| When a man is drowning in the sea, it is only the log
floating near him, however rough and guarled, that will save him. Does it matter that it is not well shaped,
smooth and polished? In the carpenter's shed there may be any number of beautiful, well
wrought pieces of wood, but they are in the workshop, while he is struggling for life in the sea. This
rough, unshapley log alone can save him. He must catch hold of it. In the same way, though the duty
that falls to me may appear unimportant, it alone serves my purpose. It
becomes me to be absorbed in it. In it I find my growth and development. If I wander in
search of other service, I shall miss both the old service and the new.
Man thus loses the inclination to serve. Therefore he should remain absorbed in the duty which is
svadharma.
20. When we are absorbed in svadharma, rajas loses its glamour,
for then our mind is one-pointed. Since it does not swerve from svadharma, the power of rajas, of
distraction, slackens. When the river runs deep and still, however much its water rises, it is contained
within the banks. So, too, the river of svadharma can hold all man's
strength and power and energy. No matter how much energy we put into svadharma, it can never be too
much. If we spend all our energy in svadharma that will be the end of
the play of rajas; our unsteadiness wil be stamped out. This is the way
of conquering rajas. |
