In this chapter Krishna reveals himself as the primal cause and elaborates on his opulences.

Verse 1 & 2: Krishna says, I will describe my most important teachings.  Neither demigods nor great sages know transcendental appearance (prabhavam) as I am the full basis of them. This is a challenge similar to the one in Godel Escher Bach.  Can saints and demigods know God, if they are based in God (can a subject know itself).  This argument is used several places in many scriptures of many religions.  I keep referring to a fundamental thought that subjective thinking is the only instrument available (people talk about experiential intuition) to discern truth from falsehood, so God as a concept will have to be evaluated in the same way as any other idea.

Verse 3: One who knows me as unborn, without a beginning and the primal cause, is delivered from all sins.  Earlier, Krishna had clearly stated that there is no sin but I guess the contextual strength of the framework of sin and merit is so strong that it comes in to describe a desirable outcome.

Verse 4-5: Spiritual intelligence (cognition), knowledge, freedom for delusion, compassion, truthfulness, control of senses and mind, happiness and unhappiness, birth death, fear and fearlessness, non-violence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy, all these qualities originate from me. Krishna has described all emotional states and actions which give rise to these states, all of them originate in Krishna.

Verse 6: Great seven sages and four Manus, all have these mental impulses as do all existing living beings. Implies that all intent and impulses even in great sages emerge from Krishna, a single and primal source.  Wonder if there is a concept of free will which can exist side by side.

Verse 7,9, 10 : Knowing this one who merges their consciousness with the universal consciousness will undoubtedly succeed.

Verse 8: I am the primal cause of all causes. Krishna states that he is the primal cause of all apparent causes and also he creates all the emotional states, so both the object and subject emerge from Krishna.

Verse 11: I am situated in the self (Atma bhavastah) and dispel their ignorance. This is a clear statement that self and God are the same.  Knowing this dispels ignorance about the nature of God and universe.

Verse 12-18: Arjun on hearing this says, that Krishna you are recognized as the supreme lord by all the sages and now you have declared as such to me.  I accept your statements and accept that demigods and demons can’t understand all this.  Only you can know yourself and describe yourself.  How can I know you and the yog of uniting the personal consciousness with the universal? So even Arjun standing face to face with Krishna and hearing directly from him still has questions and doubts.  So people like us who have to understand this without the benefit of direct experience and teacher should question and convince ourselves fully.

Verse 19-41: Krishna reiterates that he is the ultimate consciousness in the self (atma) of all living beings and is the consciousness or awareness (chetna).  And he is the cause, existence and end of all self. There are several other descriptions about being Sama among vedas, Indira among the demigods, Siva amoung the Yaksha, Himalaya in mountains  etc.  Essentially the supreme in every sphere.

Verse 42: Finally Krishna says why do you need so many examples when everything is from me and this whole material existence is but a small fraction of me.

The summary of this chapter is to say the Krishna is source of all objective as well as the subjective universe.  All consciousness is one (which is why it is important to unite it with the universal consciousness).  The key question which we hope will be answered in the subsequent chapters is why is that so many of the consciousness believe themselves to be separate and distinct.  What argument one could offer to understand the unity of consciousness?  Till now it is essentially assertion of Krishna.  Will Arjun be satisfied?  Let us read on.