Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 6 (15.6)
Reflective Prompt:
How do you view the relationship between the individual soul (Jivatma) and the Supreme Divine?
- ▪ Option 1: The Jivatma is a completely separate entity created from nothing, with no divine connection.
- ▪ Option 2: The Jivatma is an eternal fragment (amsa) of the Supreme, temporarily drawing the mind and senses.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 6 (15.6)
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः । यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम | | १५-६ | |
na tadbhāsayate sūryo na śhaśhāṅko na pāvakaḥ yadgatvā na nivartante taddhāma paramaṁ mama
Word-by-word guide:
Line 1:
- न
(na)— नहीं(not) - तत्
(tat)— वह(That) - भासयते
(bhasayate)— प्रकाशित करता(illuminates) - सूर्यः
(suryah)— सूर्य(the sun) - न
(na)— नहीं(not) - शशाङ्कः
(shashankah)— चंद्रमा(the moon) - न
(na)— नहीं(not) - पावकः
(pavakah)— अग्नि(fire)
Line 2:
- यत्
(yat)— वह(where) - गत्वा
(gatva)— जाकर(having gone) - न
(na)— नहीं(not) - निवर्तन्ते
(nivartante)— लौटते हैं(they return) - तत्
(tat)— वह(That) - धाम
(dhama)— धाम(abode) - परमम्
(paramam)— परम(supreme) - मम
(mama)— मेरा(My)
English: Neither sun, moon, nor fire shines there. Those who go thither never come back. For, Arjuna, that is my Celestial Home!
Learnings from Shloka 6:
- The World is an Upside-Down Tree:: The material world is compared to a banyan tree with roots above (in spiritual realms) and branches below (our physical lives).
- The Axe of Detachment:: To find true peace and escape the entanglement of sense-objects, one must cut the deep roots of this tree using the weapon of detachment (asanga).
- The Supreme Destination:: Beyond the worldly tree lies the self-luminous, eternal state of the Divine, from which there is no return to worldly bondage.
Gita Knowledge Quiz
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Practice vocabulary
That supreme state is not illuminated by the sun, nor by the moon, nor by fire. Once reached, there is no return; that is the supreme abode of the Divine.
### Shlokas 7-11 **The Jivatma, or individual soul.**