The scriptures teach that life is unfortunately short. So, the Gitaadvises man to appreciate three facts: (1) To be born as a humanbeing is a precious opportunity; (2) To yearn to realise God isanother precious piece of good luck; (3) The greatest good fortuneis the chance to be in the Presence of God, to be immersed in theservice of God and to be engaged in fulfilling Divine commands.(SSS Vol.7, p. 102)

Verily the light that illumines all the hearts is Divine,

The love that emanates from each call is Divine

Break not the Divine command in your intellectual conceit

For pride surely goeth before a fall.

All education that is devoid of spiritual purity

Is replete with hatred and envy,

Like a dark dwelling infested with bats,

Know this to be the truth.(SSS Vol.22, p. 1)

One must move towards the Divine. But, hereagain, nearness to God is not enough. You have to carry out the injunctions of the Divine. It isonly when love, nearness and obedience to the Divine commands are present that one can realisethe Atmicprinciple. Recognition of the Divinity inherent in the human state calls for spiritualsadhanas (disciplines) of various kinds.(SSS Vol.26, p. 36)

Bhishma exhorted Dharmaraja in these words: ‘The Divine Will is the basis of all action.The Divine can annul the consequences of these actions or provide the means of expiation forthem. Hence, your duty is to carry out faithfully the Divine command. If you act to the contraryyou will be ruining your life.’ (SSS Vol.21, p. 28)