Bhagavad Gita 14.10

rajas tamaś cābhibhūya

sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata

rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva

tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā

 

At times, pure goodness rises high,

Subduing passion’s restless cry;

Then passion surges, fierce and fast,

Or darkness spreads its shadow cast.

 

My dear Lord, my greatest vulnerabilities come from the battles inside me—not just because those battles wound me internally, but because my misunderstanding of them wounds me even more.

O omniscient Lord, your words give me the vision to understand that everything inside me is not me. The many voices pushing, prodding, and propelling me arise from the three modes of material nature. I tend to identify with whichever voice is loudest or strongest, though it is often neither the wisest nor the one nearest to my real self—the soul. These voices, energized by the modes, not only confront and confound the innermost voice of my soul, but also conflict with one another. Whichever of them wins, if I identify with it, I go away from my core self and indulge in deeds that end up becoming self- inflicted wounds.

O all-pervading Lord, help me see the voice of goodness as the closest to my real voice. When I cannot distance myself from all the voices, may I at least listen to that one, so that I can neglect and reject the others. By your mercy, may I attend to the still small voice of my soul, which is ultimately longing to be with you, the Supreme Whole, in this moment and in every moment of my life.

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14.10 Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance, O son of Bharata. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy.