2 Now I shall fully describe to you, with the taste of the flavor of My divine sweetness, this knowledge of My grand majestic splendor and opulences. After knowing all this, absolutely nothing will remain for you to know, being situated on this beautiful, joyful, and victorious path.

3 Out of countless souls, some have reached the human form, and among many thousands of human beings, some endeavor for perception of the individual soul and the Supersoul; and among many thousands of such endeavorers who have attained to seeing the soul and the Supersoul, only a few receive actual perception of Me, Syamasundara.

4 My deluding potency in this world is divided in eight ways: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego. Commentary 07.04

5 O mighty hero, Arjuna, this worldly nature known as external, is inferior. But distinct from this nature, you should know My marginal potency, comprised of the individual souls, to be superior. This world is accepted by this superior conscious potency as an object of exploitation for sense enjoyment, by the agency of each individual's fruit-hunting actions and reactions. The divine world emanates from My internal potency and the mundane world from My external potency. The potency of the living beings is known as marginal, on account of their medial adaptability they may choose to reside either in the mundane plane or the divine.

6 Know it that all species, either moving or stationary, are produced from these two elemental natures, as the sphere of action and the knower of that sphere. And I alone am the cause of generation of the whole world, and the cause of its dissolution as well.

7 O Arjuna, there is nothing superior to Me. Like gems strung on a thread, this entire creation depends on Me.

8 O son of Kunti, by the potency of the primordial element of taste, I am situated as the basis of the flavor of water; and by the opulence of effulgence, I am present in the sun and moon. I am present in the Vedas as their primeval sound vibration, the letter Om; I am present in the atmosphere as the primordial element of sound; and as the Supreme Male, I am present in all men.

9 I dwell in the pure fragrance of the earth, and in the radiance of fire. In all beings, I am present as the lifespan, and in ascetics, I am the power to endure duality such as cold and heat.

10 O Partha, know Me as the eternal primordial cause of all life-forms. Of the intelligent, I am present as intelligence personified, and of the valiant, I am there as prowess personified.

11 O Arjuna, of the powerful, I am present as strength that is devoid of selfish interest and mundane attachment; and among all species of life, I am present as that sexual union which is in accordance with the principles of religion.

12 Furthermore, you should know that all objects that be of the nature of goodness, passion, and ignorance are born of Me alone. Nevertheless, I am not in them. They, being subordinate to Me, exist in Me.

13 The entire world of living beings is completely deluded by this creation of the nature of three material modes. Therefore, no one can know Me, the Supreme Lord, who am superior to this whole creation, transcendental to these modes, and immutable.

14 This 'trimodal', supernatural, (alluring) deluding energy of Mine is practically insurmountable. However, those who fully surrender exclusively unto Me can certainly surpass this formidable fantasy.

15 These four types of evil-doers do not surrender unto Me: fruitive workers, who are just like animals; fallen persons who embrace the highest path, devotion, but later reject it, considering it inadequate or worthless; those whose knowledge is nullified by the deluding potency, maya, despite their scriptural knowledge, and who think that only the form of Lord Narayana is worshipable, whereas Lord Krsna, Lord Rama, and other authentic forms are merely human; and those who possess the nature of demons the impersonalists, who 'dismember' My form by their 'arrows' of false and blasphemous arguments, and who are just like the demon Jarasandha and others.

16 O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, four types of persons worship Me: the afflicted, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of worldly or other-worldly enjoyment, and the pure-hearted seer of the soul. After attaining sufficient devotional merit (sukrti), they engage in My pure devo- tional service.

17 Among these four types of devotees, the enlightened soul, who is My exclusive devotee and whose consciousness is fully absorbed in Me, is the best of all. Because I in My form of Syamasundara am very dear to this sage, he also is dear to Me.

18 Since their hearts are free from the nasty selfishness of addiction to sensual pleasures, all these persons are certainly dear to Me. But due to his divine self-realization, the pure-hearted sage becomes inseparable from Me, and is therefore very dear to Me. This is certainly My opinion, since he, having offered Me his own heart, has ascertained that I, Syamasundara, am the supreme goal of life.

19 After many, many birds, the knowledgable person (who happens to attain the association of such a pure devotee) finally comes to understand that the whole universe of moving and stationary being is of the nature of Vasudeva alone, inasmuch as all are subordinate to Vasudeva. Having grasped this conception, he surrenders unto Me. Know such a great soul to be extremely rare.

20 Persons whose good intelligence has been spoiled by illicit desires for exploitation and renunciation or other duplicitous pursuits, worship other godly personalities such as the Sun-god and the many demigods. Being enslaved by their instinct, they adopt the corresponding rules and regulations of fasting and other tenets accordingly.

21 According to whichever demigod representing a form of Me a particular devotee desires to worship faithfully, I, as the Supersoul dwelling within his heart, make his faith strong for the deity of his choice.

22 After being endowed with this firm faith by Me, such a devotee goes on worshiping the deity of that demigod, and gains all his desired objects from that deity. Certainly this is enacted by My sanction alone, since I am the Supersoul situated within the heart of the demigod also.

23 But the fruit obtained by those provincially interested worshipers of the various demigods is temporary. They reach their respective gods, but My devotees obtain Me.

24 My eternal superexcellent nature, form, qualities, activities, pastimes, and associated paraphernalia are all transcendental to illusion. But unintelligent men, unable to know this reality, think of Me thus: 'Oh, the supra-mundane, formless impersonal Brahman has recently accepted birth in an illusory form in Vasudeva's chamber.'

25 By My own sweet will, remaining concealed by an illusory image, I am not manifest to anyone and everyone. Therefore, non of these foolish persons can ever really know Me as the son of Vasudeva, who am independent of mundane birth and ever-existent in My divine personal Syamasundara form of beautiful feature like a blackish rain-cloud.

26 O Arjuna, I alone know everything and everyone, moving or stationary, of the past, present, and future. But on account of their perception being obscured either by My external deluding energy or by the internal potency of My sweet will, certainly there is no one whether a human of this world or anyone beyond it who can know Me as I am.

27 O Arjuna, chastiser of the enemy, from the very beginning of the universal creation, all forms of life are overwhelmed by ignorance born of duality based on happiness and unhappiness, which has its origin in desire and abhorrence of sensual predilection.

28 But on the other hand, the performers of virtuous deeds who have had the opportunity to associate with a pure devotee of Mine are purified of all sin. Free from the delusion born of duality based on happiness and unhappiness, and firmly established in continuous engagement in My service they enter into My pure devotion.

29 Desiring liberation from the miserable worldly current of all-devouring birth and death, those who take shelter of Me engage in My devotional service can know Brahman, the individual souls, and the many types of karma or exploitative action for which the souls are repeatedly bound within this unhappy worldly plane.

30 And those who know Me, as the basis of the universal principles of phenomenon, governance, and dispensation such persons, their hearts absorbed in Me, can know Me even at the time of death. Afflicted in the face of fearful death they do not forget Me.