Bhagavad Gita 2.11

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ

prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase

gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca

nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

 

“The Lord then spoke wisdom so deep,

For what is unworthy, why do you weep?

Despite wise-sounding words, your heart is misled,

The wise mourn neither for the living nor the dead.”

 

It is your supreme competence, my dear Lord, to elevate my conception of what is valuable. Please, O Lord, let me not stay attached to what I presently consider valuable—especially when life seems to be taking that away from me, and when you seem to be doing nothing to stop it from being taken away from me.

Let my heart remember: you never want to cause grief to me by taking things of value away from me. You only want to protect me from the grief that will inevitably come to me when I let the things of present value divert me from the things of permanent value.

Bless me, O Lord, to remember that you are my well-wisher and want to enrich my heart, not impoverish it. Why would you take anything of value away from me unless it was taking me away from something of greater value?

I beg you, my Lord, give me the intelligence to change my driving question in moments of loss. Let me not ask, “Why are you taking something so valuable away from me?” Let me instead ask, “What is the valuable thing that you are opening me to by taking this thing away from me?”

***

02.11 The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.