Whatever my driving desire, let it drive me toward you (7.16)

Whatever my driving desire, let it drive me toward you (7.16)

Bhagavad Gita 7.16

chatur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino ‘rjuna

ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

Approach me, you pious souls of four kinds,

The troubled, the curious, the wealth-driven minds,

And the wise who seek the truth supreme—

All are drawn to me to fulfill their dream.

My dear Lord, just as different desires can drive different people, so can different desires drive me at different times. Nevertheless, let all my driving desires drive me toward you.

When I am in distress, O benevolent Lord, let me seek relief in you, because you and you alone can provide ultimate lasting relief from distress, and you control the resources that can provide me immediate or intermediate relief.

Whenever curiosity arises within me, O omniscient Lord, let that curiosity not be caught in mundane subjects alone. Let it draw me through those subjects to you—the one who makes all interesting subjects interesting.

When I need wealth, O supremely generous Lord, let me pray first to you, the Lord of the Goddess of Fortune. Remind me that you are the ultimate provider, whatever the channel through which it reaches me.

And finally, O all-attractive Lord, help me realize you as the worthiest object of desire. Even if I fulfill all my other desires, that won’t fulfill my heart, but just seeking you wholeheartedly will fulfill my heart.

O all-inclusive Lord, help me to appreciate you as the supreme desire fulfiller until I can appreciate you as the supreme desirable.

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07.16 O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.