I feel stressed and burnt out at work
When work never seems to end, it is easy to forget rest, food and the reason you started. These verses speak about balance, and about working in a way that does not drain you from inside.
Read them slowly. Pick the one that touches you most and try its practice today.
Krishna said नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः।न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥6.16॥
nātyaśnatastu yogo'sti na caikāntamanaśnataḥna cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna
Krishna tells Arjuna: yoga is not for one who eats too much or one who eats far too little, nor for one who sleeps too much or one who stays awake too much.
Try this todayLook at one extreme in your routine today, such as late-night screens or skipped meals, and make one gentle correction toward balance.
Krishna said युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु।युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥6.17॥
yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasuyuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā
For one who is balanced in eating and recreation, balanced in effort at work, and balanced in sleep and waking, yoga becomes the remover of sorrow.
Try this todayPlan tonight's bedtime and tomorrow's wake-up time now, and set a fixed stopping time for work today. Keep both.
Krishna said योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय।सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥2.48॥
yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjayasiddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate
Krishna says: established in yoga, Arjuna, do your work giving up attachment, staying even-minded in success and failure. This evenness of mind is called yoga.
Try this todayAfter finishing a task today, whatever the outcome, take one calm breath and say "done". Then move to the next without replaying it.
Krishna said तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर।असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥3.19॥
tasmādasaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma samācaraasakto hyācarankarma paramāpnoti pūruṣaḥ
Therefore, always do the work that needs to be done, without attachment. By acting without attachment, a person reaches the highest.
Try this todayWhen you finish a task today, let go of checking how others reacted. Move to the next task without replaying the result.
Krishna said ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥5.10॥
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥlipyate na sa pāpena padmapatramivāmbhasā
Krishna says: whoever acts while offering all actions to Brahman (the Absolute) and giving up attachment is not touched by wrongdoing, just as a lotus leaf stays untouched by the water around it.
Try this todayBefore starting your main work today, offer it silently: "I do this as my best offering." Then let go of how others react to it.
Krishna said यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्।यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥9.27॥
yatkaroṣi yadaśnāsi yajjuhoṣi dadāsi yatyattapasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam
Krishna tells Arjuna: whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in worship, whatever you give, and whatever effort of self-discipline you make, do it as an offering to me.
Try this todayBefore starting your main work today, quietly dedicate it as an offering. Then do it with the care you would give a gift.
Krishna said यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ॥18.46॥
yataḥ pravṛttirbhūtānāṃ yena sarvamidaṃ tatamsvakarmaṇā tamabhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ
By worshipping, through one's own work, the One from whom all beings arise and by whom all this is pervaded, a person attains perfection.
Try this todayBefore starting work today, quietly offer it: 'May this work be my worship.' Then do it with that care.
Also on your mind?
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