Collection of 30 Bhagavad Gita Quotes on Life and Death

Shri Krishna explains the secrets of the universe and the purpose of mankind to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He also talks about life, religion, philosophy, and spirituality. Here is what Lord Krishna Says about life and death. All his lessons are compiled in Bhagavad Gita, a part of the great epic, Mahabharata.

Bhagavad Gita Quotes on Life and Death

Bhagavad Gita Quotes on Life and Death

  1. The states of sattva, rajas, and tamas come from me, but I am not in them.
  2. The three Gunas make up my divine Maya, difficult to overcome. But they cross over this Maya who takes refuge in me.
  3. Some come to the spiritual life because of suffering, some in order to understand life; some come through a desire to achieve life’s purpose, and some come who are men and women of wisdom. Unwavering in devotion, always united with me, the man or woman of wisdom surpasses all the others.
  4. After many births the wise seek refuge in me, seeing me everywhere and in everything. Such great souls are very rare.
  5. The world, deluded, does not know that I am without birth and changeless. I know everything about the past, the present, and the future, Arjuna; but there is no one who knows me completely.
  6. Delusion arises from the duality of attraction and aversion, Arjuna; every creature is deluded by these from birth.
  7. Those who see me ruling the cosmos, who see me in the Adhibhuta, the Adhidaiva, and the Adhiyajna, are conscious of me even at the time of death.
  8. The Lord is the supreme poet, the first cause, the sovereign ruler, subtler than the tiniest particle, the support of all, inconceivable, bright as the sun, beyond the darkness.
  9. Remembering me at the time of death, close down the doors of the senses, and place the mind in the heart. Then, while absorbed in meditation, focus all energy upwards to the head. Repeating in this state the divine name, the syllable Om that represents the changeless Brahman, you will go forth from the body and attain the supreme goal.
  10. I am easily attained by the person who always remembers me and is attached to nothing else. Such a person is a true yogi, Arjuna.
  11. Every creature in the universe is subject to rebirth, Arjuna, except the one who is united with me.
  12. The six months of the northern path of the sun, the path of light, of fire, of day, of the bright fortnight, leads knowers of Brahman to the supreme goal. The six months of the southern path of the sun, the path of smoke, of night, of the dark fortnight, leads other souls to the light of the moon and to rebirth.
  13. Under my watchful eye, the laws of nature take their course. This is the world set in motion; thus the animate and the inanimate are created.
  14. I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am true medicine and the Mantram. I am the offering and the fire which consumes it, and the one to whom it is offered.
  15. I am the father and mother of this universe and its grandfather too; I am its entire support. I am the sum of all knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om; I am the sacred scriptures, the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas.
  16. I am the goal of life, the Lord, and the support of all, the inner witness, the abode of all. I am the only refuge, the one true friend; I am the beginning, the staying, and the end of creation; I am the womb and the eternal seed.
  17. Those who follow the rituals given in the Vedas, who offer sacrifices and take soma, free themselves from evil and attain the vast heaven of the gods, where they enjoy celestial pleasures. When they have enjoyed these fully, their merit is exhausted and they return to this land of death. Thus observing Vedic rituals but caught in an endless chain of desires, they come and go.
  18. Those who worship me and meditate on me constantly, without any other thought – I will provide for all their needs.
  19. Those who worship the devas will go to the realm of the devas; those who worship their ancestors will be united with them after death. Those who worship phantoms will become phantoms, but my devotees will come to me. Those who worship the devas will go to the realm of the devas; those who worship their ancestors will be united with them after death. Those who worship phantoms will become phantoms, but my devotees will come to me.
  20. Fill your mind with me; love me; serve me; worship me always. Seeking me in your heart, you will, at last, be united with me.
  21. All the scriptures lead to me; I am their author and their wisdom.
  22. Bhishma, Drona, Jayadratha, Karna, and many others are already slain. Kill those whom I have killed. Do not hesitate. Fight in this battle and you will conquer your enemies.
  23. Not by knowledge of the Vedas, nor sacrifice, nor charity, nor rituals, nor even by severe asceticism has any other mortal seen what you have seen, O heroic Arjuna.
  24. Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is a surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace.
  25. Some realize the Self within them through the practice of meditation, some by the path of wisdom, and others by selfless service. Others may not know these paths; but hearing and following the instructions of an illumined teacher, they too go beyond death.
  26. The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, the brightness of the moon and of fire – these are my glory.
  27. Calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind. (BG 17.16)
  28. To refrain from selfish acts is one kind of renunciation, called sannyasa; to renounce the fruit of action is another, called Tyaga.
  29. By serving me with steadfast love, a man or woman goes beyond the Gunas. Such a one is fit for union with Brahman.
  30. When they see the variety of creation rooted in that unity and growing out of it, they attain fulfillment in Brahman.

Lord Krishna to Arjuna

Life and death are mere transitions in the journey of the eternal soul, an inseparable aspect of existence in the material world. Just as one discards old clothes and wears new ones, the soul discards an old body at the time of death and acquires a new one at the time of rebirth. This cycle of birth and death continues driven by one’s desires and karma until one attains Moksha, or liberation, transcending this cycle.

Remember, O Arjuna, the soul itself is eternal, unborn, undying, and timeless. It is neither born nor does it ever die. After having been, it again never ceases to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless, and ancient, it is not killed when the body is killed. Fear not death, for it is merely the shedding of a worn-out body by the eternal soul.

The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead. The ultimate goal is to realize this truth, to understand the impermanence of the physical body and the permanence of the soul, and to perform one’s duties without attachment, thereby achieving the eternal state of the soul.

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