Krishna immediately contrasts the 'Mahātmā' (the Great Soul) of Verse 19 with the vast majority of humanity. He explains why people fail to reach the Supreme. Those whose wisdom, discrimination, and intelligence have been stolen, plundered, or carried away (hṛta-jñānāḥ) by various specific material cravings and desires (kāmais tais tair), surrender to and worship other, lesser gods or demigods (prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ). In doing so, they adopt and follow various specific rules, rituals, and dogmas (taṃ taṃ niyamam āsthāya), driven entirely by the compulsions of their own conditioned, lower biological nature (prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā).