Bhagavad Gita 1.10

aparyāptaṁ tad asmākaṁ

balaṁ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam

paryāptaṁ tv idam eteṣāṁ

balaṁ bhīmābhirakṣitam

 

“Our forces, vast, beyond all scale,

Guarded by Bhīṣma, will not fail.

Theirs, guarded by Bhīma, remains confined,

For failure they are surely destined.”

 

My dear Lord, it is so easy to be meticulous in not missing a single thing at the material level while simultaneously missing the most important thing at the spiritual level, which is you, O Lord.

When I make plans, even if those plans are for your service, I often get so caught in analyzing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats at the material level that I forget or overlook the one factor that overrides all others—your supreme will.

Protect me, my Lord, from this foolish mistake, which can easily degenerate into a fatal mistake. Let me never think that my service to you is by my might. If I become intoxicated by my power, even if I am looking at you, I won’t be able to see you. I will fall under the illusion that material things are all that matter, especially when I am seeking to offer those things for your pleasure.

Through your words, you guide my eyes, my head, and my heart toward the things that matter more than matter itself. Bless me so that I can start all my endeavors by first remembering you and then doing all my material analysis in the light of divine awareness. It is you who will work through my material plans if they succeed, and it is you who can work beyond, or even opposite to, my plans. Let my heart stay fixed on you, O Lord, and not on my plans.

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01.10 Our strength is immeasurable, and we are perfectly protected by Grandfather Bhīṣma, whereas the strength of the Pāṇḍavas, carefully protected by Bhīma, is limited.