Bhagavad-gita As It Is
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

CHAPTER SEVEN

Bg7.11

TEXT 11

balam balavatam caham

kama-raga-vivarjitam

dharmaviruddho bhutesu

kamo ’smi bharatarsabha

balam—strength; balavatam—of the strong; ca—and; aham—I am; kama—passion; raga—attachment; vivarjitam—devoid of; dharma-aviruddha—not against the religious principles; bhutesu—in all beings; kamah—sex-life; asmi—I am; bharatarsabha—O lord of the Bharatas.

TRANSLATION

I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O Lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna].

PURPORT

The strong man’s strength should be applied to protect the weak, not for personal aggression. Similarly, sex life, according to religious principles (dharma), should be for the propagation of children, not otherwise. The responsibility of parents is then to make their offspring Krsna conscious.

Bg7.12

TEXT 12

ye caiva sattvika bhava

rajasas tamasas ca ye

matta eveti tan viddhi

na tv aham tesu te mayi

ye—all those; ca—and; eva—certainly; sattvikah—in goodness; bhavah—states of being; rajasah—mode of passion; tamasah—mode of ignorance; ca—also; ye—although; mattah—from Me; eva—certainly; iti—thus; tan—those; viddhi—try to know; na—not; tu—but; aham—I; tesu—in those; te—they; mayi—unto Me.

TRANSLATION

All states of being—be they of goodness, passion or ignorance—are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything—but I am independant. I am not under the modes of this material nature.

PURPORT

All material activities in the world are being conducted under the three modes of material nature. Although these material modes of nature are emanations from the Supreme Lord, Krsna, He is not subject to them. For instance, under the state laws one may be punished, but the king, the lawmaker, is not subject to that law. Similarly, all the modes of material nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—are emanations from the Supreme Lord Krsna, but Krsna is not subject to material nature. Therefore He is nirguna, which means that these gunas, or modes, although issuing from Him, do not affect Him. That is one of the special characteristics of Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bg7.13

TEXT 13

tribhir guna-mayair bhavair

ebhih sarvam idam jagat

mohitam nabhijanati

mam ebhyah param avyayam

tribhih—three; gunamayaih—by the three gunas; bhavaih—state of being; ebhih—all this; sarvam—the whole world; idam—in this world; jagat—universe; mohitam—deluded; na abhijanati—do not know; mam—unto Me; ebhyah—above these; param—the Supreme; avyayam—inexhaustible.

TRANSLATION

Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me who am above the modes and inexhaustible.

PURPORT

The whole world is enchanted by three modes of material nature. Those who are bewildered by these three modes cannot understand that transcendental to this material nature is the Supreme Lord, Krsna. In this material world everyone is under the influence of these three gunas and is thus bewildered.

Bv nature living entities have particular types of body and particular types of psychic and biological activities accordingly. There are four classes of men functioning in the three material modes of nature. Those who are purely in the mode of goodness are called brahmanas. Those who are purely in the mode of passion are called ksatriyas. Those who are in the modes of both passion and ignorance are called vaisyas. Those who are completely in ignorance are called sudras. And those who are less than that are animals or animal life. However, these designations are not permanent. I may either be a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or whatever—in any case, this life is temporary. But although life is temporary and we do not know what we are going to be in the next life, still, by the spell of this illusory energy, we consider ourselves in the light of this bodily conception of life, and we thus think that we are American, Indian, Russian or brahmana, Hindu, Muslim, etc. And if we become entangled with the modes of material nature, then we forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is behind all these modes. So Lord Krsna says that men, deluded by these three modes of nature, do not understand that behind the material background is the Supreme Godhead.

There are many different kinds of living entities—human beings, demigods, animals, etc.—and each and every one of them is under the influence of material nature, and all of them have forgotten the transcendent Personality of Godhead. Those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance, and even those who are in the mode of goodness, cannot go beyond the impersonal Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth. They are bewildered before the Supreme Lord in His personal feature, which possesses all beauty, opulence, knowledge, strength, fame and renunciation. When even those who are in goodness cannot understand, what hope is there for those in passion and ignorance? Krsna consciousness is transcendental to all these three modes of material nature, and those who are truly established in Krsna consciousness are actually liberated.

Bg7.14

TEXT 14

daivi hy esa guna-mayi

mama maya duratyaya

mam eva ye prapadyante

mayam etam taranti te

daivi—transcendental; hi—certainly; esa—this; gunamayi—consisting of the three modes of material nature; mama—My; maya—energy; duratyaya—very difficult to overcome; mam—unto Me; eva—certainly; ye—those; prapadyante—surrender; mayam etam—this illusory energy; taranti—overcome; te—they.

TRANSLATION

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable energies, and all these energies are divine. Although the living entities are part of His energies and are therefore divine, due to contact with material energy, their original superior power is covered. Being thus covered by material energy, one cannot possibly overcome its influence. As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal. The living entities belong to the eternal superior nature of the Lord, but due to contamination by the inferior nature, matter, their illusion is also eternal. The conditioned soul is therefore called nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned. No one can trace out the history of his becoming conditioned at a certain date in material history. Consequently, his release from the clutches of material nature is very difficult, even though that material nature is an inferior energy, because material energy is ultimately conducted by the supreme will, which the living entity cannot overcome. Inferior material nature is defined herein as divine nature due to its divine connection and movement by the divine will. Being conducted by divine will, material nature, although inferior, acts so wonderfully in the construction and destruction of the cosmic manifestation. The Vedas confirm this as follows:

mayam tu prakrtim vidyan mayinam tu mahesvaram.

“Although maya [illusion] is false or temporary, the background of maya is the supreme magician, the Personality of Godhead, who is Mahesvara, the supreme controller.”

Another meaning of guna is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself—he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Krsna, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Krsna consciousness, can help one gain such release. Krsna, being the Lord of illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature.

The words mam eva are also significant. Mam means unto Krsna (Visnu) only, and not Brahma or Siva. Although Brahma and Siva are greatly elevated and are almost on the level of Visnu, it is not possible for such incarnations of rajo-guna (passion) and tamo-guna (ignorance) to release the conditioned soul from the clutches of maya. In other words, both Brahma and Siva are also under the influence of maya. Only Visnu is the master of maya; therefore He can alone give release to the conditioned soul. The Vedas confirm this in the phrase tvam eva viditva or “Freedom is possible only by understanding Krsna.” Even Lord Siva affirms that liberation can be achieved only by the mercy of Visnu. Lord Siva says:

mukti-pradata sarvesam visnur eva na samsayah.

"There is no doubt that Visnu is the deliverer of liberation for everyone.

Bg7.15

TEXT 15

na mam duskrtino mudhah

prapadyante naradhamah

mayayapahrta-jnana

asuram bhavam asritah

na—not; mam—unto Me; duskrtinah—miscreants; mudhah—foolish; prapadyante—surrender; naradhamah—lowest among mankind; mayaya—by the illusory energy; apahrta—stolen by illusion; jnanah—knowledge; asuram—demonic; bhavam—nature; asritah—accepting.

TRANSLATION

Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.

PURPORT

It is said in Bhagavad-gita that simply by surrendering oneself unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality Krsna, one can surmount the stringent laws of material nature. At this point a question arises: How is it that educated philosophers, scientists, businessmen, administrators and all the leaders of ordinary men do not surrender to the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, the all-powerful Personality of Godhead? Mukti, or liberation from the laws of material nature, is sought by the leaders of mankind in different ways and with great plans and perseverance for a great many years and births. But if that liberation is possible by simply surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then why don’t these intelligent and hard-working leaders adopt this simple method?

The Gita answers this question very frankly. Those really learned leaders of society like Brahma, Siva, Kapila, the Kumaras, Manu, Vyasa, Devala, Asita, Janaka, Prahlada, Bali, and later on Madhvacarya, Ramanujacarya, Sri Caitanya and many others—who are faithful philosophers, politicians, educators, scientists, etc.—surrender to the lotus feet of the Supreme Person, the all-powerful authority. Those who are not actually philosophers, scientists, educators, administrators, etc., but who pose themselves as such for material gain, do not accept the plan or path of the Supreme Lord. They have no idea of God; they simply manufacture their own worldly plans and consequently complicate the problems of material existence in their vain attempts to solve them. Because material energy (nature) is so powerful, it can resist the unauthorized plans of the atheists and baffle the knowledge of “planning commissions.”

The atheistic plan-makers are described herein by the word duskrtina, or “miscreants.” Krtina means one who has performed meritorious work. The atheist planmaker is sometimes very intelligent and meritorious also, because any gigantic plan, good or bad, must take intelligence to execute. But because the atheist’s brain is improperly utilized in opposing the plan of the Supreme Lord, the atheistic planmaker is called duskrtina, which indicates that his intelligence and efforts are misdirected.

In the Gita it is clearly mentioned that material energy works fully under the direction of the Supreme Lord. It has no independant authority. It works as the shadow moves, in accordance with the movements of the object. But still material energy is very powerful, and the atheist, due to his godless temperament, cannot know how it works; nor can he know the plan of the Supreme Lord. Under illusion and the modes of passion and ignorance, all his plans are baffled, as in the case of Hiranyakasipu and Ravana, whose plans were smashed to dust although they were both materially learned as scientists, philosophers, administrators and educators. These duskrtinas, or miscreants, are of four different patterns, as outlined below:

(1) The mudhas are those who are grossly foolish, like hard-working beasts of burden. They want to enjoy the fruits of their labor by themselves, and so do not want to part with them for the Supreme. The typical example of the beast of burden is the ass. This humble beast is made to work very hard by his master. The ass does not really know for whom he works so hard day and night. He remains satisfied by filling his stomach with a bundle of grass, sleeping for a while under fear of being beaten by his master, and satisfying his sex appetite at the risk of being repeatedly kicked by the opposite party. The ass sings poetry and philosophy sometimes, but this braying only disturbs others. This is the position of the foolish fruitive worker who does not know for whom he should work. He does not know that karma (action) is meant for yajna (sacrifice).

Most often, those who work very hard day and night to clear the burden of self-created duties say that they have no time to hear of the immortality of the living being. To such mudhas, material gains, which are destructible, are life’s all in all—despite the fact that the mudhas enjoy only a very small fraction of the fruit of labor. Sometimes they spend sleepless days and nights for fruitive gain, and although they may have ulcers or indigestion, they are satisfied with practically no food; they are simply absorbed in working hard day and night for the benefit of illusory masters. Ignorant of their real master, the foolish workers waste their valuable time serving mammon. Unfortunately, they never surrender to the supreme master of all masters, nor do they take time to hear of Him from the proper sources. The swine who eat the soil do not care to accept sweetmeats made of sugar and ghee. Similarly, the foolish worker will untiringly continue to hear of the sense-enjoyable tidings of the flickering mundane force that moves the material world.

(2) Another class of duskrtina, or miscreant, is called the naradhama, or the lowest of mankind. Nara means human being, and adhama means the lowest. Out of the 8,400,000 different species of living beings, there are 400,000 human species. Out of these there are numerous lower forms of human life that are mostly uncivilized. The civilized human beings are those who have regulated principles of social, political and religious life. Those who are socially and politically developed, but who have no religious principles, must be considered naradhamas. Nor is religion without God religion, because the purpose of following religious principles is to know the Supreme Truth and man’s relation with Him. In the Gita the Personality of Godhead clearly states that there is no authority above Him and that He is the Supreme Truth. The civilized form of human life is meant for man’s reviving the lost consciousness of his eternal relation with the Supreme Truth, the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna, who is all-powerful. Whoever loses this chance is classified as a naradhama. We get information from revealed scriptures that when the baby is in the mother’s womb (an extremely uncomfortable situation) he prays to God for deliverance and promises to worship Him alone as soon as he gets out. To pray to God when he is in difficulty is a natural instinct in every living being because he is eternally related with God. But after his deliverance, the child forgets the difficulties of birth and forgets his deliverer also, being influenced by maya, the illusory energy.

It is the duty of the guardians of children to revive the divine consciousness dormant in them. The ten processes of reformatory ceremonies, as enjoined in the Manu-smrti, which is the guide to religious principles, are meant for reviving God consciousness in the system of varnasrama. However, no process is strictly followed now in any part of the world, and therefore 99.9 percent of the population is naradhama.

When the whole population becomes naradhama, naturally all their so-called education is made null and void by the all-powerful energy of physical nature. According to the standard of the Gita, a learned man is he who sees on equal terms the learned brahmana, the dog, the cow, the elephant and the dog-eater. That is the vision of a true devotee. Sri Nityananda Prabhu, who is the incarnation of Godhead as divine master, delivered the typical naradhamas, the brothers Jagai and Madhai, and showed how the mercy of a real devotee is bestowed upon the lowest of mankind. So the naradhama who is condemned by the Personality of Godhead can again revive his spiritual consciousness only by the mercy of a devotee.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in propagating the bhagavata-dharma or activities of the devotees, has recommended that people submissively hear the message of the Personality of Godhead. The essence of this message is Bhagavad-gita. The lowest amongst human beings can be delivered by this submissive hearing process only, but unfortunately they even deny giving an aural reception to these messages, and what to speak of surrendering to the will of the Supreme Lord? Naradhamas, or the lowest of mankind, will fully neglect the prime duty of the human being.

(3) The next class of duskrtina is called mayayapahrta-jnana, or those persons whose erudite knowledge has been nullified by the influence of illusory material energy. They are mostly very learned fellows—great philosophers, poets, literati, scientists, etc.—but the illusory energy misguides them, and therefore they disobey the Supreme Lord.

There are a great number of mayayapahrta-jnanas at the present moment, even amongst the scholars of the Gita. In the Gita, in plain and simple language, it is stated that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is none equal to or greater than Him. He is mentioned as the father of Brahma, the original father of all human beings. In fact, Sri Krsna is said to be not only the father of Brahma but also the father of all species of life. He is the root of the impersonal Brahman and Paramatma; the Supersoul in every entity is His plenary portion. He is the fountainhead of everything, and everyone is advised to surrender unto His lotus feet. Despite all these clear statements, the mayayapahrta-jnana deride the Personality of the Supreme Lord and consider Him merely another human being. They do not know that the blessed form of human life is designed after the eternal and transcendental feature of the Supreme Lord.

All the unauthorized interpretations of the Gita by the class of mayayapahrta-jnana, outside the purview of the parampara system, are so many stumbling blocks in the path of spiritual understanding. The deluded interpreters do not surrender unto the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, nor do they teach others to follow this principle.

(4) The last class of duskrtina is called asuram bhavam asrita, or those of demonic principles. This class is openly atheistic. Some of them argue that the Supreme Lord can never descend upon this material world, but they are unable to give any tangible reasons as to why not. There are others who make Him subordinate to the impersonal feature, although the opposite is declared in the Gita. Envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the atheist will present a number of illicit incarnations manufactured in the factory of his brain. Such persons whose very principle of life is to decry the Personality of Godhead cannot surrender unto the lotus feet of Sri Krsna.

Sri Yamunacarya Albandru of South India said, “O my Lord! You are unknowable to persons involved with atheistic principles despite Your uncommon qualities, features, and activities and despite Your personality being confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness, and despite Your being acknowledged by the famous authorities renowned for their depth of knowledge in the transcendental science and situated in the godly qualities.”

Therefore, (1) grossly foolish persons, (2) the lowest of mankind, (3) the deluded speculators, and (4) the professed atheists, as above mentioned, never surrender unto the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead in spite of all scriptural and authoritative advice.

Bg7.16

TEXT 16

catur-vidha bhajante mam

janah sukrtino ’rjuna

arto jijnasur artharthi

jnani ca bharatarsabha

catur-vidhah—four kinds of; bhajante—render services; mam—unto Me; janah—persons; sukrtinah—those who are pious; arjuna—O Arjuna; artah—the distressed; jijnasuh—the inquisitive; artha-arthi—one who desires material gain; jnani—one who knows things as they are; ca—also; bharatarsabha—O great one amongst the descendants of Bharata.

TRANSLATION

O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

PURPORT

Unlike the miscreants, these are adherents of the regulative principles of the scriptures, and they are called sukrtina, or those who obey the rules and regulations of scriptures, the moral and social laws, and are, more or less, devoted to the Supreme Lord. Out of these there are four classes of men—those who are sometimes distressed, those who are in need of money, those who are sometimes inquisitive, and those who are sometimes searching after knowledge of the Absolute Truth. These persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service under different conditions. These are not pure devotees because they have some aspiration to fulfill in exchange for devotional service. Pure devotional service is without aspiration and without desire for material profit. The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu defines pure devotion thus:

anyabhilasitasunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama.

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

When these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service and are completely purified by the association of a pure devotee, they also become pure devotees. As far as the miscreants are concerned, for them devotional service is very difficult because their lives are selfish, irregular and without spiritual goals. But even some of them, by chance, when they come in contact with a pure devotee, also become pure devotees.

Those who are always busy with fruitive activities come to the Lord in material distress and at that time associate with pure devotees and become, in their distress, devotees of the Lord. Those who are simply frustrated also come sometimes to associate with the pure devotees and become inquisitive to know about God. Similarly, when the dry philosophers are frustrated in every field of knowledge, they sometimes want to learn of God, and they come to the Supreme Lord to render devotional service and thus transcend knowledge of the impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramatma and come to the personal conception of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee. On the whole, when the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge, and those who are in need of money are free from all material desires, and when they fully understand that material remuneration has nothing to do with spiritual improvement, they become pure devotees. As long as such a purified stage is not attained, devotees in transcendental service to the Lord are tainted with fruitive activities, and they search after mundane knowledge, etc. So one has to transcend all this before one can come to the stage of pure devotional service.

Bg7.17

TEXT 17

tesam jnani nitya-yukta

eka-bhaktir visisyate

priyo hi jnanino ’tyartham

aham sa ca mama priyah

tesam—out of them; jnani—one in full knowledge; nitya-yuktah—always engaged; eka—only one; bhaktih—devotional service; visisyate—especially; priyah—very dear; hi—certainly; jnaninah—person in knowledge; atyartham highly; aham—I am; sah—he; ca—also; mama—Mine; priyah—dear.

TRANSLATION

Of these, the wise one who is in full knowledge in union with Me through pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me.

PURPORT

Free from all contaminations of material desires, the distressed, the inquisitive, the penniless, and the seeker after supreme knowledge can all become pure devotees. But out of them, he who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth and free from all material desires becomes a really pure devotee of the Lord. And of the four orders, the devotee who is in full knowledge and is at the same time engaged in devotional service is, the Lord says, the best. By searching after knowledge one realizes that his self is different from his material body, and when further advanced he comes to the knowledge of impersonal Brahman and Paramatma. When one is fully purified, he realizes that his constitutional position is to be the eternal servant of God. So by association with pure devotees, the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure. But in the preparatory stage, the man who is in full knowledge of the Supreme Lord and is at the same time executing devotional service is very dear to the Lord. He who is situated in pure knowledge of the transcendence of the Supreme Personality of God is so protected in devotional service that material contaminations cannot touch him.

Bg7.18

TEXT 18

udarah sarva evaite

jnani tv atmaiva me matam

asthitah sa hi yuktatma

mam evanuttamam gatim

udarah—magnanimous; sarve—all; eva—certainly; ete—these; jnani—one who is in knowledge; tu—but; atma eva—just like Myself; me—Mine; matam—opinion; asthitah—situated; sah—he; hi—certainly; yukta-atma—engaged in devotional service; mam—unto Me; eva—certainly; anuttamam—the highest goal; gatim—destination.

TRANSLATION

All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.

PURPORT

It is not that other devotees who are less complete in knowledge are not dear to the Lord. The Lord says that all are magnanimous because anyone who comes to the Lord for any purpose is called a mahatma or great soul. The devotees who want some benefit out of devotional service are accepted by the Lord because there is an exchange of affection. Out of affection they ask the Lord for some material benefit, and when they get it they become so satisfied that they also advance in devotional service. But the devotee in full knowledge is considered to be very dear to the Lord because his only purpose is to serve the Supreme Lord with love and devotion. Such a devotee cannot live a second without contacting or serving the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is very fond of His devotee and cannot be separated from him.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.57), the Lord says:

aham bhakta-paradhino hy asvatantra iva dvija
sadhubhir grasta-hrdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyah

“The devotees are always in My heart, and I am always in the heart of the devotees. The devotee does not know anything beyond Me, and I also cannot forget the devotee. There is a very intimate relationship between Me and the pure devotees. Pure devotees in full knowledge are never out of spiritual touch, and therefore they are very much dear to Me.”

Bg7.19

TEXT 19

bahunam janmanam ante

jnanavan mam prapadyate

vasudevah sarvam iti

sa mahatma su-durlabhah

bahunam—many; janmanam—births; ante—after; jnanavan—he possessing knowledge; mam—unto Me; prapadyate—surrenders; vasudevah—cause of all causes; sarvam—all; iti—thus; sah—such; mahatma—great soul; sudurlabhah—very rare.

TRANSLATION

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

PURPORT

The living entity, while executing devotional service or transcendental rituals after many, many births, may actually become situated in transcendental pure knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of spiritual realization. In the beginning of spiritual realization, while one is trying to give up one’s attachment to materialism, there is some leaning towards impersonalism, but when one is further advanced he can understand that there are activities in the spiritual life and that these activities constitute devotional service. Realizing this, he becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrenders to Him. At such a time one can understand that Lord Sri Krsna’s mercy is everything, that He is the cause of all causes and that this material manifestation is not independant from Him. He realizes the material world to be a perverted reflection of spiritual variegatedness and realizes that in everything there is a relationship with the Supreme Lord Krsna. Thus he thinks of everything in relation to Vasudeva, or Sri Krsna. Such a universal vision of Vasudeva precipitates one’s full surrender to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna as the highest goal. Such surrendered great souls are very rare.

This verse is very nicely explained in the Third Chapter of Svetasvatara Upanisad: “In this body there are powers of speaking, of seeing, of hearing, of mental activities, etc. But these are not important if not related to the Supreme Lord. And because Vasudeva is all-pervading and everything is Vasudeva, the devotee surrenders in full knowledge.” (Cf. Bhagavad-gita 7.17 and 11.40)

Next verse (Bg7.20)