Most of us have met a habit we understood perfectly and still could not break. We know that fear is not helping, and it comes back on Sunday night. We can see our own pride at work, and it stays. The natural question is why a clear mind and a lot of effort do not finish the job.
In the seventh chapter Lord Krishna answers this directly. The power that pulls and confuses the mind is his own, and it is very hard to cross by one's own strength. Those who take refuge in him alone cross it (Gita 7.14). Taking refuge does not mean stopping work. It means putting down the belief that I can manage everything by myself.
Two verses are read here in order. The first gives the way across. The second says why some people never take it. After that we look at how the rest of the Gita holds the same teaching.
Where this comes in chapter 7
Just before these verses the Lord says that every state of mind, whether calm, restless or dull, arises from him, and yet he is not under their hold; they are in him (Gita 7.12–13). The same stretch adds that the world, taken in by these three states, does not recognise the one who stands beyond them.
That raises a plain question. If everything comes from him, why is he so hard to see? The next verse answers it and, in the same breath, points to the way out.
Gita 7.14: the power is the Lord's, and refuge crosses it
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ ७.१४ ॥
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te || 7.14 ||
This divine illusory energy of Mine, made of the three modes of nature, is very difficult to overcome. But those who surrender to Me alone cross over it.
The Lord says that this divine illusory energy of his, made of the three modes of nature, is very difficult to overcome, but those who take refuge in him alone cross over it (Gita 7.14). Four things are said in these two lines.
It is his own. The verse says "mine". The illusory energy is not a rival power fighting the Lord. It belongs to him, and so does the way past it.
It is made of the three modes of nature. These are the same three states the earlier verses spoke of: one leads to calm and clear sight, one to restlessness and craving, one to dullness and dark. Our daily moods and pulls are made of them. So maya is not far off in the sky. It works in us every day.
It is called hard, not impossible. The Lord does not say it cannot be crossed. He says that crossing it on our own strength is heavy. Anyone who has tried to change a deep habit by willpower alone knows this to be honest. The first thing this power does is delusion: it gives us the feeling that we see clearly and can handle everything.
Those who cross are those who take refuge in him alone. Refuge means going to the one whose power it is. The owner of the power knows how it works. Taking refuge is simply this: what cannot be carried alone is placed in the hands of the one who can carry it.
What taking refuge means, and what it does not
This is where the verse is most often misheard. Some read "take refuge" as "now do nothing". The Gita does not say that.
In the third chapter the Lord tells Arjuna to offer all his actions to him, to be free from expectation and the sense of ownership and from mental fever, and to fight (Gita 3.30). There is offering, and there is also action. At the end of the Gita Arjuna says that by the Lord's grace his delusion is gone and that he will now act according to his word (Gita 18.73). The delusion went; the work did not. The work began to be done in a new spirit.
So what is given up in refuge? The pride of "it all depends on me", and the grip on the result. What is kept? Effort, thought and responsibility. The last counsel of the Gita is the same call, and it is read in full at The Final Counsel.
| On one's own strength alone | In refuge | |
|---|---|---|
| What the person says | "I know, I will manage" | "I do my part; the rest is in his hands" |
| Facing a pull | A fresh fight every time | The mind has a place to rest |
| The work | Done, with a heavy grip | Done, without clenching |
| Over time | Tiredness and the same fall again | Slow steadiness |
Gita 7.15: why some do not turn to the Lord
माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ ७.१५ ॥
māyayāpahṛita-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśhritāḥ || 7.15 ||
The evildoers, the deluded, the lowest of human beings, whose knowledge has been taken away by illusion and who have adopted a demoniac nature, do not surrender to Me.
This verse sounds harsh, so it should be read slowly. The Lord says that those who do evil, the deluded, the lowest of people, whose knowledge has been carried off by the illusory energy and who hold to a demonic bent, do not take refuge in him (Gita 7.15).
The reason is given inside the verse. One part is lost knowledge: the illusory energy has taken away clear sight, so right and wrong grow dim. The other is a bent of the mind, which the Gita calls demonic. In plain terms it is the stiff pride of "I and mine", which will not bow to anything. Wrong action goes with it and dims the sight further.
Put the three together and the verse is easy to follow. A person whose sight is dim, who admits no one above himself, and whose habits keep dimming his sight, does not feel any need to go anywhere for refuge.
Two things should be added.
First, the verse describes a condition, not a permanent identity. It says that such people do not turn to him now. It does not say that they can never turn. In the ninth chapter the Lord says that even a person of very bad conduct, if he worships with an undivided heart, is to be regarded as righteous, because he has resolved rightly. Such a person soon becomes righteous and finds lasting peace, and the Lord's devotee never perishes (Gita 9.30–31). The door stays open.
Second, the verse is not written to look down on anyone. It is a warning, and it reaches every reader. Whenever the pride of "I know best" takes over, we are standing in that same condition. The right way to read this verse is on ourselves, not on others.
Why the Gita puts it this way
The teaching of crossing the illusory energy is not a single remark. It returns in other chapters from other sides.
In the fourteenth chapter the Lord says that whoever serves him with unwavering devotion goes beyond these three modes and becomes fit for the state of Brahman (Gita 14.26). This is the same crossing, said from the devotee's side. Devotion is what leads out of the net of the three modes.
In the eighteenth chapter he tells Arjuna that with his mind fixed on him he will cross all obstacles by his grace, but that if egoism keeps him from listening, he will fall (Gita 18.58). These are the same two roads as in the two verses read here: refuge on one side, pride on the other. And the thing named as the obstacle is egoism.
In the fourth chapter he says that many, freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in him and taking refuge in him, purified by the fire of knowledge, have already reached his nature (Gita 4.10). So this road has been walked before. Knowledge and effort are named beside refuge; they travel together.
And the closing call of the whole Gita is to give up all other supports and take refuge in him alone (Gita 18.66). Everything that call rests on is already laid down in chapter 7: the hold of the three modes, the limit of our own strength, and the way of refuge.
Four common misreadings
"Taking refuge means doing nothing." It does not. Arjuna is asked to act as he offers (Gita 3.30), and he too speaks of acting once his delusion is gone (Gita 18.73).
"Maya means the world is false or bad." The verse calls it "mine" and "divine". The Gita is not calling the world false here. It is saying that the pull of the three modes can confuse the mind.
"Those in the second verse are lost for ever." No. Even a person of very bad conduct who turns to the Lord with a whole heart is to be regarded as righteous (Gita 9.30–31). The verse tells where people stand, not where they must end.
"Refuge is for those who have first made themselves worthy." The verse sets no such test. It says that those who take refuge cross. This agrees with the ninth chapter, where the turn itself is what is counted (Gita 9.30–31).
An example
Take Arvind, who leads a small team. Every Sunday night a fear of failing comes over him. He has tried making lists, working late and scolding himself. The fear goes quiet for a few days and then returns. He begins to feel that something inside him is bigger than his will.
A friend says: do your part completely, then leave the result in another's hands. It sounds odd to him, but he tries. Each evening, when his work is done, he says one line: "I did my part. The result is not mine to hold."
After a few weeks the fear has not vanished, but it is smaller. Sunday night does not press on him as it did. And he works as hard as before. What changed is the feeling that "if I let go of this, everything will fall".
A practice from these verses
- Choose one thing that you keep trying to control by force.
- Do your part for it fully. The Gita does not ask us to stop acting (Gita 3.30).
- Each evening, say one line, in your own words, that hands the result over to the Lord.
- Watch for the thought "I know best". When it rises, remember that egoism is what stops us listening (Gita 18.58), and set it down.
- Notice what steadies: a weaker pull, or a mind that stays longer where you put it.
- What am I trying to win again and again by force alone?
- Have I mistaken refuge for giving up?
- When did I last say "I know best" and stop listening to someone?
Questions readers ask
Does taking refuge mean I should stop trying?
No. In the Gita Arjuna is asked to offer his actions and to act (Gita 3.30), and when his delusion is gone he speaks of acting (Gita 18.73). What is given up is the pride of managing alone, not the effort.
Does maya mean that the world is unreal?
Not in this verse. The illusory energy is called the Lord's own divine power, made of the three modes, which confuses the mind (Gita 7.14). The difficulty lies in the pull, not in the world existing.
Does Gita 7.15 say that some people can never change?
No. It describes people whose knowledge has been carried off and who cling to pride (Gita 7.15). The ninth chapter says that a person of very bad conduct who worships with an undivided heart soon becomes righteous (Gita 9.30–31).
How is refuge different from giving up in despair?
Despair drops both the work and the hope. Refuge keeps the work and places the trust in the Lord. The Gita teaches the second: action together with offering (Gita 3.30).
Why does the Lord call the power that confuses us his own?
Because everything comes from him while he stays beyond its hold (Gita 7.12–13). The one whose power it is also holds the way past it, and that is why the crossing goes through refuge in him (Gita 7.14).
Conclusion
The question was why our own strength does not end our confusion. The Lord's answer is that the illusory energy is his own, and it is hard to cross alone. Those who take refuge in him alone cross it. Those who do not turn are held by dim sight and by the stiffness of pride, and that condition can change. So do your part fully, hand over the result and the pride of managing alone, and see where the mind rests. The same call comes back at the end of the Gita:
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥ १८.६६ ॥
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarvapāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ || 18.66 ||
Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
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