Bhagavad Gita 13.22

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi

bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān

kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya

sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

 

The soul, situated in a bodily tool,

Seeks pleasure in what seems cool;

By worldly association, it gets bound,

In higher or lower forms, it goes around.

 

My dear Lord, the world around me is filled with so many captivating illusions that I can easily lose my way among them. When I am thus metaphysically lost, I become increasingly distanced, even alienated, from myself. The activities—and even the desires—that consume my life begin to stand at variance with the values and purposes I hold sacred, and ultimately with the very things that make me who I am.

O benevolent Lord, please help me understand more clearly my essential identity as a spiritual being, a part of you. Thereafter, help me make tangible changes in my life, so that my outer activities first, and eventually even my inner desires, become aligned with the long-term purpose of my life: spiritual evolution toward knowing you and loving you.

Simultaneously, O all-pervading Lord, help me better appreciate the particular psychophysical nature you have given me, along with its abilities, interests, and inclinations. Protect me from getting so consumed by the world that I start chasing the abilities and attainments it glamorizes. Let me not end up forgetting, neglecting, rejecting, resenting, or even repressing what is natural to me. Help me focus on realigning with my nature and realizing the contentment available therein.

O Lord of harmony, heal me so that I may return to harmony with the way you have made me, spiritually and materially.

***

13.22 The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.