Bhagavad Gita 16.11

cintām aparimeyāṁ ca

pralayāntām upāśritāḥ

kāmopabhoga-paramā

etāvad iti niścitāḥ

 

Bound by anxieties, vast and deep,

That haunt till death and never sleep;

Given to pleasures as life’s whole aim,

“This is all”—their constant claim.

 

My dear Lord, anxiety is an unavoidable feature of life in this world. Here I need to control so many things to thrive or even survive, and yet so few things are actually in my control.

O omnipotent Lord, let me not seek relief from such anxiety through indiscriminate sensuality. Let me not fall for the lie that I can find security in seeking more and more physical pleasures. The more I gain sensual pleasure, the more my desires increase—and the more my anxiety grows about whether I can attain and retain the arrangements for gaining those pleasures. Let me not unwittingly drive myself from a bad situation to a worse one—from bearing the unavoidable anxieties of the world to suffering the avoidable anxieties created by my mind’s desires.

O all-pure Lord, guide me to seek relief from anxiety only in spirituality. Help me remember that you are my provider and protector. Grant me the conviction that you have a plan for me, and that your plan is always unfolding. Give me faith in both your provision and your protection. When you want me to control certain things, you will provide me with the power and the intelligence to do so. And for what is beyond my control, you will protect me by orchestrating things in a way that ultimately serves my long-term good.

O ever-accessible Lord, open my eyes to see every bout of anxiety as your prompt to strengthen my spirituality.

***

16.11 They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable.