Chapter 8

From Chapter 7, we know Lord Krishna as the Supreme Lord, who is to be worshipped. He is the owner of all things, conscious and non-conscious. He is the cause and the basis of existence of everything. Everything exists like His body, so He is addressed by all words. He directs everything and is ‘above and beyond’ with unlimited auspicious qualities

The flood of actions we’ve committed since beginning-less time confine us to material experiences. We are constantly under the influence of the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. They conceal the Lord from us.

Then, due to great virtuous deeds, a few people surrender to the Lord. They push these influences away. These worshippers have varied aspirations - to gain wealth, to realize the true nature of the Self or to attain the Lord Himself. Such variety is due to differences in the knowledge they have attained, which is due to differences in their deeds.

Among them, the person who aspires to attain the Lord is always with Him and worships Him alone. Such a person is extremely dear to the Lord. This person is among the best of beings and is very rare, as stated by the Lord previously.

In that context, the Lord went on to explain the differences among the three types of worshippers , in what they must know and practice. In this Chapter, the Lord elaborates the variety that needs to be distinguished, along with the variety in practice.