The spirit, residing within nature, finds itself drawn to the myriad qualities that nature gives rise to. Through its attachment to these qualities—whether they are luminous, passionate, or dark—the spirit takes birth again and again, finding itself in higher or lower forms according to the nature of its attachments. Yet, within the body, there is also the Supreme Spirit. This inner presence is not merely an experiencer, but stands as the witness to all that unfolds, the silent consenter to actions, the supporter of life, the enjoyer of experiences, the great Lord, and the highest Self. To recognize this distinction between the spirit entangled in nature and the Supreme Self is to see the truth. One who truly understands the relationship between the spirit, nature, and the qualities born of nature becomes free from the cycle of birth, regardless of how he lives. People come to this realization in different ways: some perceive the Self within through deep meditation, others through the pursuit of knowledge, and still others by dedicated action. There are even those who, not knowing directly, simply listen with devotion to teachings from others and worship with faith; they too, through their sincerity, cross over the ocean of death. All beings, whether they move or do not move, arise from the union of the field—that is, the body—and the knower of the field, the spirit within. One who perceives the Supreme Lord equally present in all beings, seeing the imperishable essence within the perishing forms, is the one who truly sees. Such a person, recognizing the Lord in all, does not harm himself or others, and thus attains the highest goal. When one understands that all actions are performed entirely by nature and that the Self is not the true agent, his vision is clear. He sees that the countless forms and activities of beings are all established in the One and have expanded from that One alone. Through this realization, he attains Brahman—the supreme reality. This Supreme Self is without beginning and without qualities, and so it is imperishable. Though present in the body, O Kaunteya, it does not act, nor is it stained by the actions of the body. Just as the all-pervading space remains untouched despite being everywhere, so the Self remains pure and untainted within all bodies. Just as one sun illumines the whole world, so does the knower of the field—the Self—illumine the entire field of the body. Those who, with the eye of knowledge, perceive the difference between the field and the knower of the field, and understand the path to liberation from the bonds of nature, they alone attain the supreme state. At this point, Krishna, the Blessed Lord, speaks again to Arjuna: “I will declare to you once more the highest knowledge, the greatest of all knowledges. By knowing this, sages have attained supreme perfection. Resorting to this wisdom, they become like Me—at the time of creation, they are not born, and at the time of dissolution, they do not suffer. “My womb is the great Brahman, and into that I place the seed of all beings. From this union, O Bharata, arises the birth of all creatures. Whatever forms are produced in any womb, know that Brahman is the universal womb, and I am the seed-giving father. “Nature gives rise to three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas—which bind the imperishable self to the body. Sattva, pure and luminous, brings clarity and health, yet it binds by attachment to happiness and knowledge. Rajas is the quality of passion, born of craving and attachment, binding the soul through ceaseless activity. Tamas, born of ignorance, deludes all beings and binds them through negligence, laziness, and sleep. “Each quality attaches the soul in its own way: sattva to happiness, rajas to action, and tamas to heedlessness. These qualities fluctuate—when rajas and tamas are subdued, sattva prevails; when sattva and tamas are overcome, rajas dominates; and when sattva and rajas are suppressed, tamas takes hold. “You can recognize these qualities by their effects: when the body is filled with light and clarity, sattva is ascendant. When restlessness, greed, and ceaseless activity arise, rajas is strong. When darkness, inactivity, and delusion prevail, tamas is dominant. “At death, if sattva prevails, the soul attains the pure realms of the wise. Dying in rajas, one is born among those attached to action; dying in tamas, one is reborn among the deluded. The fruit of good action is pure and sattvic; the fruit of rajas is suffering, and ignorance is the result of tamas. From sattva comes knowledge, from rajas comes greed, and from tamas arise negligence, delusion, and ignorance. “Those established in sattva rise upward; those in rajas remain in the middle; those abiding in tamas descend. When the seer perceives that all actions are performed by the gunas alone, and recognizes that which is beyond the gunas, he attains My state. By transcending these three qualities, the embodied one is freed from birth, death, old age, and all suffering, and attains immortality.” Hearing this, Arjuna asks, “O Lord, by what signs is one known who has gone beyond the three gunas? How does he behave, and how does he transcend them?” The Blessed Lord replies, “He who neither hates nor desires the presence or absence of light, activity, or delusion—such a one is not disturbed by the gunas. Seated as if indifferent, knowing that the gunas alone act, he remains unmoved. He is equal in pleasure and pain, established in himself, seeing no difference between clod, stone, and gold; he is steady, equal in praise and blame, honor and dishonor, friend and foe, and has abandoned all undertakings. Such a person is said to have transcended the gunas. “And he who serves Me with unwavering devotion, practicing the yoga of devotion, transcends the gunas and is fit to become Brahman itself.