Bhagavad Gita 14.13

aprakāśo ’pravṛttiś ca

pramādo moha eva ca

tamasy etāni jāyante

vivṛddhe kuru-nandana

 

When darkness veils the inner sight,

No urge to act, no guiding light;

Neglect and delusion cloud the soul—

These rise when ignorance takes control.

 

My dear Lord, I am affected—indeed afflicted—by ignorance in increasing degrees. The ignorance that blinds me to you is bad; the ignorance that binds me to the world as a substitute for you is worse. The ignorance that builds a wall between you and me is the worst of all. Under this triple attack of ignorance, I not only lose both the ability and the inclination to see you, but I also cannot reach you—even when life’s reversals make me feel my deep need for you.

O merciful Lord, this wall has become formidable through my own bad choices, through conceptions constructed by the godless world around me, and through my mind’s corrosive blending of both. My hope of breaking this seemingly unbreakable wall centers on the moments when I lose hope. When life’s adversities overwhelm and overpower me, let me remember that even if the wall stops me from reaching you, no wall can ever stop you from reaching me.

Please, O unfailing Lord, shake and break that wall during my moments of testing. Let the shelter and strength of your love reach and enrich my heart and draw it toward you. May my present feeling of need for you become a permanent longing that unites me with you—fully and joyfully.

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14.13 When there is an increase in the mode of ignorance, O son of Kuru, darkness, inertia, madness and illusion are manifested.