Vyasa · a new plain-English translation from the Sanskrit
15.1 They speak of an imperishable fig tree with its root above and its branches below, whose leaves are the hymns; one who knows it is a knower of the hymns.
15.2 Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the qualities, with the objects of the senses as their shoots; and below, its roots stretch out, binding one to action in the world of men.
15.3 Its form is not perceived here in this way, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut down this fig tree with its firmly-fixed root, using the strong axe of non-attachment,
15.4 one should then seek that place from which, once reached, none return, thinking: I go for refuge to that very primal person from whom this ancient activity has streamed forth.
15.5 Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, ever dwelling on the self, their desires turned away, released from the pairs known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that imperishable place.
15.6 The sun does not illumine that place, nor the moon, nor fire; that is my supreme abode, having gone to which none return.
15.7 An eternal fragment of myself, becoming a living being in the world of the living, draws to itself the mind and the five senses that rest in primal nature.
15.8 When the lord takes on a body, and when he departs from it, he takes these along and goes, as the wind carries scents away from their source.
15.9 Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste, and smell, and the mind as well, he partakes of the objects of the senses.
15.10 The deluded do not perceive him as he departs, remains, or experiences, joined with the qualities; but those with the eye of knowledge see him.
15.11 Striving yogis see him established within the self; but those who have not perfected themselves, though striving, being without understanding, do not see him.
15.12 The radiance dwelling in the sun that illumines the entire world, and that which is in the moon and in fire — know that radiance to be mine.
15.13 Entering the earth, I sustain all beings by my vital power, and becoming the moon, full of sap, I nourish all plants.
15.14 Becoming the fire of life dwelling in the bodies of living beings, joined with the in-breath and the out-breath, I digest the four kinds of food.
15.15 And I am seated in the hearts of all; from me come memory, knowledge, and their loss. I alone am what is to be known by all the Vedas; I am the author of the Vedanta, and I alone am the knower of the Vedas.
15.16 There are these two persons in the world, the perishable and the imperishable; the perishable is all beings, the imperishable is called the unchanging.
15.17 But there is another, the highest person, called the supreme self, who, entering the three worlds as their imperishable lord, sustains them.
15.18 Since I surpass the perishable, and am higher even than the imperishable, therefore I am celebrated in the world and in the Veda as the supreme person.
15.19 One who, undeluded, thus knows me as the supreme person knows all there is to know, and worships me with his whole being, Bharata.
15.20 Thus this most secret teaching has been declared by me, blameless one; understanding this, a man becomes wise and has accomplished all that is to be accomplished, Bharata.