Lord Krishna is the symbol of Love, Wisdom, and Life. Being the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, he conveyed the Bhagavad Gita (Epic Hindu Song)to Arjuna (representation of ourselves) when he was reluctant to kill his kin (our negative attributes) at the battlefield (representing our bodies)of Mahabharta. The 700 verses of Bhagavad Gita represent the way of life based on love, wisdom, and intellect. The sayings of Lord Krisna are inspirational to humankind and contains a vast sea of knowledge. No matter whether you read the book or not; still you can relate to each quote from lord Krisna.
Lord Krishna Quotes in English
The words of Lord Krishna shows us the path of moksha(freedom) and the truth of life as well. Krisna’s verses given during Mahabharata known as The Bhagavad Gita will change your perspective towards life.
Here are 20 of Krisna’s best quotes:
1. “Set your Heart upon your work, But Never its Reward”
These quotes are right out of the Bhagavad Gita and this one is one of my favorites. Right action is the road to burning off your Karma and the way we do that is by doing what is in front of us without regard to compensation. Work from your heart and all will flow back unto you.
2. “No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come”
Sometimes we have to wait a bit to reap the rewards of our good deeds, and sometimes we do not. Either way we must believe that all we do from right action will end in prosperity.
3. “The Key to Happiness is Reduction of Desires”
No one likes this quote! But to release ourselves from desires we release ourselves from suffering. This does not mean we can not enjoy the good things in life, it just means we should not be thinking about those things all of the time. Moderation, and contentment with what we have.
4. “If You Don’t Fight for What You Want, Don’t Cry for What You Lost”
This is kind of obvious, but it's a nice reminder as well.
5. “Why Do You Worry Unnecessarily? Whom Do You Fear? Who Can Kill You? The Soul is Neither Born nor Dies”
This is actually my favorite quote in the Gita! It is written a bit differently but it means the same. It means that if you have faith in God, then why do you worry? Why do you fear death? Life? God/Krisna has breathed life into you and will also decide when that breath will be released, it is not up to you, there is nothing that God needs from us for this to happen. He will decide, we need not worry. We need not fear. We just need to do what is in front of us and know that all is as it should be.
6. “Man is Made by His Belief. As He Believes, so He Is”
We are the creators of this reality we call life. You don't like it? Change your perception and all will follow you. Not an easy concept to believe, but its worth looking into it for what you may attain!
7. “The Self-Controlled Soul, who Moves Amongst Sense Objects, Free from Either Attachment or Repulsion, He Wins Eternal Peace”
This means the person that has attained a level of control of this reality/illusion of life through meditation. This is a person that is no longer controlled by their desires, but has control over all of them. This person will live in peace in this life and all the ones that come.
8. “Calmness, Gentleness, Silence, Self-Restraint, and Purity: These are the Disciplines of the Mind”
If you don't know what this means, just sit down and begin to meditate, remain in complete stillness and watch as your mind goes crazy to gain control of you and all you do. Most of us are not in control of our minds, it only takes a few moments of meditation to show us this. Meditation is the discipline of the mind, emotions and the body.
9. “Change is the Law of the World. In a Moment You Become the Owner of Millions, In the other You Become Penniless”
The only constant is change, let all else go. Suffering comes to those that hold on too tight!
10. “As You Put on Fresh New Clothes and Take off Those You’ve Worn, You’ll Replace Your Body with a Fresh One, Newly Born”
This speaks of Samsara, the never ending cycle of Life, Death and Rebirth. Lives are as aplenty as the clothes we change on a daily basis. Don't worry so much about your wardrobe, there are plenty more clothes to wear. Worry more on how to stop this cycle and attain peace and a great wardrobe!
11. “Fear Not, What is Not Real, Never was and Never will Be. What is Real, Always was and can not be Destroyed”
The tricky part is figuring out what is real and not real!!! When I figure it out I will let you know!
12. “To those Who Have Conquered Themselves, the Will is a Friend. But it is the Enemy of Those Who have not Found the Self within Them”
This is a difficult quote, not only to understand but mostly to attain. To conquer the Ego is a very difficult thing to do, usually takes life times, if that. It will be our enemy for all of those lives. But for those that have conquered it, through meditation, have found a friend indeed.
13. “No One Should Abandon Duties because He Sees Defects in Them. Every Action, Every Activity is Surrounded by Defects as Fire is Surrounded by Smoke”
Our duties are our Karma that needs to be burnt off! All we can do is do what is in front of us and not look upon it as a defect, or bad luck! Its not bad luck, it karma! These are the things we need to do to pay for our “bad” deeds in our past lives. Do your duties with an open heart, and know that this is but little compensation for acts previously done. The sooner we see it as such, the more quickly we move past them.
14. “Happiness is a State of Mind, that has Nothing to Do with External World”
I think that most of us know this already, but it is nice to be reminded of it every once in a while.
15. “It is Better to Live Your Own Destiny Imperfectly than to Live an Imitation of Somebody Else’s Life with Perfection”
Yep! Live your life! Burn your own Karma! Release yourself of coveting others lives, looks, possession! Stop suffering!
16. “Tat Tvam Asi: The Self in Each Person is Not Different from the Godhead”
This is also called the Atman, it is the God that exists in perfection within all of us. It is our soul. Forever living, never ending and always perfection. You are perfection.
17. “Pleasure from the Senses Seems like Nectar at First, but it is Bitter as Poison in the End”
This goes back to desire and releasing oneself from it. If you experience something so pleasurable in life, that you spend the rest of your life trying to attain it again, recreate it again, feel it again, you will live your life with suffering and emptiness. This is one of the basics truths behind our suffering.
18. “The Gift is Pure When it is Given from the Heart to the Right Person at the Right Time & the Right Place, and We Expect Nothing in Return”
You will understand this when you have done it. I have learned a long time ago that it is so much easier and more pleasurable to give for the sake of giving, and never to expect anything in return. When we expect something in return we are actually taking from the person we most wanted to give to. Give from the heart, because that is what is right.
19. “Reshape Yourself Through the Power of Your Will; Never Let Yourself be Degraded by Self-Will. The Will is the Only Friend of the Self, and the Will is the Only Enemy of the Self”
These are kind of like tongue twisters for the mind! This is again speaking of the Ego, it will either lead you to selfish acts or bring you to exalted state of being. Find the path to gaining control over the ego and attaining peace. The path is through stillness, through silence, through meditation.
20. ”When a Person Responds to the Joys and Sorrows of Others as if They Were His Own, He has Attained the Highest State of Spiritual Union”
This is the most beautiful state of attainment, when all of your prayers and thoughts are for the wellbeing of others and you are empathetic to the sorrows of the world and think little of your own woes. This is not an easy state to attain, but we can all try to add someone else to our prayers, other than ourselves and family. Add someone you may have heard about on the news, or through work that may be suffering. Continue this practice of praying for others and humanity and you will see the greatest beauties this world has to offer.
I hope these quotes have inspired you to be the person you have always meant to be!
Thank you and Namaste
Thanks Berta, great quotes. I'm sure there's enough in the Gita for another twenty more!