‘The tree of the World’ (Transmigration)

… to ascertain the real nature of Brahman [God, the Supreme] through the determination of the tree of the universe of which Brahman is the root: That which has its roots above – the root that is the state of supreme Vishnu… It consists of many evils, such as birth, old age, death, and sorrow; it changes itself every moment, inasmuch as no sooner is it seen than its nature is destroyed like magic, water in a mirage, a city in the sky, and it ceases to exist ultimately like a tree; it is subject to hundreds of doubts in the minds of sceptics; its reality is determined in its true colour by the seekers of truth; its essence lies in the root, the supreme Brahman, ascertained in Vedanta; it grows from out of the seed of ignorance, desire, action, and the Unmanifest… its lovely flowers are the many deeds such as sacrifice, charity, and austerity; its various tastes are the experiences of happiness and sorrow; its infinite fruits are the subsistence of beings… (To be continued)

From Shankara’s Katha Upanishad Bashia (II,iii,1)

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