THE SUPREME PERSON, PURUSHOTTAMA
dwaavimau purushau loke ksharashchaakshara eva cha
ksharah sarvaani bhootani kootastho’kshara uchyate // 15.16 //
Two Purushas are there in this world, the Perishable and the Imperishable. All these existences are the Perishable and the unchanging is the Imperishable.
In the Thirteenth Chapter, Field of the Matter and Knower of the Field were elaborated. In this Chapter it was made clear that the sun, earth, plant kingdom and man and his capabilities etc, consisting of the Field of the matter are nothing other than the Supreme Self. Thus the Field of the matter is the Spirit, the Consciousness, the difference being that when the Spirit expresses as matter It looks as if It were subject to change and destruction. Thus the realm of the matter is described in this verse as Kshara Purusha - the Perishable. With reference to this Kshara Purusha the Spirit is the Imperishable, Akshara Purusha. With reference to the ever changing world of the matter, Consciousness is Imperishable and Changeless. This Consciousness Principle is referred to here as Akshara with reference to and contact with the Kshara.
The Self in the midst of changes remains changeless and all changes can take place only in contact with It just as an anvil (Kootastham) remaining changeless allows all the iron pieces kept and hammered on it to change their shapes.
uttamah purushastwanyah paramaatmetyudaahritah
yo lokatrayamaavishya bibhartyavyaya eeshwarah // 15.17 //
But other than these, is the Supreme Purusha called the Highest Self, the indestructible Lord who, pervading the three worlds (waking, dream and deep sleep), sustains them.
The Imperishable is the quality attained by the Spirit with reference to the Field surrounding It. A man occupying a high position in an office acquires the dignity and the status of that position. Even if that position is removed the man never ceases to exist; he exists as an individual living being. When the Field of the matter is removed from the Knower of the Field what remains is the Knowing Principle, the Pure Knowledge.
Similarly, when the perishable is transcended what remains is not the Imperishable but that which played as the Perishable and Imperishable Purushas. This is the Pure Spirit, the Supreme Self which sustains the three worlds or the three states of experiences viz. waking, dreaming and deep sleep states of consciousness. The Self alone is the illuminator in all these three states of existence.
Thus there are no three types of Purushas - Perishable, Imperishable or Supreme. If a pot is kept in a room we feel that there are three different types of space, one completely differing from the other - Pot space, room space and the total space. But in fact there is only one space which can be understood if the factors conditioning or limiting the space are removed i.e. if the pot is broken and the room is dismantled. The unconditioned pot space and room space are nothing but the total space itself.
Thus the Consciousness is itself Perishable, Field in another form and as the knower of the Field the same Consciousness is the Imperishable Reality in the perishable conditionings. But when these conditionings are transcended the same Self is experienced as the Supreme Self - the Paramatman, Purushottama.
yasmaat ksharam ateeto'hamaksharaadapi chottamah
ato'smi loke vede cha prathitah purushottamah // 15.18 //
As I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the Imperishable, I am celebrated as the Supreme Person, Purushottama, in the world and in the Vedas.
The Lord explains here how He is the Purushottama, the Supreme Person. He says that Pure Consciousness is higher than both the Perishable and the Imperishable. The Perishable can continue the process of change only against the Imperishable Truth as no change is perceptible without reference to a changeless factor. If the changes in the matter-body, mind and intellect-have to be recognized there must be something which is steady that illumines these changes. This constant factor among the perishable is called the Imperishable.
The illumining factor can be called Imperishable only when it is compared to the Perishable. Once the Perishable spheres are crossed over, the Imperishable Itself becomes the Pure Infinite which is Purushottama.
Since the Truth, Purushottama, is experienced only after transcending both Perishable and Imperishable, the Absolute Truth is known as the Highest Spirit, Purushottama. This term is used to indicate the Supreme Spirit both in the Vedas and by the men of the world.
FRUIT OF THAT KNOWLEDGE
yo maamevam asammoodho jaanaati purushottamam
sa sarvavidbhajati maam sarvabhaavena bhaarata // 15.19 //
He, who undeluded, knows Me thus as the Highest Purusha, he knowing all, worships Me with his whole being (heart) O Bharata.
The Lord tells the fruits gained by the one who realizes the Supreme Truth. Undeluded is the one who never looks upon the physical body as himself or as belonging to himself. To know means not only the intellectual comprehension but the subjective experience that he is the Purushottama-principle. Sri Krishna declares that such a seeker is the greatest of the devotees because such knowledge leads to devotion.
The Highest Spirit, Purushottama, being the Infinite Consciousness, is the all-knower because he knows that the principle of Consciousness is behind all perception, feeling and thought.
iti guhyatamam shaastram idamuktam mayaanagha
etadbuddhwaa buddhimaan syaat kritakrityashcha bhaarata // 15.20 //
Thus this most secret science (teaching) has been taught by Me, O Sinless One. On knowing this, a man becomes wise and all his duties are accomplished, O Bharata.
In this concluding verse The Lord praises the Purushottama theme which gives liberation from all sorrows and agitations. He says that He taught this most secret science; secret because It (the spiritual science, Brahmavidya) is a knowledge that cannot come to any one of its own accord unless one is initiated into it by the Knower of Reality. The secret is also that Purushottama is the substratum of every thing. Sinless means the one with steady mind. The knowledge of the Self which gives emancipation from the cycle of births and deaths and freedom from the bonds of Karma is eulogized here.
He who has realized the Purushottama-state of Consciousness becomes wise in as much as he cannot thereafter make any error of judgment in his life creating confusion and sorrows all around. The second benefit is the enjoyment of a complete sense of fulfillment, the joy of accomplishing what is expected of him (achieving the goal of life which is realization of Brahman).
If this most profound teaching is understood it makes a man wise. After this there is nothing for him to learn or strive for. He has attained the goal of life and the aim of human existence. He has the complete knowledge of the Supreme Being and gets Brahma Jnana. He becomes Jivan Mukta, who is beyond body-consciousness, three Gunas, three states of consciousness- Waking, Dream and Deep Sleep - pairs of opposites and the cycle of births and deaths. There is no rebirth for him. When a person has realized the Self, he has discharged all the duties of his life.
This Chapter is the essence of the Gita, the Vedas and the Upanishads. It is generally recited before taking food as a mark of sacred offering to the Lord.
om tat sat iti srimadbhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaayaam yogashaastre sri krishnaarjuna samvaade purushottama yogo naama panchadasho'dhyaayah ||
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the fifteenth discourse entitled The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit.