The Blessed Lord, Krishna, spoke with gentle authority to Arjuna, who sought understanding of the highest devotion. “Those who, with unwavering minds, fix their thoughts on Me and worship Me with supreme faith and steadfastness—I consider them most united with Me. Yet there are others, Arjuna, who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifest, that which is all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, immovable, and eternal. These too, through self-restraint, equanimity, and dedication to the welfare of all, come to Me. However, the path for those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest is arduous; embodied beings find it difficult to attain. On the other hand, those who dedicate all actions to Me, regarding Me as the Supreme, and meditate on Me with exclusive devotion—I swiftly deliver them from the ocean of birth and death, O Pārtha. Therefore, fix your mind on Me alone, and let your intellect dwell in Me. If you do so, you will surely abide in Me—have no doubt. But if you are unable to steady your mind on Me, then seek to reach Me through repeated practice, O Dhanañjaya. If even practice is beyond you, then dedicate your actions to Me; by working for My sake, you will attain perfection. And if you cannot do even this, then, taking refuge in My yoga, renounce the fruits of all actions with self-control. Know that knowledge is better than mere practice; meditation is superior to knowledge; but renunciation of the fruits of action is higher still—for from such renunciation, peace arises immediately. My beloved devotee is one who harbors no hatred toward any being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from possessiveness and ego, equal in pleasure and pain, and forgiving. Content, self-controlled, resolute, and with mind and intellect dedicated to Me—such a devotee is dear to Me. He who neither disturbs the world nor is disturbed by it, who is free from joy, envy, fear, and anxiety—he too is dear to Me. One who expects nothing, is pure, skillful, impartial, free from distress, and has renounced all undertakings—that devotee is dear to Me. He who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, who has renounced both good and evil, and is full of devotion—he is dear to Me. He who is equal to enemy and friend, in honor and dishonor, the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and free from attachment—such a one is dear to Me. He who is the same in praise and blame, silent, content with whatever comes, without a fixed dwelling, firm in mind and devoted—such a man is dear to Me. But above all, those who worship this immortal dharma as I have described, with faith, regarding Me as supreme and devoted—they are exceedingly dear to Me. At this, Arjuna humbly asked, “O Keshava, I wish to know about nature and spirit, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and what is to be known.” The Blessed Lord replied, “This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field. Whoever knows it is called the knower of the field. Know also, O Bharata, that I am the knower of the field in all fields. True knowledge, in My view, is the understanding of the field and its knower. Hear from Me, briefly, what the field is, its nature, its modifications, its origin, and its influences. The sages have sung of these truths in many ways, in various Vedic meters, and the Brahma-sutras have reasoned them out definitively. The field consists of the great elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, the ten senses and the mind, and the five sense objects. Desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the aggregate, consciousness, and firmness—these are the modifications of the field. Humility, sincerity, nonviolence, patience, uprightness, reverence for the teacher, purity, steadiness, and self-control; detachment from sense objects, absence of ego, and the perception of the faults in birth, death, old age, and disease; non-attachment, absence of clinging to family and home, and even-mindedness in favorable and unfavorable circumstances; unwavering devotion to Me through exclusive yoga, delight in solitude, and disinterest in crowds; constancy in spiritual knowledge and the vision of the purpose of truth—this is called knowledge. What is contrary to this is ignorance. Now, I will declare what is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality: the beginningless, supreme Brahman, which is neither called existence nor nonexistence. With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and faces everywhere, with ears everywhere in the world, it stands pervading all. Though shining through all the qualities of the senses, it itself is without senses; unattached, yet sustaining all; without qualities, yet the enjoyer of qualities. It is both within and without all beings; it moves and yet is unmoving; because it is subtle, it is unknowable; it is both far and near. It appears undivided among beings, yet seems to exist as if divided. Know that it is the supporter of all beings, and it absorbs and generates them. That is the light of all lights, said to be beyond darkness; it is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and attainable through knowledge, abiding in the hearts of all. Thus, O Arjuna, I have briefly explained the field, knowledge, and the knowable. My devotee, understanding this, becomes fit for My state. Know that both nature and spirit are without beginning, and all modifications and qualities arise from nature. Nature is said to be the cause in the creation of effect, cause, and agent; while the spirit is said to be the cause in the experience of pleasure and pain.