400 BC, Sanskrit Poem Incorporated Into the Mahabharata
A man's own self is his friend. A man's own self is his foe.
Bhagavad Gita – [Conflict]
Action is the product of the qualities inherent in nature.
Bhagavad Gita – [Action]
Action should culminate in wisdom.
Bhagavad Gita – [Wisdom]
As person abandons worn-out clothes and acquires new ones, so when the body is worn out a new one is acquired by the Self, who lives within.
Bhagavad Gita – [Self-discovery]
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace.
Bhagavad Gita – [Knowledge]
But they for whom I am the supreme goal, who do all work renouncing self for me and meditate on me with single-hearted devotion, these I will swiftly rescue from death's vast sea, for their consciousness has entered into me.
Bhagavad Gita – [Consciousness]
Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.
Bhagavad Gita – [Death and Dying]
Even as a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise can draw in their senses at will.
Bhagavad Gita – [Choice]
Fear not what is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed.
Bhagavad Gita – [Reality]
For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.
Bhagavad Gita – [Honor]
For those who wish to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work. For those who have attained the summit of union with the Lord, the path is stillness and peace.
Bhagavad Gita – [Peace of Mind]
Governing sense, mind and intellect, intent on liberation, free from desire, fear and anger, the sage is forever free.
Bhagavad Gita – [Freedom]
He is not elevated by good fortune or depressed by bad. His mind is established in God, and he is free from delusion.
Bhagavad Gita – [Mind]
I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them.
Bhagavad Gita – [Nature]
It is better to do thine own duty, however lacking in merit, than to do that of another, even though efficiently. It is better to die doing one's own duty, for to do the duty of another is fraught with danger.
Bhagavad Gita – [Danger]
Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as the embryo rests deep within the womb, wisdom is hidden by selfish desire.
Bhagavad Gita – [Selfishness]
Little by little, through patience and repeated effort, the mind will become stilled in the Self.
Bhagavad Gita – [Patience]
Living creatures are nourished by food, and food is nourished by rain; rain itself is the water of life, which comes from selfless worship and service.
Bhagavad Gita – [Service]
Neither in this world nor elsewhere is there any happiness in store for him who always doubts.
Bhagavad Gita – [Doubt]
O Krishna, the stillness of divine union which you describe is beyond my comprehension. How can the mind, which is so restless, attain lasting peace? Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent; trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind.
Bhagavad Gita – [Spirit and Spirituality]