Bhagavad Gita has been bringing positive changes in the lives of people for thousands of years. The Bhagavad Gita quotes are as relevant today as they were 5000 years ago. Before reading Bhagavad Gita Quotes, let us inform you that what are Bhagavad Gita Quotes after all?
Bhagavad Gita Quotes
Bhagavad Gita consists mainly of dialogues of Krishna and Arjuna. Some dialogues are also of Sanjay and Dhritarashtra. There are a total of 700 dialogues in the Bhagavad Gita, which have been composed in 700 verses of 18 chapters. These 700 verses are also called Bhagavad Gita Quotes.
All the Bhagavad Gita Quotes are unique, rare, and life-changing. The whole life falls short to understand Bhagavad Gita Quotes deeply.
In this article, we will discuss those Bhagavad Gita quotes which are world-famous. We will try to understand the meaning of those quotes deeply.
15 Life-Changing Bhagavad Gita Quotes
Let us now read and understand those 15 Bhagavad Gita Quotes that bring positive changes in our lives.
Quote 1
Chapter 2, Verse 3
“O Arjuna! Do not get this inferior impotence. It does not suit you. O oppressors of enemies! Stand up for war, abandoning the petty debility of the heart.”
Meaning: This quote is unique in itself. Bhagavad Gita Quotes are incomplete without this verse. In the first chapter, Arjun was telling the agony of his mind and Krishna was listening. Arjuna kept speaking and Krishna went listening. When Arjuna fully expressed the pain inside him and surrendered himself to Krishna, then these wonderful words came out of Krishna’s holy tongue.
Krishna says: Arjuna, what has happened to you? Why are you talking like a coward, despite being the best warrior of this world? Seeing your loved ones is causing pity in your mind. Your loved ones are standing in front of you to fight. Why are you showing compassion for such evil people?
Further, Krishna says: Arjuna! Take out the weakness and cowardice that has arisen in your heart and stand up for war. The people for whom these feelings have arisen in your heart are not worth it. Wake up, and perform your duties.
Quote 2
Chapter 2, Verse 47
“You have the right to perform your duties, but you are not entitled to the results of your duties. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your actions, nor should you ever indulge in not performing your duties.”
Meaning: It is one of the most prominent quotes of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is here advising Arjuna to carry out his duties irrespective of the outcome.
Some foolish people do not understand this Bhagavad Gita quote and have made it controversial. Those foolish people say that if you want to do anything without worrying about the results, do anything. Do not care about right and wrong.
Whereas Krishna wants to say through this verse that if you work with the result in mind, then your focus will be on the result only. You just focus on your work. Increase the quality of work. The results will be good on their own.
Quote 3 And 4
Chapter 4, Verse 7
“Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself !”
Chapter 4, Verse 8
“For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.“
Meaning: When the primacy of iniquity and religion starts disappearing, then Krishna voluntarily appears. The rules of religion are given in the Vedas and if there is any error in following these rules, then man becomes irreligious.
Both of these are important verses of Bhagavad Gita Quotes.
Here religion does not mean any particular community or caste. Religion means “rules”. For the welfare of this society and the world, there are some rules in the Vedas that have nothing to do with any religion.
What should be the duties of a father? What should be the duties of a son/daughter? What should be the duties of a mother? What should be the duty of husband and wife? How can we contribute to building a good society? What should be the rules of a good society? All these things have been told in Vedas.
When there is an increase in the number of people in the world who do not follow their duty and obstruct others to follow their duty, Krishna has to come in some Avataar to establish balance in the society.
With an Avatar, Krishna protects good people and destroys bad ones.
Quote 5
Chapter 2, Verse 62
“The man who thinks about the objects gets attached to those objects, the desire of those objects arises from attachment and anger arises due to the failure in the desire.”
Meaning: It is one of the most special quotes of the Bhagavad Gita quotes. This is very practical and it happens to all of us. But Krishna had told this problem 5000 years ago, one of the biggest problems of human beings.
It is very easy to understand. Krishna is explaining to Arjuna here that thinking more about the subjects creates an attachment for that thing and we go crazy to get it. Even after efforts, if we are not able to achieve that thing then anger arises in us.
Quote 6
Chapter 3, Verse 21
“Whatever the superior man conducts, other men also behave in the same manner. Whatever he proves, the whole human community starts to behave accordingly.”
Meaning: Ordinary people always need a leader who can teach the public through practical conduct. If the leader smokes himself, he cannot teach the public to stop smoking.
Whether it is a king or an administrative officer of a state, whether a father or a teacher, all these are considered to be the natural leaders of the ignorant masses. They all have a great responsibility towards their dependents, so they should be familiar with the ideal texts related to moral and spiritual codes.
Quote 7
Chapter 4, Verse 39
“A devotee who is devoted to divine knowledge and who has subdued the senses is entitled to receive this knowledge and upon attaining it, he instantly attains spiritual peace.”
Meaning: Krishna tells Arjuna that only after running behind the senses of a person, a person is unhappy. When one subject is attained, the mind automatically starts following other subjects. This sequence goes on throughout life.
On the contrary, the person who has understood the truth that there is no benefit of running after the subjects of the senses and has overcome his senses is supremely happy.
Quote 8
Chapter 6, Verse 34
“Since the mind is fickle (volatile), disorderly, obstinate, and extremely strong, I find it more difficult to tame it than to tame the air.”
Meaning: It is also one of the important quotes of Bhagavad Gita. This verse has been spoken by Arjun. By reading this, it is easy to understand that Bhagavad Gita Quotes are relevant for all ages.
From Arjun’s words, we understand that the problems of the mind that we are going through today, even 5000 years ago, had the same human problems.
Krishna has done a post-mortem of the human mind in the form of Bhagavad Gita Quotes.
Quote 9
Chapter 8, Verse 7
“O Arjun! You should always think of me and also fulfill the duty of fighting. By dedicating your deeds to me and fixing your mind and intellect in me, you will definitely be able to achieve me.”
Meaning: This sermon given to Arjuna is very important for all the people who are busy with material works. Krishna does not say that one should abdicate his duties.
A person can contemplate Krishna by chanting Hare Krishna while simultaneously doing his/her works. With this, a person will be freed from the material world and will put his mind and intellect in Krishna.
Quote 10
Chapter 6: Verse 35
“O Arjun! Of course, it is very difficult to subdue the fickle mind, but it is possible through proper practice and by abstinence.”
Meaning: Krishna has accepted the universal problem of the mind and has also given solutions for its solution.
Krishna agrees that it is not easy to control the fickle mind. The mind is the root of our problems. If we have control over our mind, then all our problems will automatically go away.
Krishna has described Practice and Detachment as the solution to this problem. Now the question arises, what are Practice and Detachment?
He has pointed to Yoga and Meditation as a practice. He has suggested the path of Devotion in the form of detachment.
Quote 11
Chapter 2, Verse 23
“The soul can neither be fragmented by any weapon, nor can be burnt by fire, nor soaked by water or dried by air.”
Meaning: Here soul does not mean anything supernatural. Krishna is talking about consciousness here. The consciousness never changes and it is in every particle of the universe. The consciousness is the source of this entire universe.
This source of the universe is never born and never dies. Even before the creation of this universe, Consciousness was, is, and will be. The Consciousness cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor strangled, and neither can it be dried.
Quote 12
Chapter 2, Verse 37
“If you are killed in battle, you will get heaven or if you win you will enjoy the kingdom of earth. So stand up and fight with determination.”
Meaning: Krishna is counting the benefits of Arjun for performing his duty. He is explaining to Arjun, scared of war, that it is your duty to fight. Be prepared for war regardless of victory and defeat.
If you win, you will become the king of the earth and if killed, you will enjoy the happiness of heaven. It is also written in the scriptures that those who perform their ultimate duties get a place in heaven.
Quote 13
Chapter 2, Verse 38
“You fight without thinking of happiness or sorrow, loss or gain, victory or defeat. You will not incur any sin by doing so.”
Meaning: It is the specialty of Bhagavad Gita that its verses repeatedly inspire us to fulfill our duties. Krishna is repeatedly and differently speaking to Arjun to fulfill his duties.
Krishna is explaining to us that while walking on duty, one should not worry about profit, loss, victory, defeat, happiness, and sorrow. It should be our ultimate duty to carry out our duties.
Quote 14
Chapter 18, Verse 11
“Of course, it is impossible for anybody to abandon all deeds. But those who renounce the results is renunciation.”
Meaning: This is an important verse of the Bhagavad Gita Quotes. Krishna is explaining that it is impossible for any creature to renounce deeds. As long as there is life, the creature remains trapped in deeds. Where there will be deeds, there will also be results of deeds.
Krishna advises that to get rid of deeds and results of deeds, renounce the results of deeds. Deeds will not affect us due to the renunciation of results.
Quote 15
Chapter 2, Verse 15
“A man who does not get distracted by happiness and misery and has similar feelings in both of them, he is worthy of liberation.”
Meaning: Happiness and misery in human life keep on coming. The game of happiness and sorrow goes on. Humans should always keep performing their duties without being affected by happiness and sorrow. This is how a man achieves liberation.
Some Other Important Bhagavad Gita Quotes
“One who controls the senses, but his mind keeps thinking of the subject of senses, he deceives himself and is called a liar.”
“Do your assigned work, because it is better to do karma (Deed) than not to do karma. Without karma, there cannot be sustenance.”
“Just as ignorant people work with the attachment of results, similarly scholarly people should work in a non-attached way to lead people on the right path.”
“Dedicate all your work to me and fight with full knowledge, devoid of any desire for profit, without any claim of ownership and laziness.”
“Many people have been sanctified by my knowledge in the past, free from attachment, fear, and anger, and fully in me and coming to my shelter. In this way, all of them have attained my divine love.”
“No karma (Deed) can affect me, nor do I wish for a result. Who knows this truth in my relationship, he never binds in the loop of deeds.”
“When one is enlightened by that knowledge, which leads to the destruction of ignorance, then everything becomes manifest through his knowledge, as in the day all things are illuminated by the sun.”
“One who is neither enchanted by finding the pleasant things nor is distracted by finding the unpleasant, who is stable, one who is aware of the divine and the Bhagavad knowledge, is already situated in Brahm (The Supreme).”
“Man should save himself with the help of his mind and do not let himself fall. This mind is a friend of men and also an enemy.”
“There is no truth better than me. Just as pearls are intertwined in the thread, similarly everything depends on me.”
Our Words
The essence of the entire universe is absorbed in the Bhagavad Gita Quotes. There is no such question of the world, whose answer is not found in the Bhagavad Gita Quotes.
New energy flows in us by reading the Bhagavad Gita Quotes. By reading Bhagavad Gita Quotes we have knowledge of right and wrong, truth and falsehood, duty, and self.
All the quotes of Bhagavad Gita are amazing, but there are many quotes that can take whole life to understand. If you want to understand Bhagavad Gita Quotes more deeply, you can listen to the lectures of ISKON.
Thanks for reading our small article on Bhagavad Gita Quotes.