Bhagavad Gita 2.8

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād

yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām

avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṁ

rājyaṁ surāṇām api cādhipatyam

 

“I see no cure for the sorrow I feel,

That dries my senses and refuses to heal.

Not even a kingdom, unmatched in its might,

Or rulership of gods, could set it right.”

 

My dear Lord, there are times when life brings situations that compel me to question my values. These moments force me to wonder whether what I have been taught as the goal of my life will actually bring genuine fulfillment.

Many of the desires that drive my life and even the values that define it are externally determined by the culture I live in. Just as Arjuna realized that the goals he had been taught by the prevailing warrior culture of his time—attaining a powerful and prosperous kingdom—would not dispel the grief caused by his existential angst, I too, my Lord, will at some point realize that what I consider so valuable as to be the goal of my life is not valuable enough to keep driving me throughout my life.

At those times when my value system seems to break down, I beg you, let me not sink into cynicism, believing that nothing is of any value. Instead, let me turn to your words of wisdom and discover what is truly valuable—not just for that stage of my life but through all stages of my life.

This, my Lord, is my prayer: that you become the supreme driver of my life by infusing me with the awareness that it is you who bring value to all the other things I treasure. Even when I lose those things or when they lose their charm, may I always retain the understanding that you are the supreme value, now and forever. 

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02.08 I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth with sovereignty like the demigods in heaven.