IV: 12

Chapter 4, Verse 12

"Some people worship the gods
For success in their worldly undertakings.
Material success can be gained quickly
Here on Earth."

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

"Every desire is a prayer. When people obsess about money, even though they may call themselves atheists, even though they may wear a button proclaiming 'I don't believe in God,' they are really saying to the Lord within, 'Please give me money.' Whenever we desire, we are praying, and if our desire is deep enough, it will give us the will and show us the way to fulfill it.

It is possible through regular Sadhana to divert our desires for profit, power, pleasure and prestige from the wasteful channels into which they have flowed. When we reel in our desires from the restaurant, from the bank, from our wardrobe, and from all those other channels which consume our vitality, they all merge into one, huge, all-consuming desire that can never be satisfied with anything finite. Only those who live on the superficial level can be satisfied with money, possessions, pleasure or fame.

This is not a moral issue; it is about engineering. Krishna has given each of us a certain amount of fuel to undertake the long journey to life's goal: the cultivation of a love for God that is constant and firm under all circumstances. He gives us a few extra gallons for detours. As long as we make only a few side trips and find out that nothing much is going on, the Lord is satisfied, and life has served its purpose. Tragedy strikes when we use all of our fuel to go round and round in the same old circle, so that when the time comes to fly across the ocean, we are out of gas."