The Blessed Lord spoke to Arjuna with compassion, revealing profound truths about the nature of faith and the path to the highest realization. He explained that whenever a devotee, with sincerity and faith, wishes to worship any particular form, it is He who steadies that devotion in their heart. Empowered by this unwavering faith, the devotee then worships that chosen form and, through this worship, receives the objects of their desire—yet, these blessings too are granted by the Lord alone. However, Krishna cautioned that the rewards obtained by those of limited understanding are fleeting. Those who worship the various gods attain the realms of those gods, but those who worship the Supreme Lord Himself come directly to Him. Many, unwise and unaware of His supreme and imperishable nature, imagine that the unmanifest Lord takes on a manifest form, not realizing His higher, eternal essence. He revealed further that He remains hidden from all, veiled by His divine power, yoga-maya. Thus, the world, deluded, fails to recognize Him as the unborn and imperishable One. Krishna alone knows all beings—their past, present, and future—but no one truly knows Him. Arjuna was told that at birth, every being is overcome by delusion, caught in the web of opposites such as desire and aversion. Yet, those whose sins have been washed away, who act virtuously and are freed from this confusion, worship the Lord with unwavering resolve. Those who seek liberation from the cycle of old age and death, taking refuge in Him, come to know Brahman, the fullness of spiritual wisdom, and the true nature of all action. Those steadfast in knowledge, who understand the Lord as the Supreme among all beings, divinities, and sacrifices, remain united with Him—even at the time of death. Hearing these profound teachings, Arjuna’s curiosity deepened. He asked, “O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the Self? What is action? What is called the Supreme in relation to beings and to the divinities? And, O Madhusudana, who is the Supreme with regard to sacrifice in this body? How are you to be known at the final moment by those with disciplined minds?” The Lord kindly answered: “The imperishable is Brahman; one’s own essential nature is the Self; action is that creative force which brings all beings into existence. The perishable aspect is the Supreme with respect to beings; Purusha is the Supreme among divinities; and I alone am the Supreme with regard to sacrifice within this body. Whoever, at the end of life, remembers Me and departs from the body, surely attains My state—of this, there is no doubt. Whatever state of being one remembers at the time of death, having been absorbed in that throughout life, to that state one surely goes, O son of Kunti. Therefore, Krishna urged Arjuna, “At all times, remember Me and fulfill your duty. With your mind and intellect dedicated to Me, you will come to Me without fail. Through constant practice of yoga, with the mind undistracted and fixed on the Supreme Divine Person, one attains Him. Remember the Ancient, the Poet, the Ruler of all, subtler than the subtlest, the sustainer of everything, whose form is beyond imagination, radiant like the sun and beyond all darkness. “At the time of death, with the mind steady and unwavering, united in devotion and by the power of yoga, if one directs the life-breath between the eyebrows, that soul attains the Supreme Divine Person. I will explain to you briefly that imperishable goal, which the knowers of the Vedas declare, which ascetics free from passion enter, and for which they practice celibacy. “Restraining the senses, confining the mind in the heart, fixing the life-breath at the crown of the head, and absorbed in steadfast yoga, one who, at the time of death, utters the sacred syllable ‘Om’—which is Brahman—and remembers Me, attains the supreme destination. For the yogi who remembers Me constantly, with an undistracted mind, I am easily attainable and ever united with him. “Once reaching Me, these great souls, perfected in spiritual realization, are not reborn in this world of sorrow and impermanence. All realms, even up to Brahma’s, are subject to return, but upon reaching Me, there is no more rebirth. Those who truly understand the vast cycles of Brahma’s day and night—each spanning a thousand ages—comprehend the true nature of time. “With the dawn of Brahma’s day, all beings come forth from the unmanifest; with the onset of night, they dissolve back into it. This cycle repeats, as beings arise and dissolve again and again, compelled by their own nature. Yet, beyond this unmanifest lies another, eternal and imperishable, which remains even when all else is destroyed. “That imperishable unmanifest is called the supreme goal. Having attained it, none return; it is the highest abode of the Lord. This Supreme Person is attained only by exclusive devotion; all beings dwell within Him, and by Him all existence is pervaded. “Now, O best of the Bharatas, I will tell you about the times at which yogis depart, never to return, and the times when they return. Those who leave during the bright path—fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, and the six months of the sun’s northern course—knowing Brahman, they attain Brahman and do not return. Those who depart during smoke, night, the dark fortnight, and the six months of the southern course, attain the lunar light and return again. These two paths, bright and dark, are eternal; by one, the soul returns no more, by the other, it returns again. “Knowing these paths, no yogi is ever deluded, O Partha. Therefore, always be steadfast in yoga. The yogi who understands all this surpasses the fruits of Vedic rituals, sacrifices, austerities, and charity, and attains the supreme, primordial abode. Then the Blessed Lord said with warmth, “Arjuna, because you are free from envy, I will now reveal to you the most secret knowledge, along with its realization. By knowing this, you will be freed from all evil. This is the king of knowledge, the king of secrets, supremely pure and the highest. It is directly experienced, righteous, easy to practice, and imperishable.