Bhagavad Gita: Life Lessons on Dharma, Detachment, Knowledge & the Self

The Bhagavad Gita is the story of Arjuna in Dharma sankat — a dilemma of duties for the different roles we must play in life. Arjuna, the warrior prince, is caught between competing duties, relationships and emotions. The people he must fight are his teachers, relatives and loved ones. 

Below are some of the most important answers for life through Krishna’s answers to Arjuna. 

Detach outside. Attach inside. — Bhagavad Gita 2.47–48

In asking Arjuna to do his duty, Krishna is asking him to understand what his role demands in that moment, and how to act without becoming imprisoned by the outcome.

The idea is not to withdraw from life, but to stop making external outcomes the source of inner stability.

Engage fully with the world, but anchor yourself in something deeper than success, failure, praise or disappointment. And this is yoga, maintaining equanimity in success and failure. That is what makes Gita so relevant to ordinary life.

Am I acting as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a professional — or simply as myself? What does this particular role require of me right now?

The answer may change with the situation, but the discipline is the same. Understand your dharma, steady your mind, act without attachment, and look inward for what is lasting.

It’s no surprise that the Bhagavad Gita starts with the word dharma and ends with Mama. So, Gita is about Mama Dharma, Swadharma.

The mind can be your friend or your enemy. — Bhagavad Gita 6.5–6

One of the Gita’s most enduring ideas is that the mind can be either your greatest friend or your greatest enemy. The work, therefore, is not merely to control the world outside us but to cultivate the mind within.

Surrender to Me alone; I shall liberate you. Do not grieve. — Bhagavad Gita 18.66

This is the culmination of Krishna’s teaching. After discussing action, knowledge, duty, renunciation and devotion throughout the Gita, Krishna ultimately asks Arjuna to surrender to the Divine completely. Be freedom from the burden of trying to resolve everything through your own limited understanding.

The Self is never born, nor does it die. — Bhagavad Gita 2.20

The body changes, circumstances change, relationships change, but the Atman is understood as eternal. This is the philosophical foundation for fearlessness: we are more than the temporary roles we occupy.

In this world, there is nothing so purifying as knowledge. — Bhagavad Gita 4.38

Questioning everything is our duty, and the eternal quest for the ultimate Truth is our Dharma.

There are many other quotes from the Gita that can change the way you live. Explore them and don’t stick to this short list. After all, mimamsa is a very important part of Hinduism and inquiry is an integral part of our spiritual journey.

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About Sanatana Dharma

ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः॥

Brahman alone is real; the universe is mithya – neither fully real nor unreal, but an appearance. The individual self (jiva) is none other than Brahman itself, not separate or different. This is the true teaching of the scriptures, as revealed by Vedanta. ~ Verse 20 from Brahma Jnānavali Māla