After reading this extremely confusing and elaborately worded chapter, I felt a bit overwhelmed and unclear of the lessons. It was nice to be assured by Douglas Brooks’ commentary that indeed that is the experience of most, even the extremely scholarly.
Krishna offers the image of an inverted tree (the Ashvattha tree) whose roots grow up towards the heavens and whose branches reach toward the earth. From this imagery we can conclude that just as it is the yogi’s dharma to seek divinity while still engaging in the material world, so it is the divine’s dharma to manifest itself in the world while staying rooted in the Supreme.
The picture shows us that there is a continuous, unbroken connection between the earth and the heavens, man and God. Even though we can experience pieces and tastes of the divine here on earth, there is always more that constitutes the Absolute. In the same light, we must remember that even the seemingly mundane and minute experiences are nothing but the ever-expansive Absolute.
