7-19

बहूनाम् जन्मनाम् अन्ते ज्ञानवान् माम् प्रपद्यते ।
वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ १९ ॥

bahUnAm janmanAm ante jJAnavAn mAm prapadyate |
vAsudevaH sarvam iti sa mahAtmA sudurlabhaH || 19 ||

अन्ते [ante] At the end of बहूनाम् जन्मनाम् [bahUnAm janmanAm] many births, ज्ञानवान् [jJAnavAn] a person who knows प्रपद्यते [prapadyate] will surrender माम् [mAm] to Me वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति [vAsudevaH sarvam iti] with the conviction that Lord Krishna is everything. सः महात्मा [saH mahAtmA] Such a great person सुदुर्लभः [sudurlabhaH] is extremely difficult to find.

This surrender, which precedes the joy of being in the service the Lord and the joy of knowing the true Self, is not the result of a small number of virtuous births. Indeed, at the conclusion of many virtuous births, a person comes to know that his primary source of joy is in being of service to Lord Krishna alone.

From that point onwards, he comes to know about his own nature, state of being and his activities. He gains knowledge that the Lord is greater than all the countless great qualities put together.

Having gained such knowledge, he believes - ‘Lord Krishna is the ultimate goal. He is also the means to arrive at that goal. Though there are many other desires, the Lord Himself is all of that’ - With this conviction, he surrenders to Me and dedicates himself to My service. This is a great person. Such people are hard to find in this world.

This is indeed the meaning of the phrase ‘Lord Vasudeva is everything’ – Starting with Chap7#17 ‘I am dear to this knowledgeable person, in a way that is definitely beyond description’ and Chap7#18 ‘Keeping Me in his thoughts always, he considers Me as the ultimate achievement and takes refuge in Me’. These Shlokas gave the description of the one who knows .

The fact that all conscious and non-conscious beings are two natures of the Lord and exist in His service was illustrated starting with Chap7#4: ‘This universe of mine is divided into eight categories: The solids, liquids, gasses, energy, space, mind, the gross collections and the concept of individuality’ and in Chap7#5 ‘Know My ultimate nature as being distinct from this universe - know My ultimate form as a conscious being by whom all this is sustained’

Further, the dependence of these two natures on the Lord was described, along with the dependence of all causes and effects, their form, state of existence and their activities. This was stated starting with the Shloka in Chap7#6 ‘I am the creator and the destroyer of the entire universe’, going on to Chap7#7 ‘There is absolutely nothing else that is superior to Me’ till Chap7#12 ‘Know that all these feelings, with the three qualities being prominent in them, originate from Me. However, I am not bound in them. They are situated in Me’ - These Shlokas established the supremacy of the Lord in all ways and the dependence of everything on Him.

The person who knows all this is termed as ‘ the one who knows ‘.

Again, the Lord emphasizes that the one who knows - the type of person described above - is very rare.