Bhagavad Gita 14.16

karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ

sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam

rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham

ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam

 

From righteous acts comes fruit serene,

Pure and bright, unstained and clean;

From passion’s work comes pain and strain,

From darkness—delusion again and again.

 

My dear Lord, every day of my life—and sometimes every moment of every hour of every day—seems filled with an almost unending list of must-dos.

O Supreme Enlightener, help me remember that I am not a machine designed to maximize productivity, even if the culture around me tries to turn me into one. I am a person who needs meaningful and soulful connection—ultimately with you, and immediately and intermediately with your many manifestations. These range from your directly devotional manifestations, such as your sacred words of wisdom, to your serene natural manifestations, such as the sublime beauty of the rising sun, to your dynamic human manifestations, such as the wise who both watch over me and watch out for me. All of them nourish me by reminding me that you are far greater than the world with all its pressing demands.

O infallible Lord, when I am physically undernourished, my body becomes inactive. In dangerous contrast, when I am spiritually undernourished, my mind becomes overactive—often disruptively or even destructively so. I begin craving what is not necessary, believing it to be absolutely necessary. Eventually, I become more and more enticed and entrapped in what is not just unnecessary, but also unhealthy or even unholy.

O Supreme Guide, lead me to the conviction that what is nourishing is also necessary—indeed, supremely necessary.

***

14.16 The result of pious action is pure and is said to be in the mode of goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in the mode of ignorance results in foolishness.