samsara?
Answer: It has its roots above and branches down. It is imperishable till ‘jnana’ is attained. The ‘Vedas’ are its leaves.
Question: Who is the knower of the Vedas?
Answer: He who understands the nature of the tree of ‘samsara’ (i.e.) who knows that the tree is projected out of ‘paramatma’, who knows that ‘paramatma’ is its seed and origin, is the knower of the ‘Vedas’.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15 🔻 (20 Verses)
