Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18: Mokṣha Sanyasa Yogam Verse 58:
(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)
If We Fully Take Refuge In Him And Keep Our Minds Fixed On Him, The Lord’s Grace Will Overcome All Challenges And Difficulties
मच्चित्त: सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि |
अथ चेत्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि || 18.58||
mach-chittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣhyasi
atha chet tvam ahankārān na śhroṣhyasi vinaṅkṣhyasi|| 18.58||
Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 18- Ver. 58:
By My grace, you will be able to conquer all challenges if you keep Me in mind constantly. But you will perish if, out of vanity, you choose not to heed My counsel.
Explanation
After telling Arjuna what to do in the previous verse, Shree Krishna now lists the advantages of doing as he says and the consequences of not doing so. The soul shouldn’t believe it is separate from God in any way. All challenges and difficulties will be overcome by the Lord’s grace if we take refuge in him fully and keep our minds fixed on him. But if we disobey the rules out of pride and believe that our knowledge surpasses the eternal wisdom of God and the scriptures, we will fall short of realizing the purpose of life because there is no one more powerful than God and no guidance that is wiser than his.
Verse & what we can learn
Shri Krishna wanted to make it very obvious to Arjuna that the way out of his predicament was to carry out his obligations as a warrior. This required him to stop listening to his ego and start listening to Ishvara. He actually had to fully surrender to Ishvara’s will by focusing his thoughts, or chitta, on Ishvara and accepting the outcomes of all his deeds as prasada, or gifts from Ishvara. Shri Krishna assured Arjuna that if he carried out his duties in this way, he would triumph over all durguna, or difficulties.
However, like Arjuna, the majority of us have extremely powerful egos that have hardened over the course of our lives—and likely several lives—and that we harbour. Similar to how Arjuna’s strong attachment to his family clouded his thinking, we all have strong attachments, strong likes, and strong dislikes. We can only rise above the level of ego-driven existence and be led toward the path of selfless service by a qualified teacher, or guru. The only outcome of obeying the ego’s commands is vinasha, or ruin by entrenchment in the material world.
To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.
There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.
In the next shloka Shri Krishna speaks to Arjuna about his duty.
Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…