Bhagavad gita quotes by famous people
Introduction
In this materialistic world, everyone looks for happiness and inner peace of mind. In India, where more than 30% of the population is below poverty line, thanks to the slavery of British rule and corrupt politicians, most of the Indians feels that inner peace of mind comes from money while the wealthy people of western countries who are rich in materialistic comforts and pleasures, comes to India to seek inner peace of mind. Since the continuous slavery of British rule over two centuries has devoid us of all materialistic comforts and pleasures, we feel that only money can give us happiness but go and ask the wealthy people of the west if money has given them eternal happiness and peace of mind. If money has given them happiness, then what is the need of doing yoga and chanting mantras? I get more visitors from US than India because US citizens are looking for internal peace whereas most of the Indians are looking ways to earn money and don’t give a damn about their past history, traditions and cultural values.
Why all humans should read bhagavad gita?
Modern humans need an effective guide to enlighten their soul, mind and body so as to attain true inner peace of mind. Modern materialistic humans sees problem everywhere and is not able to find an effective solution for their problems. As a result, their mind goes into distress mode and they take a decision that further deteriorates the situation. In short, modern human’s life is filled with unhappiness, restlessness and complication. This is where bhagavad gita comes to rescue.
Highly dignified wisdom and practical teachings contains the answers of very problem. This is the reason why Mahatma Gandhi said “When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.” This means that whenever Mahatma Gandhi read bhagavad gita then every time he found something new to ponder at.
How can bhagavad gita provide me eternal blis?
Bhagavad gita is an effective guide that has and continues to enlighten the mind and soul of many individuals. They forget all the problems of the past and take a bold decision to progress toward a bright future. Bhagavd gita is not a religious Hindu holy book nor an old scripture, It’s a universal scripture that contains the divine wisdom of the god that address mankind of all times, helps human to broaden their thoughts, give strength to face and solve the problems of their life, birth and death, fear, lust, attraction, suffering, bondage, love, hate, ego, anxiety etc. The philosophy and teaching of bhagavad gita transcends the physical and mental boundaries of communities, race and religion. Eighteen dramatically written eighteen chapters of Bhagavad Gita presents sublime thoughts and instructions on Yoga, Karma and Bhakti that removes sorrow, breakdown, dejection etc and gives strength, clarity and understanding to attain true inner peace.
One of the gita verse I like the most is “Desires and lust are not destroyed when fulfilled”. Just like the sunrays outshine the light spread by earthen lamp, defuse the lust, desires and attraction by highly thoughts in the same way. Desires are the outcome of selfish attraction.
Bhagavad gita in business schools and corporate circle
These are the reason why bhagavad gita is added in curriculum of many leading business schools such as kellogs, IIM’s IIPM, etc. Moreover, bhagavad gita lessons are also given in many corporate companies that include Microsoft, HP, Google etc.
More on bhagavad gita in corporate circles will be discussed in a separate article.
Sadly, incorporating bhagavad gita lessons is not taught in schools of our own country because politicians will brand you as non secular so as to woo minority votes. If BJP impose bhagavad gita lessons in schools then congress blames BJP of being a non-secular party plus thousands of mullahs protest against the wise decision taken by BJP. If you are talking of Hinduism in a country where 80% of population is Hindus, then you are not a secular person. On the other hand, if you are minority then it’s ok even if you bring disrespect to national flag and national anthem
How easily the politicians continue to mock our constitution and country and fools out all the stupid voters?
Quotes by eminent philosophers and scientists
Enough of introduction on gita!! Let me directly trigger the gun. Several eminent personalities from all over the world were inspired by the philosophy of bhagavad gita and had talked in breadth and depth about bhagavad gita. Some of their quotes are:
Albert Einstein:
Albert Einstein (well known as the greatest scientist of all times), the progenitor of theory of relativity, said the following words about bhagavad gita
“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”
Albert Einstein rejected the biblical definition of god and was a well known atheist until he was given philosophy lessons by rabindranth Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi.
Also read
Conversation between Einstein and Tagore-Science vs religion
Albert Einstein and rabindranath tagore
He was greatly inspired by eastern philosophy which is very evident from his quote as shown below:
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the 'Universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." - New York Post, 28 November 1972
Above you can see that Einstein is talking about Indian concept of consciousness, illusion (Maya), affection for all living creatures (vegetarianism etc). He also said
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
Obviously, he wanted to tell that religion and science is not separate and should co-exist together. Even Vedas says the same.
Mahatma Gandhi:
Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter and political leader, well known for non-violence, said the following words about bhagavad gita
“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.
The Bhagavad-Gita calls on humanity to dedicate body, mind and soul to pure duty and not to become mental voluptuaries at the mercy of random desires and undisciplined impulses.”
Henry David Thoreau:
American author, poet, philosopher and historian, said the following words about bhagavad gita
“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.”
“I would say to the readers of the Scriptures, if they wish for a good book, read the Bhagvat-Geeta translated by Charles Wilkins. It deserves to be read with reverence even by Yankees...."Besides the Bhagvat-Geeta, our Shakespeare seems sometimes youthfully green.”
Dr. Albert Schweitzer:
German musician, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary in Africa, said the following words about bhagavad gita
“The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions.”
Swami Vivekananda:
Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 - 4 July 1902) was an Indian Hindu monk, credited to bring Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. He got the standing ovation for his inspiring speech at Chicago in 1893. HeeH said the following words about bhagavad gita
“The Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Vedas and the Upanishads.”
“The secret of karma yoga which is to perform actions without any fruitive desires is taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita.”
“Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to all the three is renunciation. Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for every desire related with body and mind creates bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self itself.”
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
Born on 27 September 1953), she is a Hindu spiritual leader, widely known for her humanitarian activities. Commonly known as Amma, she is best described as "The Hugging Saint”. She holds the world record for hugging maximum number of people across communities, caste, creed religion etc. she said the following words about bhagavad gita. Check amma hugging the world in below video
“Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis.”
Carl Jung:
Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology, said the following words about bhagavad gita
“The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states...” behold us is not an earthly but a heavenly plant. This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.”
Prime Minister Nehru:
India first Prime Minister and a central figure in Indian independence movement, father of indira Gandhi, grandfather of rajiv Gandhi, said the following words about bhagavad gita
The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.
Herman Hesse:
Receiver of Nobel Prize in literature, Herman Hesse was a German-born, Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 - April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.”
“The Bhagavad-Gita is an empire of thought and in its philosophical teachings Krishna has all the attributes of the full-fledged montheistic deity and at the same time the attributes of the Upanisadic absolute.”
Rudolph Steiner:
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (25 February 1861- 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.”
Aldous Huxley:
An English author, Aldous Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the eminent intellectuals of his time. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.”
Dr. Annie Besant
Annie Besant (1 October 1847 - 20 September 1933) was a prominent British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist , writer and orator. She said the following words about bhagavad gita
“It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights where desires are dead, and where the yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fell to his lot in life.”
Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 - 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of theUniversity of Berlin. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“I read the Indian poem for the first time when I was in my country estate in Silesia and, while doing so, I felt a sense of overwhelming gratitude to God for having let me live to be acquainted with this work. It must be the most profound and sublime thing to be found in the world.”
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888 - 17 April 1975) was an Indian philosopher and first vice president of india. Second President of India in 1962, his birthday is widely celebrated as teacher’s Day.
“Though everything else is taken away from him, though he has to walk the streets, cold, hungry and alone, though he may know no human being into whose eyes he can look and find understanding, he shall yet be able to go his way with a smile on his lips, for he has gained inward freedom”
Lokmanya Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (23 July 1856 - 1 August 1920), was an journalist, teacher, social reformer ,lawyer and the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement . The British colonial authorities called him "Father of the Indian unrest". He was also conferred with the honorary title of "Lokmanya", which literally means "Accepted by the people (as their leader)". He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life as early as possible in one’s life.”
Sri Aurobindo:
Sri Aurobindo (15 August 1872 - 5 December 1950) was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru and poet. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“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.”
M. M. Malaviya
Madan Mohan Malaviya(1861-1946) was an Indian educationist, and freedom fighter notable for his role in theIndian independence movement. He said the following words about bhagavad gita
“I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world’s literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind.”
Quotes by Indian saints and seers
I end this article with few more quotes from popular Indian saints and seers
1) The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna’s primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity.- Ramanuja
2) The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigration of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord.-Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
3) From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures. - Adi Shankara
4) The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers.- Madhvacarya
5) Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone- Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
6) The Bhagavad-Gita is where God Himself talks to His devotee Arjuna. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
7) Seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be known!' For such a person knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning: Have you knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant.As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is ignorance.-Sri Ramakrishna.
8) The Bhagavadita is not only a song of life but also is the music of the universe and it stands like a great lamp- Sriranga Sadguru
9) Science describes the structures and processes; philosophy attempts at their explanation. When such a perfect combination of both science and philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna was, we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the head and heart.- Swami Chinmayanand
10) The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaisnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigration of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord. - Sri Swami Prabhupada
11) Nothing has ever arisen in my life, internal or external, that the Gita has not made clear and enabled me to deal with or understand. -Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Conclusion:
Moral of the article is “Read Bhagavad and enlighten your soul”. Don’t read Bhagavad gita and remain trapped in materialistic desires, pleasures, comforts, loot, ego, lust, attraction, suffering, bondage etc. Bhagavad gita is the only effective guide that continues to enlighten the mind and soul of many eminent intellectuals. Be wise in your thinking and actions.
Note: Images used on this website
are either a production of Bhaktivedanta Book Trust(https://www.krishna.com), Iskcon
Foundation or were found in google search under "Free to use and share". If any
of the images presented here violates copyright issues or infringes anyone copyright
or are not under "Fair use", then please bring it to our notice. Read
Disclaimer for more.
Share this to your friends. One of your friend is
waiting for your share.
Related Articles
Hindu mantras for wealth and abundance
Chhath Puja - World oldest festival dedicated to sun god
Does kung fu has its origin in india
Living in an illusionist world-Part 2
Living in an illusionist world-Part 1
Bhagavad gita quotes by famous people
Science in Hinduism-Theory of perception
How homosexuality is unnatural
Why humans are naturally herbivorous
Post Comment