Sri Krishna says:
Devote your whole mind to me and practice yoga. Take me for your only refuge. I will tell you how, by doing this you can know me in my total reality, without any shadow of doubt. I will give you all this knowledge, and direct spiritual experience, besides. When a man has that, nothing else in this world remains to be known.
Who cares to seek
For that perfect freedom?
One man, perhaps,
In many thousands.
Then tell me how many
Of those who seek freedom
Shall know the total
Truth of my being?
Perhaps one only.
Lord Krishna outlines the nature of Prakriti. Prakriti is often depicted as a Goddess, The Mother of Creation. Further in the chapter, Krishna refers to Prakriti as the ``womb of`all beings,`` using a feminine analogy. In more abstract terms Prakriti can be thought of as Cosmic Energy. Prakriti and the elements of Prakriti are the cause of all matter and everything that we perceive in the material world. But it is also the source of non-material creation such as consciousness, psyche, intellect, ego and, originating from these, the senses.the diagram below shows the cosmology of the Bhagavad Gita. 
This is a basic outline of the Samkhya (sometimes referred to as Sankhya) system of philosophy:
My Prakriti is of eightfold composition:earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and ego. You must understand that behind this, and distinct from it is That which is the principle of consciousness in all beings, and the source of life in all. It sustains the universe.
Know this Prakriti,
United with me:
The womb of all beings.
I am the birth of this cosmos:
Its dissolution also.
I am He who causes
No other beside me.
Upon me these worlds are held,
Like pearls strung on a thread.
He uses the word ``Maya.``This is a word which has different meanings in different philosophical schools within Hinduism. Its common usage is that of illusion and here in this chapter it tells us that we are deluded by Maya. The word derives from the Sanskrit term ma, which means to measure, so that which can be measured is finite, provisional, in contrast to the limitlessness of God, the infinite, which cannot be measured. We are entrapped, because we continue to look to the limited for our happiness instead of realizing that Maya veils our true happiness, which is our own soul, our Atma. Maya weaves an illusion of the material matter and we are entangled in it. There is also a creative aspect to Maya. Maya is sometimes depicted as The Mother Goddess. From her is all creation born. The world of name and form (nama rupa) originates in her and for some, this creative aspect of God, is also to be revered - for as Krishna said Know this Prakriti, United with Me.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't
lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall
direct your way.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
No other beside me.
Upon me these worlds are held,
Like pearls strung on a thread.
How We are Deluded
Lord Krishna goes on to describe how He is within everything and everything is held with Him. He tells us that the whole world is deluded by mental states, moods and attitudes that derive from the expression of the three gunas, which cause us to be blind to the true nature of the world and of God. We must develop discernment to know God, to be able to transcend sense experience, to go beyond our superficial perceptions, our moods, our conditioned mind, our attitudes which rule our mental state and behaviour.
How hard to break through is this my Maya,
Made of the gunas.
But he who takes refuge
Within me only
Shall pass beyond Maya:
He and no other.
He uses the word ``Maya.``This is a word which has different meanings in different philosophical schools within Hinduism. Its common usage is that of illusion and here in this chapter it tells us that we are deluded by Maya. The word derives from the Sanskrit term ma, which means to measure, so that which can be measured is finite, provisional, in contrast to the limitlessness of God, the infinite, which cannot be measured. We are entrapped, because we continue to look to the limited for our happiness instead of realizing that Maya veils our true happiness, which is our own soul, our Atma. Maya weaves an illusion of the material matter and we are entangled in it. There is also a creative aspect to Maya. Maya is sometimes depicted as The Mother Goddess. From her is all creation born. The world of name and form (nama rupa) originates in her and for some, this creative aspect of God, is also to be revered - for as Krishna said Know this Prakriti, United with Me.
Krishna also introduces the importance of taking refuge. Taking refuge is a form of surrender and relying completely on God. We should not therefore seek identification with or protection in worldly things - which most of us tend to do. Due to our being misled by Maya, we rely on family, on money, on friends. We identify with our body as being the self and all the attributes associated with the body. We identify with the race into which we are born, with our status in the world. We see separateness everywhere - so we see ourselves as separate from another person. Our normal conditioning is to rely on worldly help, on associations, on our own skills and strengths, or when these fail, on our wits. We make endless problems for ourselves and others because we do not go to the Source for our strength, wisdom and guidance. We suffer because instead of seeing the unity inherent in all, we have jealousy, competitiveness, anger, hate, attachment instead of joy, peace, love. Indeed - take refuge in God! There is a spiritual guidance in the Proverbs of the Bible that teaches us to surrender utterly to God:
Four kinds of men who worship me
World Weary
Seeker for knowledge
Seeker for happiness
Man of spiritual discrimination
Blunted discrimination
Faith
Delusion
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