Shloka 1
sri bhagavan uvaca
urdhvamulam adhahsakham asvattham prahur avyayam
chandamsi yasya parnani yas tam veda sa vedavit
The Supreme Lord said: They speak of the eternal banyan tree that has its origin above (in Para Brahma) and its branches below (in the cosmos) whose leaves are the (Vedic) hymns. One who understands this is a knower of the Vedas

Shloka 2
adhasco' rdhvam prastas tasya sakha
gunapravrddha visayapravalah
adhasca mulany anusamtatani
karmanubandhini manusyaloke
The branches (of this world tree of Maya) spread below and above (or all over the cosmos). The tree is nourished by the Gunas; sense pleasures are its sprouts; and its roots (of ego and desires) stretch; below in the human world causing Karmic bondage.



The human body, a microcosmic universe, has been compared to a beginningless and endless tree. Karma is the seed, the countless desires are its roots, five basic elements are the main branches, three Gunas provide the nourishment, sense pleasures are its sprouts the ten organs (of perception and action) are its subbranches. This world tree is ever changing, but, eternal without beginning and end. Just as the leaves protect the tree, similarly, Karma Kanda of the Vedas protects and perpetuates this tree of Samsara. The one who truly understands this marvelous tree, its origin, nature, and working, is the knower of the Vedas in true sense.

The two aspects of Brahma, Isvara and Jiva, make their nest and reside on this tree as a part of the cosmic Lila. Virtue and vice are its glorious flowers, pleasure and pain are its fruits. Jiva, due to ignorance, eats these fruits; whereas, Isvara sits on the tree; watches and guides Jiva.

Shloka 3
na rupam asye'ha tatho'palabhyate
na'nto na ca'dir na ca sampratistha
asvattham enam suvirudhamulam
asangasastrena drdhena chittva
Neither its (real) form nor its beginning, neither its end nor its existence is perceptible here on the earth. Having cut the firm roots -- the desires -- or this banyan tree by the mighty ax of (Jnana and) Vairagya or detachment;

Shloka 4
tatah padam tat parimargitavyam yasmin gata na nivartani bhuyah
tam eva ca'dyam pursam prapadye yatah pravrtti prasrta purani
Parama Dhama, the eternal abode, should be sought reaching which one does not come back again; thus thinking; In that very primal person I take refuge from which this primal manifestation comes forth.

The creation is cyclic, without; beginning and end. It is ever changing and has no permanent existence or a real form. One must sharpen the ax of metaphysical knowledge and detachment over the stone of Sadhana; cut the feeling of separateness between Jiva and Isvara; cheerfully participate in the drama of life made up of passing shadows of joys and sorrows; and live in this world as a Jivan-mukta, free from ego and desires.

Shloka 5
nirmanamoha jitasangadosa
adhyatmanitya vinivrttakamah
dvandvair vimuktah sukhaduhkhasamjnair
gacchanty amudhah padam avyayam tat
Those who are free from pride and delusion, who have conquered the evil of attachment, who are constantly dwelling in the Supreme Self with all Kama completely stilled, who are free from the dualities known as pleasure and pain; such undeluded persons reach that eternal goal.

Shloka 6
na tad bhasayate suryo na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama
The sun does not illumine there, nor the moon, nor the fire. That is My supreme abode. Having reached there they do not come back.



Para Brahma existed before the sun, moon, and fire came into existence during creation, and it will exist even after they dissolve into the unmanifest nature during dissolution. The Consciousness is self-luminous not illumined by any other source. It illumines the sun, and the moon as a luminous lamp illumines other objects (DB 7.32.14).

Shloka 7
mamai'va'mso jivaloke jivabhutah sanatanah
manah sasthani'ndrivani prakrtisthani karsati
Atma is, indeed, My integral part. It becomes individual soul (or Jivatma) in the body of living beings by becoming associated with (or attached to) the six sensory faculties -- including the mind -- of perception (or Prakrti).

In essence Atma is Brahma. Atma or Brahma is the true nature of Para Brahma, and therefore it is called the integral part of Para Brahma. The difference between Atma and Jivatma is due to the limiting adjuncts -- the body and mind; similar to the illusion that the enclosed post space is different from the unlimited space.