Inspirational Quotations from the Bhagavad Gita (#349)

The Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs all around the world celebrate the three-day festival of Deepavali festival from today. Deepawali (literally, “row of lamps,” often contracted to “Diwali”) celebrates, among other things, the return of Lord Rama, his consort Sita, and brother Lakshmana, from a fourteen-year long exile that culminated in the slaying of demon-king Ravana. People celebrated Lord Rama’s return to his kingdom by illuminating his kingdom with lamps—hence the label Deepavali.

Happy Deepavali to all our readers!

To observe Deepavali, we present below a few inspirational quotations from the Bhagavad Gita, one of the noblest scriptures of the Hindu faith.

Inspirational Quotations from the Bhagavad Gita

“Bhagavad Gita,” literally “Songs of the Lord,” is a compilation of 700 verses rendered by Krishna, an incarnation of one of the central deities of Hinduism, to the warrior Arjuna. The occasion is the historic battle of Kurukshetra between Arjuna and his brothers on one side and their cousins on the other.

Like the great scriptures of the other faiths, Bhagavad Gita discusses various beliefs, values, and disciplines central to the conduct of a good and meaningful life: devotion, attachment, conflict of motives, ethical actions and consequences, sense of duty, and misgiving from right actions—values and teachings very much even to this day. We recommend these translations and commentaries by Sri Sankaracharya, Annie Besant, Edwin Arnold, and other free texts from the Internet Archive.

From the “‘Songs of the Lord”

Let a man lift himself by his own self alone, let him not lower himself; for this self alone is the friend of oneself and this self alone is the enemy of oneself.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Because the fool wants to become God, He never finds him. The master is already God, Without ever wishing to be.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

In this world three gates lead to hell—the gates of passion, anger and greed. Released from these three qualities one can succeed in attaining salvation and reaching the highest goal.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

There is more happiness in doing one’s own (path) without excellence than in doing another’s (path) well.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Those who are interested in self-realization, in terms of mind and sense control, offer the functions of all the senses, as well as the vital force (breath), as oblations into the fire of the controlled mind.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Whatever the state of being that a man may focus upon at the end, when he leaves his body, to that state of being he will go.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

He who sees Me everywhere, and sees everything in Me, I am not lost to him, nor is he lost to me.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Set thy heart upon thy work but never its reward.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

There are two ways of passing from this world – one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)