Having mapped the material machine in Verse 4, Krishna introduces the Ghost in the Machine. He states: This eightfold material nature is My lower, inferior energy (aparā iyam). But besides and beyond this (itas tv anyāṃ), you must know and understand (viddhi) My other, superior, and higher energy (prakṛtiṃ me parām). What is it? It is the living entities themselves, the conscious souls (jīva-bhūtāṃ), O mighty-armed one (mahā-bāho). It is exactly by this higher conscious energy that this entire material universe is sustained, utilized, and upheld (yayā idaṃ dhāryate jagat).