The silence of Kurukshetra deepens once more. Arjuna has heard of the three gunas that bind the soul — sattva, rajas, and tamas. He has seen how they trap beings in light, passion, or darkness, and how devotion lifts one beyond. Yet his heart longs to understand the very summit of truth: the eternal self, the imperishable, and the supreme person who transcends all.
He bows to Krishna with reverence.
O Lord, reveal to me the highest truth. You speak of the eternal, of the soul beyond nature, of the devotee who rises. But who is the Supreme Person? Who is the Purushottama, greater even than the imperishable Brahman?
Krishna’s eyes shine with the light of eternity, and His voice flows like the Ganga from the heavens.
Listen, Arjuna. I shall speak of the supreme wisdom, the deepest secret. Knowing this, a man becomes wise, and his life fulfilled.
There is a tree, eternal and vast, known as the Ashvattha. Its roots are above, its branches spread below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns, its nourishment is the gunas, and its branches stretch through the world of men, nourished by desires. Its twigs are actions, its roots spread downward into the world of karma, binding the soul.
This tree has no beginning and no end. Its form cannot be seen here. To cut it down is difficult. But it can be felled with the sharp axe of detachment. When it is cut, the soul seeks the supreme abode from which it never returns, the place where the eternal dwells.
Arjuna listens, his heart stirred by the vision of the world-tree that binds all beings. Krishna continues.
That supreme abode is not lit by sun or moon or fire. It is My eternal dwelling. Those who reach it never return. It is the highest state.
Know this, Arjuna. In this world, two beings exist — the perishable and the imperishable. The perishable are all beings, all matter, all changing forms. The imperishable is the self, untouched, beyond change, eternal.
But higher than both is the Supreme Person, the Purushottama. He is the eternal Lord, dwelling within all, sustaining all, pervading all. He is the source of both the perishable and the imperishable. He is beyond time, beyond space, beyond death.
I am that Supreme Person, O Arjuna. I am the Purushottama. In this world and in the Vedas, I am praised as the highest.
He who knows Me as the Purushottama knows all. He devotes himself with whole heart. He becomes free of delusion. He becomes liberated.
Arjuna bows deeply, his heart trembling. He sees Krishna not only as friend, not only as guide, not only as cosmic form, but as the Supreme Person Himself, the eternal truth beyond all.
Closing Reflection in Krishna’s Voice
O listener, hear this truth. The world you see is like the tree with roots above and branches below. Its branches tempt you with pleasures, with desires, with attachments. Its roots bind you deeper into karma. But this tree is not eternal. Its form is shadow, its strength illusion.
Cut it down with the axe of detachment. Seek the supreme abode. Know the difference between the perishable body, the imperishable soul, and the Supreme Person who is beyond both.
That Supreme Person is Krishna, the Purushottama. To know Him is to know the essence of all wisdom. To surrender to Him is to be free forever.
This is Purushottama Yoga, the yoga of the Supreme Person.
Soft Call to Action
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