Inspiring Wisdom: 20 Transformative Quotes from the Bhagavad Gita

"Through selfless service, you will always be fruitful and find the fulfillment of your desires"

- Bhagavad Gita

"Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from Brahman, the eternal, infinite Godhead. He is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law, O Arjuna. Whoever violates it, indulging his senses for his own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, has wasted his life. But those who realize the Self are always satisfied. Having found the source of joy and fulfillment, they no longer seek happiness from the external world. They have nothing to gain or lose by any action; neither people nor things can affect their security. Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind."

- Bhagavad Gita

"My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets, but to infamy. O son of Prtha, do not yield to this degrading impotence, that it does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Winter, summer, happiness, and pain; Giving, appearing, disappearing; Non-permanent, all of them; Just try to tolerate."

- Bhagavad Gita

"But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering."

- Bhagavad Gita

"You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either. Perform every action with your heart fixed on the Supreme Lord. Renounce attachment to the fruits. Be even-tempered in success and failure: for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga. Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of Brahma. They who work selfishly for results are miserable."

- Bhagavad Gita

"You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become"

- Bhagavad Gita

"SHOW GOOD WILL TO ALL Be fearless and pure; never waiver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life. Give freely. Be self-controlled, sincere, truthful, loving, and full of the desire to serve. Realize the truth of the scriptures; learn to be detached and to take joy in renunciation. Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all. Cultivate vigor, patience, will purity; avoid malice and pride. Then, Arjuna, you will achieve your divine destiny."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. The one who is motivated only by the desire for the fruits of their action, and anxious about the results, is miserable indeed."

- Bhagavad Gita

"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Krishna says: "Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water and the radiance of the sun and moon. I am the sacred word and the sound heard in air, and the courage of human beings. I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the radiance of fire; I am the life in every creature and the striving of the spiritual aspirant""

- Bhagavad Gita

"Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is"

- Bhagavad Gita

"There are three gates leading to the hell of self-destruction for the soul—lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one should abandon all three."

- Bhagavad Gita

"You are only entitled to the action, never to its fruits."

- Bhagavad Gita

"When meditation is mastered, The mind is unwavering like the Flame of a lamp in a windless place. In the still mind, In the depths of meditation, The Self reveals itself. Beholding the Self By means of the Self, An aspirant knows the Joy and peace of complete fulfillment. Having attained that Abiding joy beyond the senses, Revealed in the stilled mind, He never swerves from the eternal truth."

- Bhagavad Gita

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection."

- Elizabeth Gilbert

"Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable."

- Bhagavad Gita

"When a man dwells on the pleasure of sense, attraction for them arises in him. From attraction arises desire, the lust of possession, and this leads to passion, to anger. From passion comes confusion of mind, then loss of remembrance, the forgetting of duty. From this loss comes the ruin of reason, and the ruin of reason leads man to destruction."

- Bhagavad Gita

"You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions."

- Bhagavad Gita

"The spirit is beyond destruction. No one can bring an end to spirit which is everlasting."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life."

- Buddha

"Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self."

- The Bhagavad Gita

"No effort in this world is lost or wasted; a fragment of sacred duty saves you from great fear."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear."

- Bhagavad Gita

"He who has let go of hatred, who treats all beings with kindness and compassion, who is always serene, unmoved by pain or pleasure."

- Bhagavad Gita

"There are three gates to this self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Renounce these three."

- Bhagavad Gita

"That one is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lusts not, but lets things come and go as they happen."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Krishna says: "Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water and the radiance of the sun and moon. I am the sacred word and the sound heard in air, and the courage of human beings. I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the radiance of fire; I am the life in every creature and the striving of the spiritual aspirant.""

- Bhagavad Gita

"Through selfless service, you will always be fruitful and find the fulfillment of your desires."

- Bhagavad Gita

"The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

- Bhagavad Gita

"One who has control over the mind is tranquil in heat and cold, in pleasure and pain, and in honor and dishonor."

- Bhagavad Gita

"By self-control and by renouncing all attachments, the willful soul enjoys tranquility."

- Bhagavad Gita

"The truly wise mourn neither for those who are living, nor for those who have passed away."

- Bhagavad Gita

"One must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."

- Bhagavad Gita

"In the dark night of all beings awakes to Light the tranquil man. But what is day to other beings is night for the sage who sees."

- Bhagavad Gita

"One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men."

- Bhagavad Gita

"The mind alone is one’s friend as well as one’s enemy."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind."

- Bhagavad Gita

"The power of God is with you at all times; through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions; and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument."

- Bhagavad Gita

"What is work and what is not work are questions that perplex the wisest of men."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Curving back within myself, I create again and again."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

- Bhagavad Gita

"Arise, slay thy enemies, enjoy a prosperous kingdom,"

- Bhagavad Gita

"He who has renounced selfishness, who understands the principles of self-sacrifice and has realized that the true nature of the self is eternal, achieves cosmic consciousness and knows the spiritual truth."

"He who is able to resist the force of desire and anger before he quits his body is a yogi and is happy."

"The disunited mind is far from wise; how can it meditate? How can it be at peace? When you know no peace, how can you know joy?"

"When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own, he has attained the highest state of spiritual union."

"This divine wisdom is a direct perception of the truth, much superior to any indirect knowledge of the scriptures or hearsay."

"He who sees me everywhere and sees everything in me will not be lost to me, and I will not be lost to him."

"When your intellect, perplexed by what you have heard, shall stand immobile and steady in the self, then you shall attain self-realization."

"Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal."

"They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego cage of ‘I,’ ‘me,’ and ‘mine’ to be united with the Lord."

"One who is not disturbed in mind amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."

"In the still mind, in the depths of meditation, the Self reveals itself."

"The peace of God is with them whose mind and soul are in harmony, who are free from desire and wrath, who know their own soul."

"A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind."

"Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death."

"The yogi who is happy within, who rejoices within, and who is illuminated within, becomes fully liberated in the Brahman and attains the supreme eternal bliss."

"Knowledge is the ultimate purification."

"The ignorant differentiate between spiritual knowledge and devotional service, but the wise see devotional service and knowledge as one."

"As the heat of a fire reduces wood to ashes, the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all karma."

"A person can rise through the efforts of his own mind; or draw himself down in the same manner. Because each person is his own friend or enemy."

"The self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace."

"One who has renounced attachment to the fruits of action, who is ever content, and free from all kinds of desires, does not act though he may be engaged in all kinds of actions."

"When a person is devoted to something with complete faith, I unify his faith in that. Then, when his faith is completely unified, he gains the object of his devotion."

"A person is said to have achieved yoga, the union with the Self when the perfectly disciplined mind gets freedom from all desires."

"The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge in the Lord and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing the fruits of action in the material world."

"Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, yet you shall cross over all sin by the raft of knowledge."

"He who has no attachments can really love others, for his love is pure and divine."

"A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and right place, and when we expect nothing in return."

"It is better to live your destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection."

"Actions do not cling to me because I am not attached to their results. Those who understand this and practice it live in freedom."

"Perform your obligatory duty because action is indeed better than inaction."

"One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action."

"The wise should work without attachment, for the welfare of the society."

"Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me."

"As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path."

"Let your aim be the good of all. Then carry out your task in life with an unswerving devotion to truth, refusing to yield to selfish desires or to the errors of human nature."

"He who is rooted in oneness realizes that I am in every being; wherever he goes, he remains in Me."

"Those who see action in inaction and inaction in action are truly wise among humans."

"One who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation."

"One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord and thus become free from all attachment and aversion."

"Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed; otherwise, work binds one to this material world."

"Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined, and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future."

"A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Therefore, strive for yoga, which is the art of all work."

"There is no work that affects me, nor do I aspire for the fruits of action."

"He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions."

"The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare of the world, without thought for themselves."

"By abstaining from work no one attains freedom from action; nor does he rise to perfection by merely renouncing work."

"He who is devoid of attachment, who does not rejoice when he obtains good, nor lament when he obtains evil, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge."

"One who shuns selfish attachment to the fruits of work and remains ever content and dependent on no one but himself – although engaged in all kinds of undertakings, such a person, O Prince, is said to be in the renounced order of life."

"It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly."

"Renunciation of the fruits of action is better than meditation; meditation is better than knowledge; knowledge is better than performance of sacrifices."

"One who has wisdom and discernment is always calm and collected; such a person is in true knowledge."

"There is nothing in the world as purifying as knowledge; one who has attained purity of heart through prolonged practice of karma yoga automatically sees the light of truth in the self in course of time."

"When you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the self."

"A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogi when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization."

"The truly wise mourn neither for the living nor for the dead."

"Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps."

"Better is one’s own duty though devoid of merit than the duty of another well discharged."

"Even a little endeavor in practicing the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga protects one from the most dangerous type of fear."

"I am the same to all beings. I favor none, nor am I partial to anyone. I am the father of all and the same to all."

"The wise who knows the truth thinks, ‘I do nothing at all’; for in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, he thinks, ‘The senses move amongst the sense objects.'"

"There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts."

"When your intellect transcends the mire of delusion, then you will attain to dispassion of what has been heard and what is yet to be heard."

"Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered."

"Yoga is skill in actions."

"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again."

"For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death."

"When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place."

"Among all kinds of killers, time is the ultimate because time kills everything."

"Kişi nesneleri düşündüğünde, bunlara karşı bir bağımlılık ortaya çıkar; bağımlılıktan arzu doğar; arzudan öfke doğar. Öfkeden yanılgı gelir; yanılgıdan aklın yitimi; aklın yitiminden ayrım kabiliyetinin çöküşü gelir. Ayrım kabiliyetinin yok oluşuyla kişi mahvolur."

"Concentra a tua mente no teu trabalho, mas nunca permitas que seu coração se apegue aos resultados. Nunca trabalhe por amor a recompensa e realiza seu trabalho com constância e regularidade."