Chapter 3Verse 43 of 43

Bhagavad Gita 3.43

एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना । जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ॥

evaṃ buddheḥ paraṃ buddhvā saṃstabhyātmānam ātmanā | jahi śatruṃ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṃ durāsadam ||

Translation

Thus knowing that which is higher than the intellect, and restraining the self by the self, destroy, O mighty-armed one, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to overcome.

Saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā. Steady the self by the self. The verse closes the chapter with the instruction the architecture made possible. Once you know what sits above the intellect, you can use it to steady the rest. The chapter that opened with Arjuna asking which of two paths to take closes with the actual fight named, the seat named, the enemy named, and the order of operations given. Jahi śatruṃ, kill the enemy. Kāma-rūpaṃ durāsadam, in the form of desire, hard to approach. Krishna does not say easy. He says do it.

Reflection

What have you been trying to fight from the same level as the fight, when you needed to climb first?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Three

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