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Bhagavad Gita - The Tree of Life
Identifier
001756
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Bhagavad Gita [translated by W J Johnson]
They speak of the eternal Ashvattha roots above, branches below
Its branches extend below and above, nurtured by the constituents; its shoots are the objects of the senses, and its roots extending below connect with the action in the human world
Here its form cannot be perceived, neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its continuity
from Patterns in Comparative Religion – Mircea Eliade [his translation]
In the Bhagavad-Gita, the cosmic tree comes to express not only the universe, but also man's condition in the world
'It is said that there is an indestructible tree, its roots above, its branches below, its leaves the hymns of the Veda; whoever knows it knows the Veda too. Its branches increase in height and depth, growing on the gunas; its buds are the objects of sense; its roots spread out from below, bound to actions in the world of men. In this world one cannot perceive the shape, nor the end, nor the beginning, nor the expanse of it. With the strong weapon of renunciation, one must first cut down this asvattha with its powerful roots, and then seek the place from which one never returns