Gita 15.4
Purushottama Yoga
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः | तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ||४||
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ | tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī ||4||
In essence: After cutting the tree of samsara, seek that Goal from which none return—surrender to that Primal Person from whom this ancient creation has streamed forth.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "So after cutting the tree, I must seek a goal. What is this 'state from which none return'? It sounds like extinction."
Guru: "Not extinction but completion. Think of a river reaching the ocean—does it become nothing? It becomes everything, merging with the vastness. The individual limitation ends, but existence itself is amplified beyond measure. 'No return' means no falling back into the smallness of separated identity, not annihilation of being."
Sadhak: "Krishna says 'I take refuge.' Is this just intellectual understanding or something more?"
Guru: "Prapadye—I surrender, I go to the feet—is the heart's movement, not just the intellect's conclusion. Krishna is teaching by example: even the Lord speaks the words of surrender to show the way. Jnana culminates in bhakti; understanding becomes love; knowing becomes being in relationship. The Primal Person is not a concept to understand but a Presence to surrender to."
Sadhak: "How do I seek this Goal practically?"
Guru: "The seeking is the cutting. Every act of non-attachment is a step toward the goal. Every moment of surrender, every 'I take refuge in the Source,' brings you closer. The goal is not spatially distant—it is the very ground of your being, obscured by the tree's complexity. Seek it by removing what hides it, by returning attention to the root, by surrendering the false self that pretends to be separate."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Upon waking, before the mind engages with the day's branches, speak inwardly: 'I take refuge in the Primal Source.' This is not formula-recitation but genuine turning of attention to the Origin. Feel yourself held by that from which everything streams forth.
When feeling lost in samsara's complexity—too many branches, too many sprouts of desire—remember that there is a Goal from which none return. This remembrance provides direction. You are not wandering meaninglessly but seeking something specific and ultimately satisfying. Let this memory redirect energy from horizontal pursuit to vertical ascent (or rather, tracing back to the root).
End the day with surrender. The ego has been active all day, claiming ownership of actions and experiences. Now consciously release: 'This activity streamed from the ancient Source; to that Source I return the fruits of this day.' Sleep itself becomes a small death, a practice of return. The Primal Person from whom you emerged is the Ground into which you dissolve each night.