Gita: The Song of Life – 3

Sri Krishna:

“Listen to me, Partha,
I am busy as you see,
But I have no need or want or wish;
If I am idle, mankind will idle, too!

You too must work.
Be an example—and great.
You eat; you breathe; you sleep and wake.
You think and feel—you cannot but!

Plant and insect, stone and stump,
Wind and rain, both heat and cold—
Each does operate, as per My plan!
No one, nothing—can escape work.

Be calm, collected,
Steady, straight!
Be a sthithaprajna,
On the battlefield!”

Arjuna:

“Sthithaprajna?
What type of man is that?
If I must be one,
Please tell me how!”

Sri Krishna:

“Man longs for this and that—
He wishes to own.
The wish opposed, breeds anger;
It makes his vision dim.

And he can’t stick to the moral path,
For he loses reason,
His dearest treasure.
That leads man to calamity.

But sthithaprajna is wiser!
He is rooted in his reality!
He is happy with inner bliss.
He is the seer not the seen.

No pang of grief,
No thrill of joy—
He is atma, soul,
Untouched by both.

Virtue his breath,
God his goal
Others sleep, when his body tires
And wake, when his mind awakes.

His night is when the mind is on;
His day dawns, when the mind is off.
This is the wisdom, I once did teach—
To Surya and Manu, in ages passed.

You, my closest pupil,
Thickest friend,
Can learn it now—
From Me!”

Arjuna:

“Stop! Stop! Stop!… Surya? Manu?
How could it be?
I am bothered by a doubt;
It hurts me so!”