Fixing your mind on Me, you will overcome all obstacles by My grace; but if, through egotism, you will not listen, you will perish.
This verse combines reassurance with warning—consciousness fixed on the divine overcomes all obstacles, while egoism leads to destruction. This balanced approach acknowledges both divine grace and human responsibility, showing how spiritual success requires both receptivity and effort.
If, filled with egotism, you think, "I will not fight," vain is this, your resolve; nature will compel you.
Krishna directly addresses Arjuna's hesitation to fight, revealing how egoistic avoidance of duty is ultimately futile. This penetrating insight shows how apparent moral reluctance can mask unconscious evasion of responsibility, challenging Arjuna to examine his motivations more honestly.
Bound by your own karma born of your nature, O son of Kunti, what you wish not to do through delusion, you shall do even against your will.
This verse explores the paradox of free will and determinism, showing how our nature compels certain actions even against our conscious wishes. Rather than fatalism, this reveals how unconscious patterns govern behavior until transformed through spiritual practice, explaining why self-knowledge must precede freedom.
The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His illusive power, to revolve as if mounted on a machine.
Krishna reveals his cosmic role as the indwelling lord who animates all beings through the power of maya. This profound theological statement explains how divine consciousness operates within the limitations of form, simultaneously transcending and inhabiting the created universe.
Take refuge in Him alone with all your being, O Bharata. By His grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
This verse presents the ultimate solution to human suffering—complete surrender to the divine. Beyond philosophical understanding or ethical action, this surrender represents the culmination of spiritual practice, where individual effort gives way to divine grace.
Thus has wisdom more secret than secrecy itself been declared to you by Me; having reflected upon it fully, do as you wish.
Krishna concludes his systematic teaching, emphasizing he has shared wisdom typically reserved for advanced initiates. By telling Arjuna to reflect and choose freely, he honors human agency, showing that even divine instruction respects the individual's responsibility for their own decisions.
Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all; because you are dearly beloved of Me, I will tell you what is good for you.
Krishna transitions from formal teaching to intimate counsel, offering his highest wisdom not from obligation but from love. This shift from instructor to intimate friend reveals how spiritual teaching ultimately transcends systematic knowledge, becoming direct transmission from heart to heart.