The Blessed Lord spoke to Arjuna, revealing the profound nature of His presence in all things. “Arjuna,” He said, “I am the strength found in the strong, a power untouched by desire or attachment. Among all beings, I am that desire which aligns with righteousness and does not oppose dharma. Understand that every state of existence—whether born of sattva, rajas, or tamas—arises from Me. Yet, I remain untouched by them; they dwell in Me, but I am not bound by them. The entire world is deluded by these qualities of nature, the three gunas, and thus fails to recognize Me, the One who stands beyond them, eternal and unchanging. My divine maya, composed of these gunas, is indeed difficult to overcome. But those who seek refuge in Me alone are able to cross over this illusion. Those of evil deeds, the deluded, the lowest among men—whose wisdom has been stolen by maya and who have embraced demonic natures—do not turn to Me for shelter. Yet, Arjuna, there are four kinds of virtuous people who worship Me: those in distress, those who seek knowledge, those who desire wealth, and those who are wise. Of these, the wise one—constantly united with Me in devotion to the One—is the dearest to Me, and I to him. Though all these devotees are noble, the wise man is regarded as My very self, for his disciplined mind is fixed on Me as the highest goal. After many births, the man of true knowledge comes to Me, realizing that Vasudeva is everything. Such a great soul is indeed rare. But those whose understanding is clouded by countless desires worship other deities, following various rules shaped by their own nature. Whatever form a devotee chooses to worship with faith, I make his faith steady in that very form. Endowed with such faith, he seeks his chosen deity and obtains his desires, though it is I alone who grant these fruits. However, the rewards gained by those of limited understanding are fleeting. Those who worship the gods go to the gods, but My devotees come to Me. The unwise imagine Me, the unmanifest, as having taken form, not knowing My higher, imperishable, and supreme nature. Veiled by My yoga-maya, I am not manifest to all; this deluded world does not recognize Me, the unborn and eternal. Arjuna, I know all beings—past, present, and future—but no one truly knows Me. At birth, every being is bewildered by the illusions born of desire and aversion, caught in the confusion of opposites. Yet, those whose sins have ended, who act virtuously and are free from this confusion, worship Me with unwavering resolve. Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, come to know Brahman, the totality of spiritual knowledge, and the essence of all action. Those steadfast in mind, who know Me as the Supreme in relation to beings, divinities, and sacrifices, truly know Me even at the moment of departure from this world. At this, Arjuna asked, “O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the Self? What is action? What is meant by the Supreme in relation to beings and divinities? And, O Madhusudana, how are You the Supreme in sacrifice within this body? How can those of controlled mind know You at the final moment?” The Blessed Lord replied, “The imperishable is the supreme Brahman. One’s own nature is called the Self. The creative force that brings beings into existence is called action. The perishable aspect is the Supreme regarding beings; the Purusha is the Supreme among divinities; and I alone am the Supreme in sacrifice, dwelling in this body, O best of the embodied. Whoever, at the end, remembers Me as he leaves the body, attains My state—of this there is no doubt. Whatever state of being one remembers at the time of death, having always been absorbed in that, to that state he goes. Therefore, remember Me at all times and perform your duties; with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, you shall surely come to Me. With a mind made steady by yoga, always contemplating the Supreme Divine Person, one attains Him. He who remembers the Ancient, the Ruler, subtler than the subtlest, the sustainer of all, whose form is inconceivable, radiant like the sun and beyond darkness—such a one, at the moment of departure, with unwavering mind, united in devotion, by the power of yoga, placing the life-breath between the eyebrows, attains that Supreme Divine Person. Now, Arjuna, I will briefly explain that imperishable goal, which the knowers of the Vedas declare, which ascetics free from passion enter, and for which they practice celibacy. Closing all the gates of the senses, confining the mind in the heart, establishing the life-breath at the crown of the head, and absorbed in steadfast yoga, one who departs uttering the sacred syllable ‘Om’—the symbol of Brahman—while remembering Me, attains the supreme destination. For the yogi who remembers Me constantly, with an undistracted mind, I am easily attainable. Those great souls who reach Me do not return to this world of suffering and impermanence. All the worlds, even up to Brahma’s realm, are subject to repeated birth and death; but upon reaching Me, there is no more rebirth. Those who truly know the vastness of time—how a day of Brahma lasts a thousand ages and his night another thousand—understand the true nature of creation and dissolution. At the coming of day, all beings emerge from the unmanifest; at nightfall, they dissolve back into it. Again and again, this multitude of beings comes into existence and is dissolved at the arrival of night, only to arise again at the coming of day, compelled by the force of nature. But beyond this unmanifest, there is another, eternal unmanifest, which does not perish even when all beings are destroyed.