Bg 18-78

 

Where there is Krishna, the lord of yogas, and where their is Paartha, wielder of the bow, there is fortune, victory, prosperity and infallible morality, in my opinion.
 
yatra : where
yogeshvaraha : lord of yogas
krishnaha : Krishna
yatra : where
paartho : Paartha
dhanurdharaha : wilder of the bow
tatra : there
shreehi : fortune
vijayaha : victory
bhootihi : prosperity
dhruvaaha : infallible
neetihi : morality
matihi : opinion
mama : my
 
.
 
From the standpoint of our duty, we can interpret this shloka as follows. Regardless of how much time and effort we put into any action, we cannot be assured of success. We saw earlier that the success of any action depends on a multitude of factors, but it boils down to two things: self effort and Ishvara’s grace. If either aspect is missing, our actions will not be successful. Self effort or purushaartha alone cannot guarantee a result, neither can waiting for Ishvara’s grace or prasaada without any effort from the part of the individual. 
 
From the absolute standpoint, liberation from bondage, realization of our true self is not possible purely through self effort. We need to perform our duty selflessly, in a spirit of service to Ishvara, without any other person or object as our goal. Selfless devoted service to Ishvara, combined with Ishvara’s grace, will result in progress and success in the spiritual journey. Without Ishvara’s grace, it is not possible.