The Supreme Lord, known as Param Brahman, is the real observer, and He is distinct from the individual soul, the individual spiritual being distinct from God, which is united with the senses, the five elements and consciousness.

The spiritualist should see in every manifestation one soul, for all that exists is the product of the different energies of the Supreme Being. Thus the devotee should see all beings with an equal eye, without any distinction. This is the realization of the Supreme Soul.

Just as fire manifests in different kinds of wood, the purely spiritual soul, under different conditions created by the gunas, manifests in different bodies.

Thus the spiritualist can become a realized soul after overcoming the insurmountable spell of maya which presents itself as both the cause and the effect of material manifestation and which therefore proves very difficult to know.

The Lord explains the devotional service offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Supreme Lord, Sri Kapila, says:

O noble woman, devotional service has many paths, depending on the characteristics of those who perform it.

The devotional service performed by a person who is envious, proud, violent, angry and separatist is in the nature of ignorance.

The separatist who worships murtis (depictions of God in temples) in the temple, driven by a desire for material enjoyment, fame and opulence, is said to be passionate.

When a devotee worships the Supreme Lord and offers the fruits of his actions to Him so as to free himself from the defilement of selfish action, his devotion is in the nature of virtue.

Pure and unadulterated devotional service is manifested when the mind of the devotee is instantly attracted to hear the Name and the spiritual and absolute Attributes of the Supreme Lord, who dwells in the heart of every being (In His form as the Supreme Soul, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, resides in the hearts of all living beings. In the hearts of all celestial beings inhabiting the higher planets of our galaxy, in the hearts of all human beings, white, black, yellow, red, half-caste, in the hearts of all terrestrial and aquatic animals, and in the hearts of all plants, from the blade of grass to the trees. That is why God commands us not to harm anyone, no human being, no animal or any plant). As the water of the Ganges naturally flows towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows freely towards the Lord.