gopis, on the other hand, achieved unity, equality, almost absolute with the Lord. Bhisma's desire to remember the gopis is actually a prayer to be blessed in the last moments of his life, of their grace. The Lord feels greater satisfaction in seeing his pure devotees praised than in being glorified Himself; that is why Bhismadeva not only exalted the Acts of Krishna, an immediate object of his attachment, but also reminded him of the gopis, who are offered unparalleled ways to serve the Lord with love. The equality of the gopis and the Lord must never, however, be confused with the liberation of the impersonalists. Their equality consists in the perfect ecstasy engendered by the complete obliteration of any differentiating concept between the lover and the beloved, or in other words, the fusion of their respective interests.

Spiritual instructions given by Krishna to his father Vasudeva and the return to life of the six sons of Devaki.

Holding Krishna and Balarama for his sons, Vasudeva was at the most perfect level of existence; but since the sages assembled at the holy place of Kuruksetra had described the Lord as the ultimate Cause of all that is, Vasudeva, out of love for Krishna and Balarama, had simply repeated it. Sri Krishna did not wish to change his filial relationship with Vasudeva, so he confirmed at the very beginning of his answer, to be the eternal Son of Vasudeva and the latter his eternal father. Then, Krishna informed him of the spiritual identity of all living beings:

“Dear Father, all of you, including Myself and My Brother Balarama (First Plenary Emanation of Krishna), as well as the inhabitants of the city of Dvaraka, as well as those of the entire cosmic manifestation, are such as you have already described, but we are all equally one in quality”.

Krishna wanted Vasudeva to see everything from the vision of a first-rate sage. He sees all living things as fragments of the Supreme Lord, and also perceives His presence in everyone's heart. In truth, each living being possesses a spiritual identity, but in contact with material existence, it becomes influenced by the three gunas (three modes of influence of material nature, virtue, passion, and ignorance) and overlaid by the bodily conception of existence, forgetting that the spiritual soul that he is in truth participates in the same qualitative nature as God, the Supreme Person. It is wrong to think you are different from others simply because of the bodily differences that separate us. In other words, it is because of the differences between the bodies that the spiritual soul seems to us different for each one.

Krishna then gave a good example based on the five material elements. All the material elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether, are everywhere present in this world, whether in a pot of earth, in a mountain, in the trees or in an ear pendant. Everywhere, therefore, are present these five elements in varied proportions and quantities. The mountain represents a colossal manifestation of the combination of these elements, while a small earthen pot also has the same elements, but in smaller quantities. Thus, all material objects, although of different shapes and volumes,