This shloka continues the introduction begun in 7.1.

In the previous shloka, Bhagavān said that Arjuna would come to know Him samagram [completely] and asaṃśayam [without doubt]. Now Bhagavān explains what that complete knowledge includes.

He says, jñānaṃ te'haṃ savijñānam idaṃ vakṣyāmi aśeṣataḥ — “I will teach you this jñānam along with vijñānam completely.”

Here jñānam and vijñānam have a specific meaning. Jñānam means knowledge of Bhagavān’s saguṇa-svarūpam [form with attributes]. Vijñānam means knowledge of Bhagavān’s nirguṇa-svarūpam [the attributeless, formless, all-pervading reality]. Here vijñānam does not mean modern science, and it is not used merely in the sense of “practical experience.” In this context, both words refer to two levels of Īśvara-jñānam [knowledge of Bhagavān].

The saguṇa level is the level where Bhagavān is available to the mind in a form: Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Śiva, Devī, Gaṇeśa, and other worshipful forms. A beginner needs this concrete form, because the mind cannot easily relate to the formless, attributeless truth. Form, name, qualities, beauty, compassion, and līlā make Bhagavān accessible to devotion.

But wherever form is present, difference is also present. A form has a boundary. A form appears in one place and not another. Therefore at the saguṇa level, there is bheda-jñānam [knowledge with difference]. The devotee is here, Bhagavān is there. The worshipper and the worshipped are experienced as two.

The nirguṇa level is different. Nirguṇa Bhagavān is not limited by form, place, time, or attributes. When all limiting attributes are removed, division also cannot remain. Just as space has no fixed form and therefore no real internal division, formless Bhagavān is understood as one without a second. Therefore nirguṇa Īśvara knowledge is abheda-jñānam [knowledge of non-difference].

This is why jñānam is also connected with dvaita-jñānam [knowledge in duality], and vijñānam is connected with advaita-jñānam [knowledge of non-duality]. At the saguṇa level, the devotee and Bhagavān are seen as different. At the nirguṇa level, that difference is resolved.

The wave and ocean example makes this clear. If we look only at name and form, a wave is small and the ocean is vast. The names are different. The forms are different. From that standpoint, wave and ocean are distinct. But if we look at the essential nature, both are water. The difference belongs to name and form; the essence is one.

In the same way, at the level of name and form, the jīva [individual] and Bhagavān appear different. Bhagavān seems vast, all-powerful, and worshipful; the jīva seems small and limited. But when the essential nature is understood, the difference is resolved in the nirguṇa truth.

Bhagavān says He will teach this aśeṣataḥ — completely, thoroughly, without leaving anything out. This teaching is not meant to remain partial. It will unfold both saguṇa and nirguṇa, both dvaita and advaita, both the worshipful Bhagavān and the limitless truth of Bhagavān.

Then Bhagavān gives the result: yajjñātvā neha bhūyo'nyat jñātavyam avaśiṣyate — “knowing which, nothing else remains here to be known.” This does not mean that after this knowledge a person will know every detail of physics, medicine, history, or grammar. It means that the fundamental questions of human life are resolved.

The human intellect carries deep questions: What is this world? What is Bhagavān? Who am I? What is the relationship between jīva, jagat [world], and Īśvara [Bhagavān]? Until these questions are answered, there is a subtle intellectual restlessness.

Samsāra [bondage or inner dependence] can be experienced at different levels. Some experience it mainly physically, through fear of disease, aging, and death. Some experience it emotionally, through dependence on attention, affection, companionship, and approval. Some experience it intellectually, through unresolved questions about life, consciousness, creation, death, and Bhagavān.

This teaching resolves the intellectual form of samsāra. By understanding Bhagavān completely — as saguṇa and nirguṇa, as the worshipful form and the limitless truth — the seeker gains a vision in which the fundamental questions about jīva, jagat, and Īśvara are answered.

This shloka therefore announces the completeness of the coming teaching: Bhagavān will reveal both jñānam [saguṇa Īśvara knowledge] and vijñānam [nirguṇa Īśvara knowledge] thoroughly. The seeker first approaches Bhagavān through form and devotion, then understands the formless truth in which the difference between the individual and Bhagavān is resolved; by this knowledge, the deepest intellectual questions of life come to rest.