Gita is a tiny part of the epic MahaBharatha, a poem more than ten times the size of Homer's Illiad. The purpose of this translation of the fifteenth chapter of Gita is to give a glimpse of the philosophy contained in it. It should be read critically, since it is only one man's view of what the chapter says.

   Bhagavad Gita has dictated the sense of ethics for India for the last two millennia and also it seems to have given consolation to many who had to face the harsh realities of life. Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who had to suffer the atrocities of his son Aurangazeb, was the one who got it translated into Persian. Warren Hastings, the first Viceroy of India, who had to face the impeachment of his Parliament, ordered it to be translated into English, saying that it is a document that will survive in civilization long after the British Empire is gone from India. Mahatma Gandhi has said that he had turned to Gita whenever he had not even a ray of hope in his predicaments with the British.

   It is intersting to note that Shah Jahan, Warren Hastings, and Mahatma Gandhi, each belong to a different faith. Also, they were respectively rich, powerful, and famous. What it shows is that the appeal of Gita is indeed universal. It has been said one has to stand at the brink of hell, to get a majestic view of heaven, all these men were clearly at the brink of hell, Mahatma Gandhi more than once.

    The issue of existence is the main issue of philosophy, but most of us are not even aware of our own existence. It needed a great philosopher, Descartes to say that "I think, therefore I exist". For many, understanding existence is the same as comprehending Ultimate Reality, which is philosophers name for God. Mahatma Gandhi used to refer to God simply as Truth, and he delighed in making experiments with Truth. 

    I have chosen Chapter 15 of Gita, Purushottama Yoga, for translation here, mainly because it deals directly  with the Ultimate Reality.
 

Karma is all powerful. It inextricably binds you to samsara. You must disentangle and come to me. Detachment is the key to my door. Recognize that you are life, but only a cell whose sole purpose is to sustain the Life Supreme. You may die, but I do not. In that sense you do not perish either. When your visible life has ended after accomplishing its goal, your progeny and genes are still in me and continue to serve me. So do your duty, your dharma, while you are living. That is the only way for you to permanently merge with me and attain moksha.