Bhagavad Gita 16.9

etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya

naṣṭātmāno ’lpa-buddhayaḥ

prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ

kṣayāya jagato ’hitāḥ

 

Holding fast to such a view,

Lost in self, with insights few;

They rise to acts both harsh and dire,

For ruin driven by dark desire.

 

My dear Lord, so many times I have succumbed to self-destructive tendencies—sometimes in gross ways, by consuming food that harms my health, and sometimes in subtle ways, by dwelling on situations that make me feel helpless, resentful, and bitter.

O merciful Lord, despite my strongest resolutions, I am unable to overcome this self-destructive impulse within me. Even when I give myself the sternest intellectual admonitions to refrain from such indulgence, and even when I impose on myself severe punishments as atonement for my lapses, I still fall back into the same patterns.

O unfailing Lord, help me address this impulse at its root by revising my underlying worldview. As long as I hold on to a materialistic worldview, my life lacks intrinsic meaning. If I see myself as merely a temporary body moving about, then nothing I do truly matters. Undercut by this sense of meaninglessness, I rush toward the easiest, quickest feel-good stimuli, which ultimately lead me toward self-destruction.

O benevolent Lord, grant me the conviction that I am forever your beloved part, and that you have a part for me that is spiritually significant, even if it appears materially insignificant. As I discover the abilities, interests, and resources you have given me, and use them in a mood of service, bless me to find enduring meaning—and ultimately to find you, the source and shelter of all meaning.

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16.09 Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.