Bhagavad Quotes & Sayings

You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become. — The Bhagavad Gita

The uncontrolled mind Does not guess that the Atman is present: How can it meditate? Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness? (Bhagavad Gita, II. 62, 63, 65) — Swami Vivekananda

If you turn back time and look, 5100 years ago in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna did the same thing. He has been the first HR manager India knows. When Arjuna was so depressed and was not ready to do his job, Lord Krishna was with him in the battlefield, and told him all sorts of things. First, He warned Arjuna that people would blame him for sure. Then He incited Arjuna's ego and tried to wake him up. And then He offered His disciple different incentives, saying, "If you win, you will have the kingdom. If you lose, you will enjoy Heaven. Come on, fight." In many ways, Lord Krishna lifted Arjuna out of that depression. — Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Pleasure from the senses seems like nectar at first, but it is bitter as poison in the end. — Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

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 you 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

Just a little progress is freedom from fear. - Bhagavad Gita — David Richo

Where there is One, that One is me; where there are many, all are me; they see my face everywhere.
The Bhagavad Gita — The Bhagavad Gita

When men seek after the Immutable, the Indeterminable, the Unmanifest, the All-Pervading, the Unthinkable, the Summit Self, the Immobile, the Permanent, - equal in mind to all,
intent on the good of all beings, it is to Me that they come. — Anonymous

The man who sees me in everything
and everything within me
will not be lost to me, nor
will I ever be lost to him.
He who is rooted in oneness
realizes that I am
in every being; wherever
he goes, he remains in me.
When he sees all being as equal
in suffering or in joy
because they are like himself,
that man has grown perfect in yoga. — Anonymous

The secret of karma yoga which is to perform actions without any fruitive desires is taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. — Swami Vivekananda

Vanessa Rey chose the words for her own headstone, taking her theme from the Bhagavad Gita. "Certain is death, for the living, certain is life, for the dead." Think about that. — Mike Carey

Blessed are the ones who offer coffee to writers, for they will get all the rewards mentioned in the Bible, the Quran, the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. — Robin Sacredfire

It came to my mind that in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, in Indian spiritual literature, and in the Bhagavad Gita, and when I started reading about outstanding yogis and people of exceeding spiritual power such as Ramana Maharshi, or Yogananda, they all had the ability to do what we would call - I don't know what you would even call it - psychic phenomenon, magic, transform objects, be able to perceive the future, the past and the present simultaneously. — Fred Alan Wolf

Potent Quotes "Whatever you do, or eat, or give, or offer in adoration, let it be an offering to me; and whatever you suffer, suffer it for me. Thus you shall be free from the bonds of Karma which yield fruits that are evil and good; and with your soul one in renunciation you shall be free and come to me." - Bhagavad Gita — Ram Dass

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

In our household, the Bible, the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology — Barack Obama

Warriorship is an infinitely nuanced subject. A true warrior desires nothing so much as to be perfectly appropriate, "in sync" with space and time in each and every moment. The perfection of warrior timing results in a kind of invisibility. Walking between the super strings of karma, or bound activity, the warrior engages in kriya, or spontaneous action. This is the actionless action spoken of so eloquently by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Only the natural perfection of kriya ensures that a warrior's actions will be of real benefit to those she serves. Walking between and in a state of total non-distraction, a warrior's invisibility is identical to her invincibility. In the warrior heart is a dynamic stillness that is unperturbed by any arising of this world, by any impediment or seeming obstacle. Even when we have not realized this perfection, it is our warrior hearts, still mostly unknown to us, that lead us steadily on to realization. — Shambhavi Sarasvati

Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace. — Padma Viswanathan

Who everywhere is free from all ties, who neither rejoices nor sorrows if fortune is good or ill, his is a serene wisdom.
Intro to Part 3, Chapter 1. Credit was given to The Bhagavad Gita. — Deborah Moggach

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

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

In the Bhagavad-Gita, a book that I revere and respect, it's indicated that even women, along with animals, are capable of attaining enlightenment. — Frederick Lenz

In the Bhagavad Gita, one of the oldest and most beautiful spiritual teachings in existence, nonattachment to the fruit of your action is called Karma Yoga. It is described as the path of consecrated action. — Eckhart Tolle

He whose happiness is within, whose contentment is within, whose light is all within, that yogi, being one with Brahman, attains eternal freedom in divine consciousness. BHAGAVAD-GITA — David Lynch

For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom, nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration; and for him without concentration there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness? - BHAGAVAD GITA — Joe Hyams

Krishna taught in the Bhadavad Gita: 'karmanyeva-adhikaraste ma phalesu kadachana', which means, 'Be active, never be inactive, and don't react to the outcome of the work. — Anonymous

The Bhagavad-Gita is where God Himself talks to His devotee Arjuna. — Paramahansa Yogananda

We live in a world of careers. Work, as Sri Krishna points out in the Bhagavad Gita, is a necessary path for everyone attaining enlightenment. It is something that we all do. Some people work very hard at not working. — Frederick Lenz

The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions. — Albert Schweitzer

The Bhagavad-Gita is an empire of thought and in its philosophical teachings Krishna has all the attributes of the full-fledged montheistic deity and at the same time the attributes of the Upanisadic absolute. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun that his actions, not his beliefs, will set him free. Or, as Guru-ji put it, "When you're in the bathtub, you need to move a little to feel the warmth. — Eric Weiner

I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita because its teachings have inspired me to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country. — Tulsi Gabbard

Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. (quoting the Bhagavad-Gita after witnessing the first Nuclear explosion.) — J. Robert Oppenheimer

In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it. — Rudolf Steiner

The most revealing books are the Holy Koran and the Holy Bible. The Bhagavad Gita is a great book as well, and the works of Buddha. These are the major influences on the world. — RZA

That Bhagavad Gita instruction to be unattached to the fruits of your actions is the key. If you are a parent raising a child, don't get attached to the act of raising the child. That doesn't mean you're not a loving, active parent. Your job is to love and nurture, feed and clothe, take care and guard the safety of the child, and guide him or her with your moral compass. But how the child turns out is how the child turns out. Ultimately he or she is not your child; who they turn out to be is up to God and their own karma. Your — Ram Dass

I engaged - started engaging in yoga as a physical practice, but very quickly found out there was something broader to it, and that it was actually helpful for my pain, and started to get into meditation, started to study the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita and a lot of the scriptures associated with yoga, the Yoga Sutras, and very quickly came to this conclusion that this had a huge impact on my ability to lead, but, more importantly, the ability to control my sympathetic nervous system, which had a direct tie to the pain in my arm. — Mark T Bertolini

The doctrine that God can be incarnated in human form is found in most of the principal historic expositions of the Perennial Philosophy - in Hinduism, in Mahayana Buddhism, in Christianity and in the Mohammedanism of the Sufis, by whom the Prophet was equated with the eternal Logos. When goodness grows weak, When evil increases, I make myself a body. In every age I come back To deliver the holy, To destroy the sin of the sinner, To establish righteousness. He who knows the nature Of my task and my holy birth Is not reborn When he leaves this body; He comes to Me. Flying from fear, From lust and anger, He hides in Me, His refuge and safety. Burnt clean in the blaze of my being, In Me many find home. Bhagavad Gita — Aldous Huxley

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

I've been practicing Ayurvedic medicine, and I've read the 'Bhagavad Gita' and Rumi, and these are very important. — Andie MacDowell

These bodies are perishable, but the Dweller in these bodies is eternal. - BHAGAVAD-GITA — Mark Nepo

This is what Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita - Karma Yoga. If you can't avoid action, you might as well act. — Frederick Lenz

Pitiful are those who, acting, are attached to their action's fruits. The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and is focused on the action alone. ~ Bhagavad Gita, c. 400 BCE ~ 2:49-50 — Larry Chang

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men. — Bhagavad Gita

Let emotion inform, but not form, your decision — Chaitanya Charan Das

For the senses wander, and when one lets the mind follow them, it carries wisdom away like a windblown ship on the waters. — Anonymous

He who has let go of hatred
who treats all beings with kindness
and compassion, who is always serene,
unmoved by pain or pleasure,
free of the "I" and "mine,"
self-controlled, firm and patient,
his whole mind focused on me
that is the man I love best. — Anonymous

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them. — Anonymous

In the Bhagavad-Gita, a dialogue ensues in the middle of a battlefield, symbolizing the battlefield of life which we are fighting through our illusions. — Frederick Lenz

Arise, slay thy enemies, enjoy a prosperous kingdom, — Bhagavad Gita

For the first time i began to think, consciously and deliberately of religion and other worlds. The Hindu religion especially went up in my estimation; not the ritual or ceremonial part, but it's great books, the "Upnishads", and the "Bhagavad Gita". — Jawaharlal Nehru

Amongst thousands of persons, hardly one strives for perfection; and amongst those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows me in truth. (7,3) — Bhagavad Gita

In the Bhagavad Gita, there is no long discussion, nothing elaborate. The main reason for this is that everything stated in the Gita is meant to be tested in the life of every man; it is intended to be verified in practice. — Vinoba Bhave

The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity. — Aldous Huxley

The Bhagavad-Gita calls on humanity to dedicate body, mind and soul to pure duty and not to become mental voluptuaries at the mercy of random desires and undisciplined impulses. — Mahatma Gandhi

When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day. — Mahatma Gandhi

thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward," Krishna tells his student Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita.) — Jennifer Senior

The essence of Bhagavad Gita is that we should always think of Krsna, become His devotee, worship him and offer homage unto him. — Radhanath Swami

The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion. — Herman Hesse

Whoso meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, more minute than the atom, yet the Ruler and Upholder of all, Unimaginable, Brilliant like the Sun, beyond the reach of darkness. — Shri Purohit Swami

In the Bhagavad Gita. One stanza reads: "Offering the inhaling breath into the exhaling breath and offering the exhaling breath into the inhaling breath, the yogi neutralizes both breaths; thus he releases prana from the heart and brings life force under his control."2 The interpretation is: "The yogi arrests decay in the body by securing an additional supply of prana (life force) through quieting the action of the lungs and heart; he also arrests mutations of growth in the body by control of apana (eliminating current). Thus neutralizing decay and growth, the yogi learns life-force control." Another Gita stanza states: "That meditation-expert (muni) becomes eternally free who, seeking the Supreme Goal, is able to withdraw from external phenomena by fixing his gaze within the mid-spot of the eyebrows and by neutralizing the even currents of prana and apana [that flow] within the nostrils and lungs; and to control his sensory mind and intellect; and to banish desire, fear, and anger."3 — Paramahansa Yogananda

The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization. — Sri Aurobindo

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

In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna says: Arjuna you cannot avoid action. Everyone is stuck in the world of action. The world of action is forever. — Frederick Lenz

I believe what it says in the scriptures and in the Bhagavad Gita: 'Never was there a time when you did not exist, and there never will be a time when you cease to exist.' — George Harrison

Shutting out all external objects, fixing the vision between the eyebrows, making even the inward and outward breaths, the sage who has controlled the senses, mind and understanding, who is intent upon liberation, who has cast away desire, fear and anger, he is ever freed. — The Bhagavad Gita

Percy (One) Our new dog, named for the beloved poet, ate a book which unfortunately we had left unguarded. Fortunately it was the Bhagavad Gita, of which many copies are available. Every day now, as Percy grows into the beauty of his life, we touch his wild, curly head and say, Oh, wisest of little dogs. — Mary Oliver

The Bhagavad-Gita tells us we have a right only to our labor, not to the fruits of our labor. All the warrior can give is his life; all the athlete can do is leave everything on the field. — Steven Pressfield

The Bhagavad Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe. — Jawaharlal Nehru

when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance.
O son of Kuru, darkness,inertia, madness are manifested. — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Thomas Merton, of course, constitutes a special threat to Christians, because he presents himself as a contemplative Christian monk, and his work has already affected the vitals of Roman Catholicism, its monasticism. Shortly before his death, Father Merton wrote an appreciative introduction to a new translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which is the spiritual manual or "Bible" of all Hindus, and one of the foundation blocks of monism or Advaita Vedanta. The Gita, it must be remembered, opposes almost every important teaching of Christianity. His book on the Zen Masters, published posthumously, is also noteworthy, because the entire work is based on a treacherous mistake: the assumption that all the so-called "mystical experiences" in every religion are true. He should have known better. — Seraphim Rose

Although some popular religious texts such as the New Testament, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, or Tibetan Book of the Dead contain interesting insights and stories, it is the Jewish religious texts such as the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) that contain valuable information on acquiring wealth. — H.W. Charles

The Bhagavad Gita
that ancient Indian Yogic text
says that it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection. — Elizabeth Gilbert

The Bhagavad Gita is not as nice a book as some Americans think, — Wendy Doniger

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

If we argue that since all bodies are perishable, one may kill, does it follow that I may kill all the women and children in the Ashram? Would I have in doing so acted according to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita, merely because their bodies are perishable? What, — Mahatma Gandhi

The Bhagavad-Gita changes this. It takes the Warrior Ethos and elevates it to a loftier and nobler plane - the plane of the individual's inner life, to his struggle to align himself with his own higher nature. — Steven Pressfield

Everyone makes their own path, and I must make mine. The Bhagavad Gita - and ancient Indian Yogic text - says that it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life perfectly. So now I have started living my own life. Imperfect and clumsy as it may look, it is resembling me now, thoroughly. It is mine. — Elizabeth Gilbert

In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Bramin, priest of Brahma and Vishnu and Indra, who still sits in his temple on the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges. — Henry David Thoreau

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. — Anonymous

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One ... I am become Death, the Shatterer of Worlds. — The Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad-Gita tells us we have a right only to our labor, not to the fruits of our labor. — Steven Pressfield

Arjuna, fair or unfair, the results of any action depend on five things: the body, the mind, the instruments, the method and divine grace (luck? fate?). Only the ignorant think they alone are responsible for any outcome. - Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, verses 13 to 16 (paraphrased). — Devdutt Pattanaik

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another. — J. Robert Oppenheimer

When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous — Albert Einstein

From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures. — Adi Shankara