Bhagavad Gita 7.10

bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

viddhi pārtha sanātanam

buddhir buddhimatām asmi

tejas tejasvinām aham

 

I am the seed that all life sustains,

The eternal source in all domains.

I am the wisdom the wise impart,

The blazing power in each brave heart.

 

My dear Lord, one of the greatest temptations for me is the misuse and abuse of power for selfish purposes.

As a human being, I am the inheritor of a vast human legacy that gives me access to power in many forms—verbal, musical, artistic, cultural, political, intellectual and technological. In today’s world, I have huge access to technological power, which has, knowingly or unknowingly, enabled enormously my self-serving use of power.

Ironically, O Lord, the more I use power for self-serving purposes, the more I end up acting in self-sabotaging ways—be it through distraction, by consuming content on social media, or even destruction, by consuming harmful or toxic substances such as alcohol and drugs.

My dear Lord, bless me with the remembrance that whatever power I have is not a right I have earned but a gift that I have been given, with you being the ultimate source of that gift. Let this understanding transform my vision of the purpose of power, which is not meant to make me powerful but to help me better serve you, who are supremely powerful. In your service alone can I be protected from the powerful temptation to use power in a way that makes me a fool.

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07.10 O son of Pṛthā, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.