Self Help Books

"That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us—such is the central lesson of the Bhagavad-Gītā."

"The thought of the Gita is not pure Monism although it sees in one unchanging, pure, eternal Self the foundation of all cosmic existence, nor Mayavada although it speaks of the Maya of the three modes of Prakriti omnipresent in the created world; nor is it qualified Monism although it places in the One his eternal supreme Prakriti manifested in the form of the Jiva and lays most stress on dwelling in God rather than dissolution as the supreme state of spiritual consciousness; nor is it Sankhya although it explains the created world by the double principle of Purusha and Prakriti; nor is it Vaishnava Theism although it presents to us Krishna, who is the Avatara of Vishnu according to the Puranas, as the supreme Deity and allows no essential difference nor any actual superiority of the status of the indefinable relationless Brahman over that of this Lord of beings who is the Master of the universe and the Friend of all creatures. Like the earlier spiritual synthesis of the Upanishads this later synthesis at once spiritual and intellectual avoids naturally every such rigid determination as would injure its universal comprehensiveness. Its aim is precisely the opposite to that of the polemist commentators who found this Scripture established as one of the three highest Vedantic authorities and attempted to turn it into a weapon of offence and defence against other schools and systems. The Gita is not a weapon for dialectical warfare; it is a gate opening on the whole world of spiritual truth and experience and the view it gives us embraces all the provinces of that supreme region. It maps out, but it does not cut up or build walls or hedges to confine our vision."

"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."

"Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality."

"Where Krishna is the Master of combinations, where Partha is the wielder of the bow, there, I am convinced, would be glory, victory, growth and firm morality."

"I heard by grace of Vyasa of Krishna’s highest mystery, Yoga from the Lord of Yoga explaining personally."

"Krishna, my delusion is destroyed, And by your grace I have regained memory; I stand here, my doubt dispelled, ready to act on your words."

"And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reaction and attains to the planets where the pious dwell."

"Never share these truths with one who is without self-control or devotion, nor with one who won't share with others in a spirit of service, nor give them to one who is indifferent to them, or who finds fault with Me."

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear."

"All duty abandoning, to me, the sole refuge, come; i will liberate you from every sin, do not grieve."

"Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do."

"In him alone seek refuge with all thy being, Bharata; by his grace shalt thou win to peace supreme, the eternal resting place."

"O Arjuna, God resides in the hearts of all beings, directing their wanderings by the magical power of Māyā, on which they are seated as if it were a machine."

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy."

"If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditional life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost. If you do not act according to My direction and do not fight, then you will be falsely directed. By your nature, you will have to be engaged in warfare. Under illusion you are now declining to act according to My direction. But, compelled by your own nature, you will act all the same, O son of Kuntī."

"If, having recourse to self-conceit, thou thinkest--I will not fight,--that resolution of thine would be vain, (for) Nature will constrain thee. That which, from delusion, thou dost not wish to do, thou wilt do involuntarily, bound by thy own duty springing from (thy own) nature."

"Better is one's own duty though performed faultily than another's duty well-performed. Performing the duty prescribed by (one's own) nature, one incurreth no sin. One must not abandon, O son of Kunti, one's natural duty though tainted with evil, for all actions are enveloped by evil like fire by smoke."

"Acts of sacrifice, charity and austerity should not be abandoned, but should be performed; worship, charity, and also austerity, are the purifiers of even the 'wise'. But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment and the fruits, O Partha; this is my certain and best belief."

"Asceticism is giving up selfish activities as poets know & the wise declare renunciation is giving up fruits of action"

"What's the nature of asceticism, i want to know how's renunciation different"

"Pure men worship the Shining Ones; the passionate the gnomes and giants; the others, the dark folk, worship ghosts and troops of nature-spirits."

"Hell has three gates – lust, anger, and greed; for your own sake, Arjuna, give up these three."

"These cruel and wretched haters, the vilest of men, I continually cast into demoniac wombs in mortal worlds. Fallen into demoniac wombs, deluded birth after birth, O son of Kunti, they, instead of attaining to Me, tread the lowest path."

"Since I am wholly beyond the perishable world of matter or Ksetra, and am superior even to the imperishable soul, Jivatma, hence I am known as the Purushottama, the Supreme Self, in the world as well as in the Vedas."

"There are two Beings (Purushas) in the cosmos, the destructible and the indestructible. The creatures are the destructible, the Kutastha is the indestructible. But there exists Another, the Highest Being, designated the "Supreme Spirit"—the Eternal Lord who, permeating the three worlds, upholds them."

"It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinative faculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too."

"There is a fig tree In ancient story, The giant Aswattha, The everlasting, Rooted in heaven, Its branches earthward: Each of its leaves Is a song of the Vedas, And he who knows it Knows all the Vedas."

"Those who live in Sattva go upwards; those in rajas remain where they are. But those immersed in tamas sink downwards. The wise see clearly that all action is the work of the gunas. Knowing that which is above the gunas, they enter into union with me."

"O Arjuna! The Supreme Self, having no beginning, (no ending,) and no attributes, even though it dwells in a body (as a realized master), neither acts nor is touched by any action."

"This body, O Kaunteya, is called the Field; he who knows it is called knower of the Field by those who know. And understand Me to be, O Bharata, the knower of the Field in all the Fields; and the knowledge of the Field and the knower of the Field, I hold, is true knowledge."

"But those who adoringly pursue this undying religion (dharma) as heretofore declared, saturated with devotion, supremely engrossed in Me - such devotees are extremely dear to Me."

"He who is tranquil before friend and foe alike, and in encountering adoration and insult, and during the experiences of warmth and chill and of pleasure and suffering; who has relinquished attachment, regarding blame and praise in the same light; who is quiet and easily contented, not attached to domesticity, and of calm disposition and devotional - that person is dear to Me."

"He who feels neither rejoicing not loathing toward the glad nor the sad (aspects of phenomenal life), who is free from grief and cravings, who has banished the relative consciousness of good and evil, and who is intently devout - he is dear to Me."

"He who is free from worldly expectations, who is pure in body and mind, who is ever ready to work, who remains unconcerned with and unafflicted by circumstances, who has forsaken all ego initiated desireful undertakings - he is My devotee, dear to Me."

"A person who does not disturb the world and who cannot be disturbed by the world, who is free from exultation, jealousy, apprehension, and worry - he too is dear to Me."

"He who is free from hatred toward all creatures, is friendly and kind to all, is devoid of the consciousness of "I-ness" and possessiveness; is evenminded in suffering and joy, forgiving, ever contented; a regular yoga practitioner, constantly trying by yoga to know the Self and to unite with Spirit, possessed of firm determination, with mind and discrimination surrendered to Me - he is My devotee, dear to Me."

"Verily, wisdom (born from yoga practice) is superior to (mechanical) yoga practice; meditation is more desirable than the possession of (theoretical) wisdom; the relinquishment of the fruits of action is better than (the initial states of) meditation. Renunciation of the fruits of actions is followed immediately by peace."

"धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः ।मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत संजय ॥"

"But if even this constant remembering of Me and lifting up of your works to Me is felt beyond your power, then renounce all fruit of action with the self-controlled."

"If you are unable even to seek by practice, then be it your supreme aim to do My work; doing all actions for My sake, you shall attain perfection."

"And if you are not able to consciousness fixed steadily in Me, then by the Yoga of practice seek after Me, O Arjuna."

"On Me repose all your mind and lodge all thy understanding in Me; doubt not that you shall dwell in Me above this mortal existence."

"But those who giving up all their actions to Me, and wholly devoted to Me, worship meditating on me with an unswerving Yoga, those who fix on Me all their consciousness, O Paartha, speedily I deliver them out of the sea of death-bound existence."

"The difficulty of those who devote themselves to the search of the unmanifested Brahman is greater; it is a think to which embodied souls can only arrive by a constant mortification, a suffering of all the repressed members, a stern difficulty and anguish of the nature."

"But those who seek after the indefinable unmanifested, immutable, omnipresent, unthinkable, self-poised, immobile, constant, having subdued all their senses, unprejudiced, intent on the welfare of all beings - they too come to Me alone."

"The Blessed Lord said: Those who, fixing their minds on Me, adore Me, ever united to Me with supreme devotion, are in My eyes the perfect knowers of yoga."

"Which is considered to be more perfect, those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?"

"This My form, which you have seen, is very difficult to see. Even the gods always desire to see this form. It is not possible for any one to see Me, as you have seen Me, whether by Vedas, or by austerity, or by charity, or by Yajnās. O Arjuna! only by exclusive devotion, is it possible to thus acquire knowledge of Me, and O Parantapa! to enter Me essentially."

"Saying thus to Arjuna, Krishna revealed again his own familiar form. Having thus assumed that gentle form, the Exalted One comforted the awe-struck Arjuna over again."