Chapter 15

The 13th chapter clarified the environment as the field of action and the Self as one who knows the field . Then, it explained that the bond between the Self and the environment has no beginning. Though the natural form of the Self is pure and unbounded knowledge, it is bound in a body made from the environment. The Self is limited in this way, due to the continuous flow of attachment to the three qualities in the environment. This attachment has no beginning, it has always been there.

The 14th chapter explained the state of the Self, bound in the environment, both before creation and after. It stated that the bond with the environment originates in the attachment to the three qualities . It also stated that the bond is made by the Lord himself. It laid out the nature of our attachment to the three qualities in detail. Finally, it asserted that we cast away the attachment to material qualities by devotion to the Lord . This devotion achieves the true nature of the Self.

In this chapter, the Lord begins to explain that He, as the object of worship, is the Supreme Person. He is the owner of all that’s perishable and imperishable, along with all beings that are made from them. He is also the owner of all free beings.

By being the owner, by repelling all that’s undesirable, by being pure prosperity, He is totally supreme and distinct from anything else. The Self is The Lord’s possession, known as The Eternal. It is free from all bondage after its bonds with the material environment are cut off.

Attachment to happenings in the material environment become the bonds that bind the Self. The sword of detachment is used to cut these bonds. To describe this magnificent possession of the Lord, He illustrates this attachment as a pepal tree with its roots at the top - the attachment must be cut.