40. ne 'ha ' bhikramanaso 'sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
svalpam ally asya dharsnasya
trayate mahato bhayat
(40) In this path, no effort is ever lost and no obstacle prevails; even a little of this righteousness (dharma) saves from great fear.
No step is lost, every moment is a gain. Every effort in the struggle will be counted as a merit.
41. vyavasdyatmikd buddhir
eke 'ha kurunandana
bahusakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo 'vyavasayinam
(41) In this, 0 joy of the Gurus (Arjuna), the resolute (decided) understanding is single; but the thoughts of the irresolute (undecided) are many-branched and endless. The discursiveness of the irresolute buddhir is contrasted with the concentration, the single-mindedness of the resolute. Human life finds its fulfilment through self-devotion to a commanding end and not in the unfettered pursuit of endless possibilities. One-pointedness has to be acquired by cultivation. Distraction is our natural condition from which we have to be freed but not by the mysticisms of nature or sex, race or nation but by a genuine experience of Reality. Single-mindedness backed by such an experience is a supreme virtue and cannot be twisted to fanaticism.
