Bhagavad Gita 16.23

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya

vartate kāma-kārataḥ

na sa siddhim avāpnoti

na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

 

Rejecting guidance the scriptures give,

And acting by whims on how to live;

One gains no success, no joy, no goal,

Nor reaches the Supreme, the Complete Whole.

 

My dear Lord, you have given me the power of making choices, making me a conscious and autonomous being, so I can freely choose what or whom I love. Please help me use this power productively, not unproductively or counterproductively.

O benevolent Lord, I misuse that power because of my impulses. These impulses, often arising from my unexamined conceptions of what is desirable and undesirable, prompt and prod me toward actions without my even being aware that I am making choices. Grant me the self-awareness so that I no longer go on autopilot with these unexamined choices.

O merciful Lord, if such self-awareness is difficult for me because of my distractions, infatuations, obsessions, and addictions, then grant me at least the contemplative clarity to evaluate the consequences of going along with the impulse-programs running by default in my mind. Through such retrospection, help me see unsentimentally how I am hurting myself and even those around me by my unconsidered choices.

O Lord, who are the supreme illuminator, let such retrospection jolt me into inner awakening about the probability—indeed the inevitability—of similar implosions in the future if I do not course correct. Let that self-awareness increase my intentionality and introspectiveness about my actions. And most importantly, may such self-awareness make me conscious of your powerful ability and merciful availability—your ability to counter and cure my impulses, and your availability to grant me shelter and strength whenever I turn to you.

***

16.23 He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.