Building upon many years of privately shared thoughts on the real benefits of Stoic Philosophy, Liam Milburn eventually published a selection of Stoic passages that had helped him to live well. They were accompanied by some of his own personal reflections. This blog hopes to continue his mission of encouraging the wisdom of Stoicism in the exercise of everyday life. All the reflections are taken from his notes, from late 1992 to early 2017.
Reflections
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Primary Sources
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 6
39. The wisdom of Self-realization has been declared unto you.
Hearken you now to the wisdom of Yoga (Discipline), endued with which, O son of
Prithâ, you shall break through the bonds of Karma (Action). 40. In this, there is no waste of the unfinished attempt, nor is
there production of contrary results. Even very little of this Dharma (Duty)
protects from the great terror.
41. In this, O scion of Kuru, there is but a single one-pointed
determination. The purposes of the undecided are innumerable and
many-branching.
42-44. O Pârtha, no set determination is formed in the minds of those
that are deeply attached to pleasure and power, and whose
discrimination is stolen away by the flowery words of the unwise, who
are full of desires and look upon heaven as their highest goal, and who,
taking pleasure in the panegyric words of the Vedas (Scriptures), declare that there
is nothing else. Their flowery words are exuberant with various
specific rites as the means to pleasure and power, and are the causes of new births, as the result of their works performed with desire.
45. The Vedas deal with the three Gunas (Sattva/Goodness, Rajas/Passion, and Tamas/Darkness). Be you free, O Arjuna, from
the triad of the Gunas, free from the pairs of opposites,
ever-balanced, free from the thought of getting and keeping, and
established in the Self.
46. To the Brâhmana (Seeker of Knowledge) who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of so
much use as a reservoir is when there is a flood everywhere.
47. Your right is to work only, but never to the fruits thereof. Be you not the producer of the fruits of your actions; neither let your
attachment be towards inaction.
48. Being steadfast in Yoga, Dhananjaya, perform actions, abandoning
attachment, remaining unconcerned as regards success and failure. This
evenness. of mind in regard to success and failure is known as Yoga.
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