But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.
Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.
You are only entitled to the action, never to its fruits.
Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. The one who is motivated only by the desire for the fruits of their action, and anxious about the results, is miserable indeed.
Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
Krishna says: “Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water and the radiance of the sun and moon. I am the sacred word and the sound heard in air, and the courage of human beings. I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the radiance of fire; I am the life in every creature and the striving of the spiritual aspirant.
You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.
Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
Through selfless service, you will always be fruitful and find the fulfillment of your desires.
In the dark night of all beings awakes to Light the tranquil man. But what is day to other beings is night for the sage who sees.
The spirit is beyond destruction. No one can bring an end to spirit which is everlasting.
My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets, but to infamy. O son of Prtha, do not yield to this degrading impotence, that it does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.
Krishna: “They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, who have renounced every selfish desire and sense craving tormenting the heart. Neither agitated by grief nor hankering after pleasure, they live free from lust and fear and anger. Established in meditation, they are truly wise. Fettered no more by selfish attachments, they are neither elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad. Such are the seers.