Krishna said:
—Arjuna, hear again the words of the Most High. Because you love Me and are devoted to Me, hear again these supreme words and the truth of them will enlighten you. None in the heavens or earth know My beginning, for I am all beginnings. I am the everlasting Lord of worlds. I am unborn, transcending all beginnings, all endings. Knowing this without doubt, you will overcome delusion and be unstained by evil.
—Wisdom and knowledge, perception and restraint, honesty and serenity, patience and forgiveness, insight and nonviolence, joy and sorrow, being and nonbeing, fear and freedom from fear, austerity and generosity, fame and dishonor—all the attributes of men come from Me and no other. The first of men was born at My behest and likewise the wisest of sages. Know that I am everywhere present, with neither beginning nor end. Believe this with absolute sincerity. Knowing that I am the source of all things in all the worlds of My creation, the wise delight in Me and are filled with joy and contentment. Their thoughts fixed on Me, giving up their lives in My path, recounting tales of My action and the words of My wisdom, the wise delight in Me and are filled with joy and contentment. Through their love, I am generous to them, granting to them this vision of Myself, which eclipses all senses. I dispel the darkness of their ignorance, and fill them with the light of My wisdom.
Arjuna said:
—You are the Most High, the only shelter, the source of holiness, unborn and eternal. You are the divinity of the divine, everywhere with us, surpassing all and unsurpassed. You are God. The wise have declared this, and You have revealed this, and I have no doubt that Your supreme word is true. Only You can pierce Your mystery, for no other can know You, You who are the source of all things in the heavens and earth. Never tiring of your beautiful voice, of the words of the Most High, I am confounded by your many forms, and cannot comprehend you in worshipful meditation Tell me, in what form should I perceive You, the one of infinite form?
Krishna said:
—I shall reveal to you a few of the many forms by which I might be perceived. I am the highest Self within all beings. Of existence, I am the first, the middle, and the last. Of the names of God, I am Vishnu. Of lights, I am the blazing sun. Of constellations, I am the radiant moon. Of scriptures, I am the melody of every hymn. Of celestials, I am King. Of senses, I am mind. Of creatures, I am awareness. Of winds, I am the storm. Of the elements, I am unquenchable fire. Of the mountains, I am loftiest, unscaled. Of waters, I am seas and oceans unfathomed. Of trees, I am the Tree of Life. Of voices, I am the sound of heavens. I am the prayer of sacrifices. Of weapons, I am the thunderbolt.
—Of all legends, I am their source, and in all legends I am found. I am the first of fathers, the mightiest of beasts, the highest of birds. I am the wind that purifies and Rama among kings. Among rivers, I am the Ganges. I am time past, and all things future. Of women, I am fairest, wisest, most constant and most patient. Of seasons, I am spring. Of gamblers, I am dice. I am the wisdom of the wise, the beauty of the beautiful, the rod of those who chastise, the courage of the courageous, and the silence of mysteries. I am Krishna; I am Arjuna, I am Vyasa, and I am Usana. I am the glory of the most glorious.
—I am the beginning of all things. Without Me, no creature exists. These are but a few of My limitless forms. Of all beings, however splendid and mighty, I am the source of their might and splendor. How will this revelation of Myself benefit you? With the slightest part of Myself, I am the foundation of the universe.
