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Bhagwad Gita (English) | Chapter 15 | Verse 15

Chapter 15, Verse 15

The Yoga of the Supreme Person

I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

Verse

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च।वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम्।।15.15।।


sarvasya chāhaṁ hṛidi sanniviṣhṭo
mattaḥ smṛitir jñānam apohanaṁ cha
vedaiśh cha sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛid veda-vid eva chāham

Meaning of each word

sarvasya — of all living beings;
cha — and;
aham — I;
hṛidi — in the hearts;
sanniviṣhṭaḥ — seated;
mattaḥ — from me;
smṛitiḥ — memory;
jñānam — knowledge;
apohanam — forgetfulness;
cha — as well as;
vedaiḥ — by the Vedas;
cha — and;
sarvaiḥ — all;
aham — I;
eva — alone;
vedyaḥ — to be known;
vedānta-kṛit — the author of the Vedānt;
veda-vit — the knower of the meaning of the Vedas;
eva — alone;
cha — and;
aham — I

Interpretation

In this verse, the Supreme Lord, also known as Paramatma, or the Supreme Soul, tells us that He is present in the heart of every living being. Think of it like this: just as a person can sit quietly at the center of a room and observe everything happening around them, God sits in our hearts, watching over us and guiding us. From Him, we get our ability to remember things, to learn new things, and to even forget some things.

Imagine you meet someone who has no memory of their past life. They may not remember who they were before, but they are still able to make choices in the present. This is because God is there, implanted in their heart, helping them decide based on what they’ve experienced and learned in their current life. So, even if we forget certain things from our past, our actions now are influenced by the God within us.

The verse also tells us that God is the source of the knowledge that is found in the Vedas. The Vedas are ancient texts that contain wisdom and guidelines for leading a good life. Those texts help us understand who God is and how we can connect with Him. The Supreme Lord is not just some distant figure; He is also the one who compiled these important scriptures through an incarnation called Vyasadeva. This means that Vyasadeva was a divine being who helped write down the teachings of the Vedas for us.

When we read the Vedas, we learn about God and how to live in harmony with His teachings. This knowledge is essential for anyone who wants to find their way back to God and enjoy a meaningful life. It’s like having a map that shows you the path to your true home.

Furthermore, it’s important to realize that God does not just give us the food we need to survive; He is also in charge of what happens to us in life. He sees all our actions and makes sure to guide us correctly. He does this through teachings in the Vedas and by being there in our hearts as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which refers to the full expression of God, like how Krishna appears in the Bhagavad-Gita.

In simpler terms, God is the one who provides us with everything good — our food, our thoughts, and our ability to learn. By recognizing His presence, we can understand that He embodies all goodness and mercy. Acknowledging this helps us realize how important God is in our lives.

Other Verses of Chapter 15
Verse 1
The Blessed Lord said: There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.
Verse 2
The branches of this tree extend downward and upward, nourished by the three modes of material nature. The twigs are the objects of the senses. This tree also has roots going down, and these are bound to the fruitive actions of human society.
Verse 3
Its form is not perceived here as such, nor its end, origin, foundation, or resting place; having cut asunder this firmly rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment.
Verse 4
Then, that goal should be sought for, to which, having gone, none returns again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha, from whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
Verse 5
One who is free from illusion, false prestige, and false association, who understands the eternal, who is done with material lust and is freed from the duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person, attains to that eternal kingdom.
Verse 6
That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.
Verse 7
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
Verse 8
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.
Verse 9
The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.
Verse 10
The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this.
Verse 11
The endeavoring transcendentalist, who is situated in self-realization, can see all this clearly. But those who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to.
Verse 12
The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me.
Verse 13
I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.
Verse 14
I am the fire of digestion in every living body, and I am the air of life, outgoing and incoming, by which I digest the four kinds of foodstuff.
Verse 16
There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every entity is called infallible.
Verse 17
Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself, who has entered into these worlds and is maintaining them.
Verse 18
Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person.
Verse 19
Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is to be understood as the knower of everything, and he therefore engages himself in full devotional service, O son of Bharata.
Verse 20
This is the most confidential part of the Vedic scriptures, O sinless one, and it is disclosed now by Me. Whoever understands this will become wise, and his endeavors will know perfection.
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