Spiritual Message for the Day – Verses from The Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda
Baba Times Digest© | 5 June 2014 17:28 EST | New York Edition
Verses from The Bhagavadgita
Divine Life Society Publication: - The Canons of a Perfect Life by Swami Krishnananda
(Comprehensive Selections from the Bhagavadgita – Chapters 1-6)
Be Bold and Not Cowardly. The Blessed Lord said:
Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand Up, O scorcher of the foes! (II.3)
Life and Death Mean the Same Thing
Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead. (II.11)
The Soul Is Deathless
Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter. (II.12)
Know That to be Indestructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable. (II.17)
This Self cannot be cut, burnt, wetted, nor dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable and ancient. (II.24)
Bear Pain with Courage
The contacts of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end; they are impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna. (II.14)
Grieve Not for Anyone
This, the Indweller in the body of everyone, is ever indestructible, O Arjuna; therefore, thou shouldst not grieve for any creature. (II.30)
Treat Pleasure and Pain As Equal
Having made pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat the same, engage thou in battle (for the sake of duty); thus thou shalt not incur sin. (II.38)
Duty Is Not to Be Confused with Personal Benefit
Thy right is to work only, but never with its fruits; let not the fruits of the action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction. (II.47)
A Balanced Outlook Is Called Yoga
Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in Yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success and failure. Evenness of mind is called Yoga. (II.48)
Yoga Is Dexterity in the Performance of Work
Endowed with wisdom (evenness of mind), one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds; therefore, devote thyself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action. (II.50)
Contentment Is the Mark of Greatness and Genius
When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to be of steady wisdom. (II.55)
Inaction Is Contrary to Nature
Verily, none can ever remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly indeed by the qualities born of Nature. (III.5)
Action Not Involving Self-sacrifice Is Binding
The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of sacrifice; do thou, therefore; O son of Kunti (Arjuna), perform action for that sake (for sacrifice alone), free from attachment. (III.9)
Set an Ideal Example to Others
Whatsoever a great man does, that other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows. (III.21)
Do Not Disturb the Faith of Others
Let no wise one unsettle the mind of ignorant people who are attached to action; he should engage them in all actions, himself fulfilling them with devotion. (III.26)
You Are Not the Doer of Deeds, But Nature Is the Real Doer
All actions are wrought in all cases by the qualities of Nature only. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks, "I am the doer." (II.27)
Offer Your Performances As a Dedication to God
Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centered in the Self, free from expectation and egoism and (mental) agony, do thou fight. (III.30)
Doing One's Own Duty Is Better than Dabbling in Others', for Which One Is Not Meant
Better is one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear. (III.35)
Selfish Impulses Can Be Overcome by Resort to the Supreme Being
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I manifest Myself in every age. (IV.8)
Sankhya and Yoga
He who has renounced the sense of doership by means of Yoga, who has destroyed all doubts by knowledge, who is established in the Self, him actions do not bind, O Dhananjaya. (IV.41)
Children, not wise ones, regard Sankhya and Yoga as different from each other; (in fact) one who is established in one obtains the results of both. (V.4)
Without Yoga (of non-attachment) establishment in Sannyasa (relinquishment of action) is hard to attain; the sage established in Yoga quickly reaches Brahman. (V.6)
One who is harmonized in Yoga, of purified self, self-controlled, of subdued senses, whose self has become the Self of all beings, although acting, is not tainted (or affected in any way). (V.7)
With understanding fixed in That, self-absorbed in That, rooted (entirely) in That, seeking That alone - they go whence there is no return (to mortal life), having cleansed themselves with wisdom (of Truth). (V.17)
Shutting off all external contacts (through the senses), with gaze fixed between the eyebrows, equalizing the ingoing and outgoing breaths within the nostrils, with senses, mind and intellect firmly restrained, the sage, intent on the final liberation alone, casting off all impulses of desire, fear and anger, is, verily, liberated at all times. (V.27, 28)
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of the fruits of all sacrifices and austerities, the Mighty Lord of all the worlds, Friend of all beings, one attains to Peace. (V.29)
Renunciation and Work Are Identical
Do thou, O Arjuna, know Yoga (detached work) to be the same as that which they call renunciation; no one verily becomes a Yogi who has not renounced creative willing. (VI.2)
Self-help Is the Road to Achievement
One should raise oneself by one's Self alone; let not one lower oneself; for the Self alone is the friend of oneself, and the Self alone is the enemy of oneself. (VI.5)
The Self is the friend of the self of him by whom the self has been conquered by the Self; but to the unsubdued self the Self will act as a hostile enemy. (VI.6)
Moderation in Life Is Yoga
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. (VI.16)
Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for him who is moderate in eating and recreation, who is moderate in exertion in actions, who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness. (VI.17)
Surrender to God and Faith in His Omnipresence Is the Primary Principle of All-round Attainment in Life
One who is harmonized in Yoga sees the Self as abiding in all beings and all beings in the Self, beholding the same everywhere. (VI.29)
He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, from him I never get separated, nor does he become separated from Me. (VI.30)
He who, being established in unity, worships Me Who dwell in all beings, that Yogi abides in Me, whatever may be his mode of living. (VI.31)
He who, beholding identity everywhere with the Self, O Arjuna, sees equality everywhere, be it pleasure or pain, he is regarded as the highest Yogi. (VI.32)
No Perfection Possible Without Control of Mind
I think Yoga is hard to be attained by one of uncontrolled self, but the self-controlled and striving one can attain to it by adopting proper means. (VI.36)
Excerpts from:
Verses from The Bhagavadgita (Chapters 1-6) - The Canons of a Perfect Life by Swami Krishnananda
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