15:1-3: Sri Krishna [the Blessed One] said: It is said that there is an imperishable banyan tree whose roots are above and whose branches are below; the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree knows the entire Vedas.
Its branches spread forth below and above, cultivated by the qualities of material nature; the sense objects are its shoots. Its roots extend below, thriving by the fruitive activities of human society.
Thus, the form of this banyan tree is not perceived here, neither its end, beginning, nor its foundation; but this firmly rooted tree can be cut down with the strong axe of non-attachment.
15:4-6: That abode should be sought whence, having gone, one does not return but takes refuge in God, the Primeval Person, from whom all activities eternally originate.
Devoid of pride and delusion, having conquered the contamination of attachment, established in eternal individuality, having quenched all desires, liberated from the dualities of pleasure and suffering, one who is thus undeluded attains that imperishable abode.
The sun, the moon, or fire do not illumine that supreme abode of Mine. Those who go there do not return.
15:7: Indeed, the living beings are My eternal parts in the world of living entities. With their senses (the mind being the sixth) they abide in material nature and are tormented.
15:8, 9: When the living entity takes up or abandons bodies, they take them and enter them, much like aromas abide in the wind.
Employing the senses of the ear, the eye, the organ of touch, the tongue, the nose, and the mind, one enjoys the sense objects.
15:10, 11: Foolish people cannot understand the exodus or abidance of the soul within the body, nor the enjoyment of the soul endowed with the qualities of material nature, but those who know understand.
Endeavoring, the yogis behold this abiding in themselves, but those who lack culture and are devoid of understanding do not see this.
15:12: The effulgent sunshine which illuminates the entire universe, the moon, and the radiance of fire: know these to come from Me.
15:13: Entering the earth, I sustain all living beings by My abilities. I become the moon and nourish all juicy herbs.
15:14: I become the digestive fire within the body of all living beings. Abiding in the ascending breath, which issues from the upper trunk, and the descending breath, which issues forth from the lower trunk, when equally yoked, I digest the four kinds of food.
15:15: I am abiding in the hearts of all beings. Memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness come from Me. I am everything that is knowable within the Vedas. I am the compiler of the Vedanta and the knower of the entire Vedas.
15:16, 17: There are two kinds of entities: the perishable and the imperishable. All material beings are perishable, while the spiritual entities, the Souls, are immovable and imperishable.
But there is another, the Highest Person, Who is thus called the Supreme Self in Whom the three worlds enter and are sustained, that Person is the Imperishable God.
15:18: Because I transcend the perishable and the imperishable, I am preeminent. I am praised as the Supreme Person, both in the world and in the Vedas.
15:19: One who is undeluded and knows Me to be the Omniscient Supreme Person, worships Me with their whole being, Arjuna [descendant of Bharata].
15:20: I have now disclosed the most sacred and discreet teaching, Arjuna [sinless one]. An intelligent person who understands this, O Arjuna [descendant of Bharata], has accomplished all
Here Ends Chapter Fifteen