Quotes from The Bhagavad Gita

Quotations follow the Eknath Easwaran translation (Nilgiri Press, 2007) — our recommended edition.

1. 2

   I am Time grown old, the destroyer of worlds, set in motion to annihilate the worlds.

2. 3

   You have a right to your action alone, never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.

3. 4

   You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.

4. 5

   It is never born, and it never dies; nor does it become anything, having been or about to be. Unborn, eternal, ancient, and everlasting, it is not killed when the body is killed.

5. 6

   Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never; Never was time it was not; End and Beginning are dreams! Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spirit for ever; Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems!

6. 7

   Whenever dharma decays and adharma rises, then I send forth myself.

7. 8

   Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma.

8. 9

   Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in me alone. I will free you from all evils. Do not grieve.

9. 10

   Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sins; do not fear.

10. 11

    As a man abandons worn-out clothes and acquires new ones, so when the body is worn out a new one is acquired by the Self, who lives within.

11. 12

    Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people.

12. 13

    Better one's own duty, though imperfectly performed, than another's done well. Better death in one's own duty; another's duty brings danger.

13. 14

    It is better to do your own duty badly, than to perfectly do another's; you are safe from harm when you do what you should be doing.

14. 15

    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.

15. 16

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

16. 17

    As a person dwells on the objects of sense, attachment to them grows; from attachment springs desire, and from desire comes anger.

17. 18

    From anger comes delusion; from delusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination; and with the destruction of discrimination, he perishes.

18. 19

    The mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent; trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind.

19. 20

    Death is certain for the born, and rebirth is certain for the dead; you should not grieve over what is unavoidable.

20. 21

    On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.

21. 22

    Those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them.

22. 23

    Whatever you do, make it an offering to me — the food you eat, the sacrifices you make, the help you give, even your suffering.

23. 24

    Reshape yourself through the power of your will; never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the Self, and the will is the only enemy of the Self.

24. 25

    When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering. The aspirant who has achieved it sees the Self within himself and is filled with joy.

25. 26

    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.

26. 27

    The senses are higher than the body, the mind higher than the senses; above the mind is the intellect, and above the intellect is the Self.