Continued from above.......

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः

प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।

तं तं नियममास्थाय

प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥७.२०॥

kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ

prapadyante'nyadevatāḥ

taṁ taṁ niyamamāsthāya

prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā (7.20)

kāmaiḥ — by desires; taistair = taihtaiḥ — by whose, by these, contrary; hṛtajñānāḥ — persons whose experience is overshadowed; prapadyante — they plead with; 'nyadevatāḥ= anyadevatāḥ = anya — other + devatāḥ — supernatural rulers; taṁtam — this or that; niyamam — religious procedures; āsthāya — following; prakṛtyā — by material nature; niyatāḥ — restricted; svayā— by their own

Persons whose experience was overshadowed by contrary desires, plead with other supernatural rulers, following this or that religious procedure, being restricted by their own material nature. (7.20)

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The super-subtle material nature environment, the spiritual world environment, the Supreme Being and the limited entities are all eternal and perpetual. The Supreme Being does not create this.

The creation we are in is a manifestation of the material nature environment. The Supreme Being has some involvement in this but it is more like when a manufacturer uses raw materials to produce a product. The manufacturer does not have to create the raw materials.

The perpetual material nature environment is compared to an eternal banyan tree in this verse of the Bhagavad Gita:

श्रीभगवानुवाच

ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखम्

अश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।

छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि

यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥१५.१॥

śrībhagavānuvāca

ūrdhvamūlamadhaḥśākham

aśvatthaṁ prāhuravyayam

chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni

yastaṁ veda sa vedavit (15.1)

śṛī bhagavān — The Blessed Lord; uvāca — said; ūrdhvamūtam = urdhva —upward + mūlam — root; adhaḥśākham = adhaḥ — below + śākham — branch; aśvatthaṁ — ashvattha tree; prāhuḥ — the yogī sages say; avyayam — imperishable; chandāṁsi -Vedic hymns; yasya — or what which; parṇāni — leaves; yaḥ — who; taṁ — this; veda — knows; sa = saḥ— he; vedavit —knower of the Vedas

The Blessed Lord said: The yogi sages say that there is an imperishable Ashvattha tree which has a root going upwards and a trunk downwards, the leaves of which are the Vedic hymns. He who knows this is a knower of the Vedas. (15.1)

अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा

गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः ।

अधश्च मूलान्यनुसंततानि

कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥१५.२॥

adhaścordhvaṁ prasṛtāstasya śākhā

guṇapravṛddhā viṣayapravālāḥ

adhaśca mūlānyanusaṁtatāni

karmānubandhīni manuṣyaloke (15.2)

Adhaścordhvaṁ = adhaḥ — downward + ca — and + urdhvam — upward; prasṛtāh — widely spreading; tasya — of it; śākhā — branches; guṇa — mundane influence; pravrddhā — nourished; viṣayapravālāḥ = viṣaya — attractive objects + pravālāḥ — sprouts; adhaśca = adhaḥ — below + ca — and; mūlāni — roots;— stretched out; karmānubandhīni = karmā — action + anubandhīni — promoting; manuṣyaloke = manuṣya — of human being + loke — in the world

Branches spread from it, upwards and downwards. It is nourished by the mundane influences and the attractive objects are its sprouts. The roots are spread below, promoting action in the world of human beings. (15.2)

न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते

नान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा ।

अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलम्

असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥१५.३

na rūpamasyeha tathopalabhyate

nānto na cādirna ca saṁpratiṣṭhā

aśvatthamenaṁ suvirūḍhamūlam

asaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā(15.3)

na — not; rūpam — form; asyeha - asya — of it + iha — in this dimension; tathopalabhyate = tathā — thus + upalabhyate — it is perceived; nānto = nāntah = na —- not + antaḥ — end; na — nor; cādiḥ = ca — and + ādiḥ — end; na — nor; ca — and; saṁpratiṣṭhā — foundation; aśvatthaṁ — ashvattha tree; enam — this; suvirūḍhamūtam = suvirūḍha — well-developed + mūlam — root; asaṅgaśastreṇa = asaṅga — non-attachment + śastreṇa — with the axe; dṛḍhena — with the strong; chittvā — cutting down

Its form is not perceived in this dimension, nor its end, nor beginning nor foundation. With the strong ax of non-attachment, cut down this Ashvattha tree with its well-developed roots. (15.3)

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