Bhagavad Gita verses for motivation

That happiness which at first, as well as in the end, deludes the self, and which arises from sleep, indolence, and heedlessness—that is declared to be Tamasic.

Anubandhe In the conseence after the termination. The pleasure that is begotten by evil habits like drinking liors and eating worthless things is delusive of the self. The man becomes oblivious of the path he ought to…

Do not yield to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit you. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O conqueror of foes!

Arjuna was addressed as the son of Pṛthā, who happened to be the sister of Kṛṣṇa’s father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna had a blood relationship with Kṛṣṇa. If the son of a kṣatriya declines to fight, he is a kṣatriya in…

On seeing Thee, touching the sky, shining in many colors, with mouths wide open, with large fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart and find neither courage nor peace, O Vishnu.

Dhriti also means patience and strength. Sama also means control.The vision of the Cosmic Form has frightened Arjuna considerably.

Darkness, inertia, carelessness, and delusion—these arise when Tamas is predominant, O Arjuna.

When Tamas increases, darkness, a desire to do nothing, forgetfulness of ones duties and confusion ome into existence.Darkness Absence of discrimination.Apravritti Inertness extreme inactivity.Pramada (heedlessness) and…

From Sattva arises knowledge, and greed from Rajas; heedlessness and delusion arise from Tamas, and also ignorance.

From Sattva When Sattva becomes predominant. Sattva awakesn knowledge just as the sun causes daylight. Sattva enlightens the intellect.Greed is insatiable like fire. Greed brings misery and pain. Greed is born of Rajas.…

The Blessed Lord said, "There are threefold faiths inherent in the nature of the embodied: the sattvic (pure), the rajasic (passionate), and the tamasic (dark). Hear of them."

The whole world is made up, as if were, of faith. Faith assumes a threefold aspect under the influence of the three alities. When Sattva is strongly developed, when there is a preponderance of Sattva or purity in a man,…

The gift that is given in the wrong place and at the wrong time, to unworthy persons, without respect or with insult, is declared to be of a Tamasic nature.

Adesakale At a wrong place and time At a place which is not holy, where irreligious people congregate and where beggars assemble, where wealth acired through illegal means such as gambling, theft, etc., is distributed to…

Unsteady, vulgar, inflexible, deceitful, malicious, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating—such an agent is called Tamasic.

Owing to his vulgar nature he is not able to discriminate between proper and improper actions. His heart is filled with vanity. He will never prostrate himself before the deity or a sage. He is very stiff and unbending…

My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to my duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple; instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee.

By nature’s own way the complete system of material activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. In every step there is perplexity, and therefore it behooves one to approach a bona fide spiritual master who can…

Verily, no one can remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly, indeed, by the qualities born of Nature.

The Gunas (alities of Nature) are three, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Sattva is harmony or light or purity Rajas is passion or motion Tamas is inertia or darkness. Sattvic actions help a man to attain to Moksha.…

The righteous who eat the remnants of the sacrifice are freed from all sins; but those sinful ones who cook food solely for their own sake indeed consume sin.

Those who, after performing the five great sacrifices, eat the remnants of the food are freed from all the sins committed by these five agents of insect slaughter, viz., (1) the pestle and mortar, (2) the grinding stone,…

From food come forth beings; from rain, food is produced; from sacrifice arises rain, and sacrifice is born of action.

Here Yajna means Apurva or the subtle principle or the unseen form which a sacrifice assumes between the time of its performance and the time when its fruits manifest themselves.

He who does not follow the wheel thus set in motion, who is of sinful life, rejoicing in the senses, lives in vain, O Arjuna.

This is the wheel of action set in motion by the Creator on the basis of the Veda and sacrifice.He who does not follow the wheel by studying the Vedas and performing the sacrifices prescribed therein but who indulges…

Whatever a great man does, others also do; whatever he establishes as the standard, the world follows.

Man is a social animal. He is an imitating animal too. He takes his ideas of right and wrong from those whom he regards as his moral superior. Whatever a great man follows, the same is considered as an authority by his…

Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, control your senses first and then kill this sinful thing, which destroys knowledge and realization.

Jnana is knowledge obtained through the study of scriptures. This is indirect knowledge or Paroksha Jnana. Vijnana is direct knowledge or personal experience or Anubhava through Selfrealisation or Aparoksha Jnana.…

He who is of the same mind towards the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the righteous, and the unrighteous, excels.

He excels He is the best among the Yogarudhas.Samabudhhi is equanimity or evenness of mind. A Yogi of Samabuddhi has eal vision. He is ite impartial. He is the same to all. He makes no difference with reference to caste,…

Even if the most sinful worships Me, with devotion to no one else, he should indeed be regarded as righteous, for he has rightly resolved.

Even if the most sinful worships Him with undivided heart, he too must indeed be deemed righteous for he has made the holy resolution to give up the evil ways of his life. Rogue Ratnakar became Valmiki by his holy…

But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without any foundation in Truth, and is trivial—that is declared to be Tamasic.

The knowledge which regards that each and every object or being exists by itself and is perfect by itself, is Tamasic.One single effect Such as the body, thinking it to be the Self, or an idol, taking it for God, and…

That intellect, O Arjuna, which is enveloped in darkness and sees Adharma as Dharma and all things perverted, is Tamasic (dark).

That intellect which regards righteous acts as evil, and considers right things to be false, which treats everything in a contrary sense and looks upon virtues as if they were vices and takes everything that the…

That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with the objects, which is initially like nectar but eventually like poison, is said to be Rajasic.

Sensual pleasure is mixed with pain, fear and sin. A small grain of sensual pleasure is mixed with a mountain of pain. He who indulges in sensual pleasures will have to experience pain also, side by side. He is afraid of…

Becoming Brahman, serene in the Self, he neither grieves nor desires; he is the same to all beings, and obtains supreme devotion to Me.

Brahmabhutah Having attained to Brahman. His attainment of perfect freedom or oneness with the Supreme is described in the next verse.He is tranilminded. He is in a state of balance and equanimity. There is nothing…

O Arjuna, bound by your own Karma (action) born of your own nature, that which from delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly.

Thou art endowed, O Arjuna, with martial alities, prowess, valour, skill, etc. Thou art, therefore, bound by these innate alities. Thou wilt be forced to fight by thy own nature. Nature will constrain thee to fight, much…

Know also, O best among the twice-born! the names of those who are the most distinguished amongst ourselves, the leaders of my army; these I name to you for your information.

He saw fathers-in-law and friends in both the armies. The son of Kunti, Arjuna, seeing all those kinsmen thus standing arrayed, spoke sorrowfully, deeply filled with pity.

Teachers, fathers, sons, and grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives—

Arjuna has addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda because Kṛṣṇa is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa should understand what will satisfy Arjuna’s…

Why should we not, who clearly see the evil in the destruction of families, learn to turn away from this sin, O Janardana (Krishna)?

Ignorance of law is no excuse but wanton sinful conduct is a grave crime, unworthy of us, who are wiser.

O Krishna, by the prevalence of impiety, the women of the family become corrupt; and, when women are corrupted, O Varshenya (descendant of Vrishni), intermingling of castes arises.

According to the rules and regulations of fruitive activities, there is a need to offer periodical food and water to the forefathers of the family. This offering is performed by worship of Viṣṇu, because eating the…

Alas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.

It is the custom – according to kṣatriya fighting principles – that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, decided that even if attacked by the enemy in such an awkward position, he would…

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…

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…

Arjuna said, "O Madhusudana, how can I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of being worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?"

Respectable superiors like Bhīṣma the grandfather and Droṇācārya the teacher are always worshipable. Even if they attack, they should not be counterattacked. It is general etiquette that superiors are not to be offered…

To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.

The talk was going on between intimate friends, namely the Hṛṣīkeśa and the Guḍākeśa. As friends, both of them were on the same level, but one of them voluntarily became a student of the other. Kṛṣṇa was smiling because…

These bodies of the embodied Self, which are eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore, fight, O Arjuna.

-- Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the nature of the allpervading, immortal Self in a variety of ways and thus induces him to fight by removing his delusion, grief and despondency which are born of ignorance.

Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Arjuna! who are called to fight in such a battle that comes of its own accord as an open door to heaven.

The scriptures declare that if a Kshatriya dies for a righteous cause on the battlefield, he at once goes to heaven.

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.

The great chariot-warriors will think that you have withdrawn from the battle out of fear, and you will be held in low esteem by those who have held you in high regard.

Duryodhana and others will certainly think that you have fled from the battle from fear of Karna and others, but not through compassion and reverence for elders and teachers. Duryodhana and others who have shown great…

Slain, you will obtain heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the earth; therefore, stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight.

In either case you will be benefited. Therefore, stand up with the firm resolution I will conquer the enemy or die.

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.

Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in Yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success and failure; evenness of mind is called Yoga.

Dwelling in union with the Divine perform actions merely for Gods sake with a balanced mind in success and failure. Eilibrium is Yoga. The attainment of the knowledge of the Self through purity of heart obtained by doing…

Far lower than the Yoga of wisdom is action, O Arjuna. Seek thou refuge in wisdom; wretched are those whose motive is the fruit.

Action done with evenness of mind is Yoga of wisdom. The yogi who is established in the Yoga of widdom is not affected by success or failure. He does not seek fruits of his actions. He has poised reason. His reason is…