śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ya etān mat-patho hitvā
bhakti-jñāna-kriyātmakān
kṣudrān kāmāḿś calaiḥ prāṇair
juṣantaḥ saḿsaranti te
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; ye -- those who; etan -- these; mat-pathah -- means for achieving Me; hitva -- giving up; bhakti -- devotional service; jnana -- analytic philosophy; kriya -- regulated work; atmakan -- consisting of; kshudran -- insignificant; kaman -- sense gratification; calaih -- by the flickering; pranaih -- senses; jushantah -- cultivating; samsaranti -- undergo material existence; te -- they.
As clearly explained by Lord Krishna in the previous chapters, philosophical analysis and also the performance of prescribed duties are ultimately meant for achieving Krishna consciousness, or pure love of God. Devotional service, based on hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, directly engages the conditioned soul in the Lord's loving service and thus is the most efficient means of achieving the Lord. All three processes, however, share a common goal, Krishna consciousness. Now the Lord describes those who, being completely absorbed in material sense gratification, do not adopt any authorized means to achieve the Lord's mercy. Currently, hundreds of millions of unfortunate human beings fit squarely into this category and, as described here, perpetually suffer the bondage of material existence.