Bhagavad Gita 4.17

karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ

boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ

akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ

gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ

 

“Know what action is to be accepted,

Know what action is to be rejected.

Know what action will bring no reaction,

Karma’s movements can defy human conception.”

 

My dear Lord, whenever I am perplexed by problems that can’t be traced clearly to any specific cause, let me remember your words about the complexity of action. Let me not, my Lord, jump to conclusions about its cause—be it in terms of blaming my present karma or my past karma. Let humility become my fortifying weapon to accept situations of ambiguity and uncertainty. Help me to follow up that humility, my Lord, with curiosity—wherein, rather than jumping to conclusions about specific causes for specific problems, I focus on what I can best do to deal with the situation in a mood of service to you.

Bless me, my Lord, especially so that I do not become judgmental when others are suffering. Let me never explain away their suffering by ascribing it to their past karma. Such an attitude can erode and even eradicate not just my compassion but also  my capacity for compassion. 

Rather than fixating on their past karma, bless me, O Lord, to focus on my present dharma so that I can best be of service to them in their moment of pain. And guide me, O Lord, to be similarly compassionate with myself. When facing seemingly unfair adversities, empower me, my Lord, to stop worrying about my past karma and start working on my present dharma.

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04.17 The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.