Chapter 18Verse 62 of 78

Bhagavad Gita 18.62

तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत । तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥

tam eva śaraṇaṃ gaccha sarva-bhāvena bhārata / tat-prasādāt parāṃ śāntiṃ sthānaṃ prāpsyasi śāśvatam

Translation

Take refuge in him alone with all your being, Bharata. By his grace you will gain the supreme peace and the eternal abode.

The first explicit surrender instruction. Tam eva, in him alone, no diversifying of refuge. Sharanam gachchha, take refuge. Sarva-bhavena, with the whole of your being, not partially. Bharata, addressed by lineage name to remind him of who he speaks for. The result is two-fold. Parama shanti, the supreme peace that no condition can disturb. Sthana shashvatam, the eternal place that no time erodes. Notice the symmetry. Full refuge produces full result. The conditional grace of half-surrender produces half-peace. The Gita is asking for the whole. The next verse will then surprise with respect for the student's freedom.

Reflection

Where are you still hedging the refuge by keeping a small backup elsewhere?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Eighteen

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