Bhagavad Gita 13.13

jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi

yaj jñātvāmṛtam aśnute

anādi mat-paraṁ brahma

na sat tan nāsad ucyate

 

I now declare what is to be known—the truth grander,

Knowing which, one tastes life’s eternal nectar;

Spirit beginningless, in me sheltered,

Beyond cause and effect—unfettered.

 

My dear Lord, fear is my constant companion on my life-journey—filled as it is with uncertainties that may, at any moment, turn into disasters. And fear often grows from a companion who alerts me to danger to a cage that blinds me to everything except imminent danger and inevitable death. Within fear’s cage, I am sentenced to running futilely and forever, from the phantoms that haunt both my outer and inner world. Such a life lived in fear is poison indeed.

O merciful Lord, you alone can lead me from such poison to the nectar of a life lived fully. Please empower me to shift my focus from life’s terrifying negative possibilities to its greater positive potentialities—ultimately, to your enduring and enriching presence with me and within me.

O supreme shelter, as I become more attuned to your presence, help me realize that you are far more than a companion on my journey. You are the container of my journey, for my entire existence unfolds within you. I am eternally your part, and you always hold a safe space for me—indeed, you always hold me close to you in that safe space—no matter how far from you I may feel because of my fear-misdirected consciousness. May the truth of your presence in me and my presence in you completely counter the poison of fear with the antidote of faith.

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13.13 I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. Brahman, the spirit, beginningless and subordinate to Me, lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.