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श्री भगवान् उवाच -
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।
न हि कल्याण कृत् कश्चित् दुर्गतिम् तात गच्छति ॥ ४० ॥

zrI bhagavAn uvAca -
pArtha naiveha nAmutra vinAzastasya vidyate |
na hi kalyANa kRt kazcit durgatim tAta gacchati || 40 ||

श्री भगवान् उवाच [zrI bhagavAn uvAca] Lord Krishna said – पार्थ [pArtha] Arjuna, न विद्यते [na vidyate] there is no विनाशः [vinAzaH] destruction तस्य [tasya] for this person - नैव इह [naiva iha] not here, न अमुत्र [na amutra] not anywhere else. कल्याण कृत् कश्चित् [kalyANa kRt kazcit] Any person who does virtuous deeds दुर्गतिम् न गच्छति हि [durgatim na gacchati hi] shall not fall into misfortune, तात [tAta] my friend.

Don’t worry; your intention is never destroyed.

A person who has begun the journey to realize the Self may slip from the path, though he has complete faith. There is no destruction for him here or anywhere else. The word ‘destruction’ includes the loss of enjoyment of material goals, missing the experience of the Self that we seek, as well as the onset of any unfavorable events.

This kind of destruction will not befall a person who has faith in the goal but has slipped from the path. The performance of yoga is the most virtuous deed. Any person who practices yoga will definitely not end up in misfortune, in any of the three time-spans (the past, in his present or in the future).

What happens to such a person? This question is answered next-