Bhagavad Gita verses for anxiety

He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not long for pleasures, and is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.

Lord Krishna gives His answer to the second part of Arjuna's question as to the conduct of a sage of steady wisdom in the 56th, 57th and 58th verses.The mind of a sage of steady wisdom is not distressed in calamities. He…

Intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, existence or birth, non-existence or death, fear, and also fearlessness.

Intellect is the power which the Antahkarana (the fourfold inner instrument -- the mind, the subconscious mind, intellect and egoism) has of understanding subtle objects. Wisdom is knowledge of the Self. Nondelusion is…

I am delighted, having seen something never seen before; yet my mind is distressed with fear. Show me that form only, O God; have mercy, O God of gods, O Abode of the universe.

For an ordinary man the Cosmic Form (Vision) is overwhelming and terrifying but for a Yogi it is encouraging, strengthening and soulelevating.Arjuna says The Cosmic Form was never before seen by me. Show me only that…

My limbs fail, my mouth is parched, my body quivers, and my hair stands on end.

There are two kinds of trembling of the body, and two kinds of standings of the hair on end. Such phenomena occur either in great spiritual ecstasy or out of great fear under material conditions. There is no fear in…

This space between the earth and the heavens, and all the quarters, is filled by You alone; having seen this, Your wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled Being.

Thee In Thy Cosmic Form.The space and the quarters This denotes that the Lord has filled the whole universe of animate and inanimate objects.In order to remove the doubt entertained by Arjuna as to his success (Cf.II.6)…

Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, and other brave warriors have already been slain by Me; do not be distressed with fear; fight and you shall conquer your enemies in battle.

Already slain by Me Therefore, O Arjuna, you need not be afraid of incurring sin by killing them.Drona had celestial weapons. He was Arjuna's teacher in the science of archery. He was Arjuna's beloved and greatest Guru.…

Sanjaya said, Having heard that speech of Lord Krishna, Arjuna, with joined palms, trembling, prostrated himself, again addressing Krishna in a choked voice, bowing down, overwhelmed with fear.

When anyone is in a state of extreme terror or joy he sheds tears on account of pain or exhilaration of spirits. Then his throat is choked and he stammers or speaks indistinctly or in a dull, choked voice. Arjuna was…

He whom the world does not agitate, and who cannot be agitated by the world, and who is freed from joy, anger, fear, and anxiety—he is dear to Me.

Harsha Joy, exhilaration of the mind when one obtains an object of desire. This is indicated by hair standing on end, tears flowing down the face, etc.Amarsha Anger. Some say that it is a mixture of jealousy and…

He who abandons action out of fear of bodily trouble (because it is painful), does not obtain the merit of renunciation by performing such Rajasic renunciation.

Phalam Fruit or reward Moksha or emancipation which is the reward of renunciation of all actions accompanied with wisdom.Determination and persistence are reired for the performance of religious duties and actions. One…

That firmness, O Arjuna, by which a stupid man does not abandon sleep, fear, grief, despair, and conceit, is Tamasic.

The man who is an embodiment of darkness is made up of every possible kind of evil. He is very indolent and sinful. He is inordinately addicted to sleep. He considers these to be only proper. He experiences sorrow on…

Sanjaya said, Having thus spoken in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna cast away his bow and arrow and, his mind overwhelmed with sorrow, sat down on the seat of the chariot.

I can hardly tell which would be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, whom we do not wish to slay, stand facing us.

Arjuna did not know whether he should fight and risk unnecessary violence, although fighting is the duty of the kṣatriyas, or whether he should refrain and live by begging. If he did not conquer the enemy, begging would…

The Blessed Lord said, "You have grieved for those who should not be grieved for; yet, you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead."

-- The philosophy of the Gita begins from this verse.Bhishma and Drona deserve no grief because they are eternal in their real nature and they are virtuous men who possess very good conduct. Though you speak words of…

The unwise, taking pleasure in the eulogizing words of the Vedas, utter flowery speech, saying, "There is nothing else," O Arjuna.

Unwise people who are lacking in discrimination lay great stress upon the Karma Kanda or the ritualistic portion of the Vedas, which lays down specific rules for specific actions for,the attainment of specific fruits and…

All actions are wrought in all cases by the qualities of Nature alone. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks, "I am the doer."

Prakriti or Pradhana or Nature is that state in which the three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas exist in a state of eilibrium. When this eilibrium is disturbed, creation begins body, senses, mind, etc., are formed.…

With the senses, mind, and intellect ever controlled, having liberation as their supreme goal, free from desire, fear, and anger, the sage is truly liberated forever.

If one is free from desire, fear and anger he enjoys perfect peace of mind. When the senses, the mind and the intellect are subjugated, the sage does constant contemplation and,attains for ever to the absolute freedom or…

The Blessed Lord said: He who performs his bounden duty without depending on the fruits of his actions—he is a sannyasi and a yogi, not he who is without fire and without action.

Actions such as Agnihotra, etc., performed without the expectation of their fruits purify the mind and become the means to Dhyana Yoga or the Yoga of Meditation.Karyam Karma bounden duty.Niragnih without fire. He who has…

Let him firmly hold his body, head, and neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of his nose without looking around.

The Lord describes here the pose or Asana and the Drishti (gaze) in this verse.You cannot practise meditation without a firm seat. If the body is unsteady, the mind will also become unsteady. There is an intimate…

Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, having controlled their mind, thinking of Me and balanced in mind, let them sit, having Me as their supreme goal.

The spiritual aspirant should possess serenity of mind. The Divine Light can descend only in a serene mind. Serenity is attained by the eradication of Vasanas or desires and cravings. He should be fearless. This is the…

Verily, Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor for him who sleeps too much, nor for him who is always awake, O Arjuna.

In this verse the Lord prescribes the diet for the students of Yoga. You must observe moderation in eating and sleeping. If you eat too much you will feel drowsy, and sleep will overpower you. You will get indigestion,…

Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for him who is moderate in eating and recreation (such as walking, etc.), who exercises moderation in action, and who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness.

In this verse the Lord prescribes for the student of Yoga, diet, recreation and th like. The student of Yoga should always adopt the happy medium or the middle course. Lord Buddha went to the extremes in the beginning in…

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, I do not see how this Yoga of equanimity, which you have taught me, can be maintained steadily, due to the restlessness of the mind."

As the mind is restless, impetuous and unsteady I find it difficult to practise this Yoga of equanimity declared by Thee. O my Lord, I cannot have steady concentration of the mind, as it wanders here and there in the…

The mind is indeed restless, turbulent, strong, and unyielding, O Krishna; I consider it as difficult to control as controlling the wind.

The mind constantly changes its objects and so it is ever restless.Krishna is derived from Krish which means to scrape. He scrapes all the sins, evils, and the causes of evil from the hearts of His devotees. Therefore He…

The Blessed Lord said, "Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the mind is difficult to control and restless; but with practice and dispassion, it can be restrained."

The constant or repeated effort to keep the wandering mind steady by constant meditation on the Lakshya (centre, ideal, goal or object of meditation) is Abhyasa or practice. The same idea or thought of the Self or God is…

By that same former practice, he is borne on in spite of himself. Even he who merely wishes to know Yoga goes beyond the Brahmanic word.

The man who fell from Yoga is carried to the goal which he intended to reach in his previous birth, by the force of the Samskaras of the practice of Yoga though he may not be conscious of them and even if he may not be…

But the Yogi who strives assiduously, purified of sins and perfected gradually over many births, reaches the highest goal.

He gains experiences little by little in the course of many births and eventually attains to perfection. Then he gets the knowledge of the Self and attains to the final beatitude of life.

How shall I, ever meditating, know you, O Yogin? In what aspects or things, O blessed Lord, should I think of you?

Arjuna says O Lord, how may I know Thee by constant meditation In what aspects art Thou to be thought of by me Even when I think of external objects I can meditate on Thee in Thy particular manifestations in them if I…

Greater is their trouble whose minds are set on the unmanifested, for the goal of the unmanifested is very hard for the embodied to reach.

Worshippers of the Saguna (qualified) and the Nirguna (unqualified) Brahman reach the same goal. But the latter path is very hard and arduous, because the aspirant has to give up attachment to the body from the very…

If you are unable to do even this, then, resort to union with Me and renounce the fruits of all actions with self-control.

This is the easiest path. If thou art unable to perform actions for My sake, if thou canst not even be intent on My service, if thou art unable to practise the Bhagavata Dharmas, if thous wishest to do actions impelled…

But know thou Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Arjuna, through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.

Tamas is that binding force with a tendency to lethargy, sloth and foolish actions. It causes delusion or nondiscrimination. It binds him who associates the Self with the body. A Tamasic man acts under the compulsion of…

Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, and longing—these arise when Rajas is predominant, O Arjuna.

Greed Covetousness Desire to appropriate the property of others a desire to possess more wealth though one has sufficient already.Pravritti Action in general.Asamah Restlessness being agitated by joy, attachment, etc. I…

Arjuna said, "What are the marks of one who has transcended the three qualities, O Lord? What is their conduct, and how do they go beyond these three qualities?"

Arjuna said O Lord, by what characteristics may a man be recognised as having gone beyond the three alities What is the behaviour of that Trigunatita sage (one who has gone beyond the three alities) and how does he go…

Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are all alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are one and the same.

Night and day have no meaning to a post fixed in the ground. Even so pleasure and pain have no meaning to a sage who dwells in his own Self. He is above the pairs of opposites. In his eyes cowdung or gold, a jewel or a…

The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, almsgiving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity, and straightforwardness.

The Lord made a mention of the three kinds of Nature that belong to sentient beings, viz., the nature of the gods, Asuras and Rakshasas, in the ninth discourse (verses 12 and 13). He now describes them in detail in this…

Know thou these to be of demonical resolves, senselessly torturing all the elements in the body and Me who dwell in the body.

Bhutagramam The aggregate of all the elements composing the body.Elements Organs.Mam Me Vaasudeva, the witness of their thoughts and deeds.He who thus tortures Me disregards My teachings entirely.Achetasah Senseless,…

Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and uprightness, as well as knowledge, realization, and belief in God, are the duties of Brahmanas, born of their own nature.

Sama is control of the mind. Dama is control of the senses. Serenity and selfrestraint have already been explained in XVII.2. Austerity of the three kinds has also been explained in XVII.14 to 16.Astikyam Faith in the…

Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, with speech, body, and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, and resorting to dispassion.

Solitude has its own charms. The spiritual vibrations in solitude are wonderfully elevating. Meditation will come by itself without exertion. All saints and sages who have attained Selfrealisation have remained in…

Behold, O Teacher! This mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, thy wise disciple.

Duryodhana, a great diplomat, wanted to point out the defects of Droṇācārya, the great brāhmaṇa commander in chief. Droṇācārya had some political quarrel with King Drupada, the father of Draupadī, who was Arjuna’s wife.…

Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya—the best of men.

The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi, all of them great charioteers (great heroes)."