The human mind has conceived of the Absolute Truth in different ways in various traditions. Further, in the world’s great theistic traditions, God has been revealed to varying degrees. The Bhagavad-gita reveals the Absolute Truth to be Krishna, God in a manifestation that is endearing and awe-inspiring. He is the Absolute Truth who manifests in his inconceivable self various seemingly contradictory qualities that bear testimony to his divinity and his supremacy.

He underlies everything and he oversees everything: He is the ground of all being, the underlying substrate that sustains the existence of everything else. The Bhagavad-gita (09.04) indicates that all of existence is sustained by him. Yet simultaneously and inconceivably he is not just below everything but also above everything, overseeing all of existence, as the Gita (09.10) indicates.

He pervades everything and he transcends everything: In his immanent feature, he pervades all of existence, as the Gita (09.04) states. At the same time, as the supreme spiritual reality existing beyond material existence, he transcends everything, reigning in his self-effulgent personal abode.

He cherishes and releases: He loves all of us – that’s why he is present in our hearts as the Supersoul. And yet his love for us is not restricting but releasing. Because he loves us, he respects our free will and allows us to act out our desires for happiness. The Bhagavad-gita (09.06) gives the example of how the sky offers freedom for movement to the air. Similarly, Krishna too offers us freedom for using our free will. Though we don’t have absolute free will, just as the air doesn’t have absolute freedom to move anywhere and everywhere, still if we use properly the free will we have, Krishna helps us become fully free from material existence.

Such inconceivable qualities of Krishna make him eminently lovable. The more we know him, the more we cannot but fall in love with him.