Bhagavad Gita 16.15

āḍhyo ’bhijanavān asmi

ko ’nyo ’sti sadṛśo mayā

yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣye

ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ

 

“I am wealthy, noble, of high birth,

Who is equal to me on earth?

I will sacrifice, I’ll give, rejoice—

Thus deluded, they make such choice.”

 

My dear Lord, there is always a distance between the image I build of who I am and the substance of who I am. Help me acknowledge and decrease this distance, not hide and increase it.

O omnipresent Lord, you have made me a social creature with a need to be accepted, valued, and respected in the circles I belong to or aspire to belong to. Through this need for belonging, you give me a natural inner impetus to improve my being, whereby I become responsible, caring, and helpful. Thus, in trying to be seen positively by the world, I make constructive changes in my inner world.

O all-seeing Lord, the ungodly tendencies inside me often try to invert this naturally healthy dynamic between belonging and being. They prompt me to do good deeds, not by increasing the goodness in my heart, but for concealing its absence. In the worst cases, I may privately fuel the darkness inside me while publicly expanding a positive image externally through good deeds such as charity. Even if I deceive others, it is I who end up most deceived, for I lose my soul without even realizing the loss until it is too late.

O merciful Lord, please protect me from such self-deception and prompt me toward self-transformation. Help me prioritize the inner growth of my substance so that it firmly grounds the outer growth of my image.

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16.15 [The demoniac person thinks: ] “… I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.