This is the lower one. But know that I have another nature, higher than this: the living being, O mighty-armed one, by which this world is sustained.
Explanation
Krishna has just listed eight elements of his material nature (prakṛti): earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego. Here he says there is a higher nature, the living being (jīva), which sustains the world. Many commentators take this as the conscious self or soul, distinct from matter. Others read it as the divine power that animates all beings.