Bhagavad Gita 12.15

yasman nodvijate loko

lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ

harṣāmarṣa-bhayodvegair

mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ

 

By whom the world is not distressed,

Nor by the world is he oppressed;

Free from delight, fear, or rage,

Such a one is dear on my page.

 

My dear Lord, relationships are difficult, and the complex interactions between my mind and the minds of others often make them even more so. Please help me appreciate and apply your guideline that I should not disturb others, and that I should not be disturbed by others.

When people do things that trouble or hurt me, O Almighty Lord, grant me the vision through your wisdom so that I can see them not merely as difficult people, but as people in difficulty. What they do is largely shaped by their conditionings. They are often hurting because of many things that have happened in their lives—most of which I may know nothing about. When they act in ways that wound me, it is more a function of their own hurt than of a deliberate intention to harm me.

With this vision, help me rise above vindictiveness—the urge to hurt them back simply because they have hurt me. At the same time, O resourceful Lord, help me understand that their acting out of pain does not require me to passively become a victim of it. And where those blows can be minimized or avoided, help me establish healthy boundaries so that I can stay safe and not be shaken by their actions.

Ultimately, the more I absorb myself in you and find higher happiness in that absorption, the more protected I will be—both from being disturbed by others and from disturbing others myself.

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12.15 He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.