Bhagavad Gita 11.40

namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te

namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva

ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ

sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ

 

From front and behind, from every side,

To you, I bow endlessly; in you, I abide;

Endless in glory, you fill every being and thing,

Boundless in power, you indeed are everything.

 

My dear Lord, I am constantly torn between two pulls within me. On one side are my aspirational dreams—centered on all that I long to do as expressions of my love for you. On the other side are my practical realities, arising from my many limitations—material and spiritual. Materially, I am limited by my capacities and my karma; spiritually, by my finiteness as your infinitesimal part. Help me find the balance between these two pulls—the aspirational and the practical—and, more importantly, to find you in the very act of seeking that balance.

O supreme controller, help me view my practical realities—even when unpalatable—with devotional humility. Humility will enable me to accept my constraints as your arrangements, parts of your plan for me, your eternal servant. And devotion will enable me to seek ways to serve you through those very constraints.

O supreme lover, help me view my aspirational dreams—even when they seem unreachable—with devotional purity. Purity will ensure that my heart’s love for you is never reduced by my constraints, even when they restrict how that love may be expressed. And devotion will enable me to accept those restraints gracefully, not resentfully.

O ever-present Lord, as I navigate between the practical and the aspirational, bless me to perceive your presence in both—from my realities to my dreams—so that through both I may grow ever more absorbed in you.

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11.40 Obeisances to You from the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!