Bhagavad Gita verses for stress

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…

Just as the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, so too does it pass into another body; the steadfast one does not grieve over this.

-- Just as there is no interruption in the passing of childhood into youth and youth into old age in this body, so also there is no interruption by death in the continuity of the ego. The Self is not dead at the…

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…

He who is everywhere without attachment, upon encountering anything good or bad, neither rejoices nor hastens; his wisdom is firm.

The sage possesses poised understanding or evenness of mind. He does not rejoice in pleasure nor is he averse to pain that may befall him. He is ite indifferent as he is rooted in the Self. He has no attachment even for…

Sanjaya said: To him, who was thus overcome with pity, despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu) or Krishna spoke these words.

Material compassion, lamentation and tears are all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization. The word “Madhusūdana” is significant in this verse. Lord Kṛṣṇa killed the…

That firm man, whom surely these afflictions do not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.

-- Dehadhyasa or identification of the Self with the body is the cause of pleasure and pain. The more you are able to identify yourself with the immortal, allpervading Self, the less will you be affected by the pairs of…

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…

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…

For him, there is no interest whatsoever in what is done or not done; nor does he depend on any being for any purpose.

The sage who is thus rejoicing in the Self does not gain anything by doing any action. For him really no purpose is served by an action. No evil (Pratyavaya Dosha) can touch him from inaction. He does not lose anything…

As the ignorant act out of attachment to action, O Bharata, so should the wise act without attachment, wishing for the welfare of the world.

The ignorant man works in expectation of fruits. He says, I will do such and such work and will get such and such fruit. But the wise man who knows the Self, serves not for his own end. He should so act that the world,…

He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is a yogi and performer of all actions.

In common parlance action means movement of the body, movement of the hands and feet, and inaction means to sit quiet.It is the idea of agency, the idea I am the doer that binds man to Samsara. If this idea vanishes,…

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…

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…

And, that gift which is given with the intention of receiving something in return, or expecting a reward, or begrudgingly, is considered to be Rajasic.

Charity or gift that is given in the hope that it will be returned in the future and praised in public or that the gift will bring some unseen reward or heavenly pleasure is passionate. If a man makes a gift to a…

But even these actions should be performed, leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Arjuna; this is my certain and most assured conviction.

This is a summary of the doctrine of Karma Yoga enunciated before on several occasions. The fault of defect of Karma is certainly not in the action itself, but in the expectation of reward and attachment.Etani api Even…

The threefold fruit of action (evil, good, and mixed) accrues after death to those who do not abandon it, but never to those who do.

One fruit (of action) is pleasant, another is unpleasant, while the third is a mixture of both. Those in whom good actions preponderate are rorn as gods. Men of evil lives are rorn into animal or vegetable kingdoms. If…

Now, such being the case, verily he who, owing to an untrained understanding, looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence does not see.

The Self is always actionless. He is unattached like ether. He is always the silent witness. He is the spectator of activity. The egoistic man of little understanding only thinks that he is the real agent, and so he is…

That by which one sees the indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in any of them—know that knowledge to be Sattvic.

That knowledge that sees no difference in all objects that are perceived, is pure. The seer beholds the one allpervading imperishable substance or essence behind the seeming diversity of the objects. He beholds unity in…

Also, the man who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds, and be liberated.

Liberated from sin.Punyakarmanam Of those who have done Agnihotra and such other sacrifices.He too Much more so who understands the teachings of the Gita, lives in its spirit and who practises the most valuable spiritual…

The Blessed Lord said, "From whence has this perilous strait come upon you, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?"

Kṛṣṇa and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is referred to as Bhagavān throughout the Gītā. Bhagavān is the ultimate in the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is realized in three…

Nor, at any time, was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men; nor, verily, shall we ever cease to be hereafter.

-- Lord Krishna speaks here of the immortality of the Soul or the imperishable nature of the Self (Atman). The Soul exists in the three periods of time (past, present and future). Man continues to exist even after the…

The unreal has no being; there is no non-being of the real; the truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the truth (or the seers of the essence).

-- The changeless, homogeneous Atman or the Self always exists. It is the only solid Reality. This phenomenal world of names and forms is ever changing. Hence it is unreal. The sage or the Jivanmukta is fully aware that…

Know that to be indestructible, by which all this is pervaded. No one can cause the destruction of that, the Imperishable.

That which pervades this entire universe is imperishable. No one can destroy the eternal Self. Bodies perish, but the indwelling Reality does not. Knowing this, grief over what seems lost loses its force.

Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot dry it.

The Self is indivisible. It has no parts. It is extremely subtle. It is infinite. Therefore, sword cannot cut It fire cannot burn It water cannot wet It wind cannot dry It.

This Self is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing this to be so, you should not grieve.

The Self is not an object of perception. It can hardly be seen by the physical eyes. Therefore, the Self is unmanifested. That which is seen by the eyes becomes an object of thought. As the Self cannot be perceived by…

But even if thou thinkest of It as constantly being born and constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed one, thou shouldst not grieve.

Lord Krishna here, for the sake of argument, takes up the popular supposition. Granting that the Self is again and again born whenever a body comes into being, and again and again dies whenever the body dies, O…

Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle state, O Arjuna, and unmanifest again in their end. What is there to grieve about?

The physical body is a combination of the five elements. It is seen by the physical eyes only after the five elements have entered into such combination. After death, the body disintegrates and the five elements go back…

One sees this (the Self) as a wonder; another speaks of it as a wonder; another hears of it as a wonder; yet, having heard, none understands it at all.

The verse may also be interpreted in this manner. He that sees, hears and speaks of the Self is a wonderful man. Such a man is very rare. He is one among many thousands. Thus the Self is very hard to understand.

This indweller in the body of everyone is ever indestructible, O Arjuna; therefore, you should not grieve for any creature.

The body of any creature may be destroyed but the Self cannot be killed. Therefore you should not grieve regarding any creature whatever, Bhishma or anybody else.

People will also recount your everlasting dishonor; and for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

The world also will ever recount thy infamy which will survive thee for a long time. Death is really preferable to disgrace to one who has been honoured as a great hero and mighty warrior with noble alities.

Your enemies, scoffing at your power, will speak many abusive words—what could be more painful than this?

There is really no pain more unbearable and tormenting that that of slander thus incurred.

This, which has been taught to you, is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, endowed with which, O Arjuna, you shall cast off the bonds of action.

In this, there is no loss of effort, nor is there any harm produced, nor any transgression. Even a little of this knowledge protects one from great fear.

If a religious ceremony is left uncompleted, it is a wastage as the performer cannot realise the fruits. But it is not so in the case of Karma Yoga because every action causes immediate purification of the heart.In…

For those who are attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are drawn away by such teachings, their determinate reason is not formed which is steadily bent on meditation and Samadhi (superconscious state).

Those who cling to pleasure and power cannot have steadiness of mind. They cannot concentrate or meditate. They are ever busy in planning projects for the acisition of wealth and power. Their minds are ever restless.…

The Vedas deal with the three attributes; be thou above these three attributes. O Arjuna, free yourself from the pairs of opposites and ever remain in the quality of Sattva, freed from acquisition and preservation, and be established in the Self.

Guna means attribute or quality. It is substance as well as quality. Nature (Prakriti) is made up of three Gunas, viz., Sattva (purity, light or harmony), Rajas (passion or motion) and Tamas (darkness or inertia). The…

To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of as much use as a reservoir of water would be in a place where there is a flood.

Only for a sage who has realised the Self, the Vedas are of no use, because he is in possession of the infinite knowledge of the Self. This does not, however, mean that the Vedas are useless. They are useful for the…

Your right is only to work, but not to its results; do not let the results of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.

When you perform actions have no desire for the fruits thereof under any circumstances. If you thirst for the fruits of your actions, you will have to take birth again and again to enjoy them. Action done with…