spiritual principles. But even higher than this shines the soul freed from all material stain. As for the pure devotee, who performs devotional service without expecting anything in return, he dominates them all.
Consequently, I see no one greater than the one who has no other interest than Mine and who Offers me all his acts and his very life, without knowing cease.
This perfect devotee offers his respects to all beings, for he has the firm conviction that the Sovereign Lord has entered each person's body as a 'Supreme Soul, the Absolute Master.
The devotee who practices the method of yoga to achieve the realization of the Supreme Soul by thus applying the science of devotional service, reaches the abode of the Supreme Lord through this alone devotional service. That Supreme that the distinct soul (the distinct individual soul of God) must approach is the eternal form of God, the Supreme Person, also known as Brahma and Supreme Soul. He is the Supreme Spiritual Being, and all of his Acts transcend matter.
Time, which causes the transformation of the various material manifestations is another aspect of God, the Sovereign Person, but it arouses fear in those who do not know him as such.
The Lord Sovereign, Sri Visnu (full emanation of Krishna), beneficiary of all sacrifices, represents the element of time and the Master of masters. He is in everyone's heart, sustains all beings and causes one to annihilate the other.
No one is particularly dear to the Sovereign Lord, no one is his friend or his enemy; but He inspires those who do not forget Him and destroys others.
For fear of God the wind blows and the sun shines, for fear of Him that rain falls, and always for fear of Him that shines the multitude of stars.
For fear of the Sovereign Lord, trees, shrubs, grasses and various seasonal plants bloom and bear fruit, each according to its season.
It is again for fear of the Supreme that flow rivers and that the ocean never crosses its limits. And always for fear of Him, fire burns and the Earth, with its mountains, does not sink into the oceanic abyss of the universe.
Under the direction of the Sovereign Lord, space gives refuge to all the planets, which in turn house the countless living beings. Also under his supreme guidance, the entire universal body unfolds with its seven layers.
It is also out of fear of God, the Supreme Person, that the deities [Brahma, Visnu, Siva] responsible for the three gunas (virtue, passion, ignorance) perform their functions of creation, maintenance and destruction; and everything in this world, both the animate and the animate, is under their control.