Bhagavad Gita 2.46

yāvān artha udapāne

sarvataḥ samplutodake

tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu

brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

 

“For one who knows the truth so deep,

From him, Vedic rites can no secret keep.

As a well holds worth in a land run dry,

Its value fades when rivers flow far and high.”

 

My dear Lord, help me to gain a balanced understanding of the role of rituals in my spiritual journey. Let me not fall into the category of those who overvalue rituals—who equate excellence in the technical details of rituals as the very essence of transcendence.

When I fall into that category, I become caught in pettiness, thinking that my rituals make me superior to those who don’t follow them or those who don’t observe them in the exact same way that I do. I don’t want to be one of the world’s many religious nuts whose self-righteousness only increases the world’s hardships.

At the same time, O Lord, bless me to avoid recoiling to the other extreme, where I join the ranks of those who devalue rituals entirely, dismissing them as superstitions or pointless relics from a bygone age. Even when such people want to be spiritual, their rejection of all rituals leaves them bankrupt of any aids to tangibly progress on the spiritual path.

Help me, O Lord, to approach rituals intelligently, as valuable and even vital means for spiritual growth. Let me always remember that the fruit of such spiritual growth is a heart that is humble and compassionate—not an ego that is self-righteous and judgmental.

Bless me, my Lord, to become such a spiritual fruit—one who relishes and radiates the divine joy that comes from an authentic connection with you, the source of the ultimate joy.

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02.46 All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.