Bhagavad Gita 12.20

ye tu dharmyāmṛtam idaṁ

yathoktaṁ paryupāsate

śraddadhānā mat-paramā

bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ

 

Those who walk this nectar way,

Living dharma as I say;

Full of faith, with me as goal,

They are dearest to my soul.

 

My dear Lord, let your words—that those who serve you faithfully become dear to you—be my anchor when the world disrupts my life and my mind catastrophizes, making everything feel as if it is falling apart. Without the anchor of your words, I make small things big and end up making big things small. And the first great reality that I downplay is you, and the biggest casualty of that is me.

O supreme benefactor, help me appreciate that when I connect with you through loving remembrance, that divine connection calms my mind and clarifies my intelligence. My clarified intelligence helps me focus on what is truly important instead of whatever the world declares important. My calm mind helps me focus on what is actually happening instead of my desires and fears distorting my perceptions. Together, the clear intelligence and calm mind empower me to detect and correct the many ways in which I overreact to worldly situations. Thus, investing time in remembering you helps me save much more time in the long run.

O maintainer of the world, bless me to remember that prioritizing you does not mean saying no to my worldly obligations; it means saying no to my mind’s unnecessary concoctions about the world and my obligations in it. Help me prioritize you and thus navigate the world’s disruptions purposefully with a clear intelligence and resourcefully with a calm mind.

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12.20 Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.