Arjuna asks again:

He who, after having taken the path of yoga (of the practice of union and communion with God) with faith, abandons it, for not having been able to detach his mind from the world, and who, as a result, does not attain spiritual perfection, O Krishna, what is his fate?

If he turns away from the path of spiritual realisation, O Krishna, does he not perish, as a cloud dissipates, deprived of all refuge?

In this point lie my doubts, O Krishna; please dispel them completely, for none but Thee can.

The blessed Lord said:

O son of Prtha (Arjuna), for the spiritualist of happy deeds, there is no destruction either in this life, in this world, or in the next; never, My friend, does evil, or misfortune, seize him. After countless years of delight on the planets where those who have practised goodness live, he who has failed in the path of yoga is reborn in a rich and noble or virtuous family.

He can also be reborn into a family of spiritualist sages. In truth, it is rare to obtain such a birth here on earth. There he recovers the divine consciousness acquired in his past life, and resumes his march towards perfection. By virtue of the divine consciousness acquired in his past life, he is naturally drawn to the practice of Yoga, sometimes even unwittingly. Desiring to know Yoga, he already transcends all scriptural rites. Let the Spiritualist, purified of all faults, strive to perfect his spiritual realisation, and he will at last, after many lives of intense practice, attain the supreme goal. The spiritualist is higher than the ascetic, the philosopher and the man who aspires to the fruits of his deeds. Therefore, in all circumstances, be a spiritualist. And of all spiritualists, he who with complete faith always abides in Me and worships Me, serving Me with love, is the greatest, and is most intimately related to Me.