Bhagavad Gita 1.27

tan samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ

sarvān bandhun avasthitān

kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo

viṣīdann idam abravīt

 

“Seeing his kinsmen standing near,

Arjuna’s heart was seized with fear.

Overcome with a sorrow so deep,

He spoke, a steady voice unable to keep.”

 

My dear Lord, when I function in this world, it is natural that I will experience emotions in relation to things and people around me. Such emotions may be natural and desirable for fulfilling my responsibilities, but still, they come with an innate danger. They can become so strong—so suddenly and severely strong—that they propel me to do wrong.

Life is tough, and sometimes it can even be turbulent. Please, O Lord, protect me from being swept away by the waves of turbulent emotions triggered within me by turbulent situations. Let the turbulence of the world remind me of the need to connect with transcendence—with you, O Lord, who rule in supreme serenity and majesty, far above all the upheavals of the world.

Let me not be misled by the notion that your transcendence reduces you to irrelevance when I am faced with the world’s turbulence. Although you are unaffected because of your transcendence, you are not unconcerned about how I am affected by the turbulence. Bless me, so that my concern for the world does not blind me to your concern for me and your concern for the world.

I beg you, O Lord, let me remember that you, as the supreme transcendence, are my best refuge—for both rising above the world’s turbulence and persevering through it.

***

01.27 When the son of Kuntī, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus.