Bhagavad Gita 11.2

bhavāpyayau hi bhūtānāṁ

śrutau vistaraśo mayā

tvattaḥ kamala-patrākṣa

māhātmyam api cāvyayam

 

Of birth and death I’ve heard your lore,

Your endless glories more and more;

Lotus-eyed, your timeless might,

Now shines clear within my sight.

 

My dear Lord, within me there is a constant tug-of-war between two competing longings—my need for power and my love for truth.

O merciful Lord, I feel the pull of power more often and more intensely because so many daily problems seem solvable if I only had a little more control through power, be it physical, financial, relational, intellectual, technological, or political. Though I do need some power, that healthy need can easily degenerate into a lust for power—where I start believing that power alone can solve everything and begin sacrificing all else at its altar.

O infallible Lord, only the longing you have planted in my soul—my love for truth—can protect me from lusting for power. Bless me to seek the truth of my position and purpose, instead of reflexively assuming that more power will solve my problems. When I thus prioritize truth, I will realize that you are in charge and that I am your cherished part, always under your care. Then I will appreciate that all power is perishable, whereas imperishable are your love for me and the life I can have when I make you my topmost priority.

O all-attractive Lord, help me love you with the conviction that you hold all power and will provide whatever I truly need without ever pulling me away from truth. Let me respect power, but never worship it above you. Order my longings so that love for you reigns supreme in my heart and my need for power quietly takes its rightful place beneath you.

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11.02 O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of every living entity and have realized Your inexhaustible glories.