W. Douglas P. Hill Quotes

On the empiric plane the Gītā teaches theism; it is not, then, surprising to find—still on the empiric plane—an emphasis on ethics absent from the earlier Upaniṣads. Krishna is never weary of telling Arjuna to be virtuous; his own sympathies are decidedly on the side of righteousness; it is to reestablish right when wrong prevails that he takes birth as man.

If the aim of life is to escape from life, the watchword of life must be Control. For if the wandering senses are allowed to dwell unchecked on objects of sense, attachment to those objects will arise and cause continual rebirth. The evil must be checked at its source; mind and sense must be restrained. Control, or balance of character, is called Yoga.

The author of the Gītā is interested in man and his destiny; for man is the centre of creation. Brahman, it is true, dwells equally in every living creature; but to man is given a gift denied even to the Lords of Heaven—man alone in all creation's scale can win release.

Better a man's own duty, though ill-done, than another's duty well-performed; if a man do the duty his own nature bids him, he incurs no stain.

Thus spoke Arjuna on the field of battle, and sat down upon the chariot seat, dropping his arrows and his bow, his soul o'erwhelmed with grief.

There seems to be a general consensus of opinion among modern scholars that the Bhagavadgītā, as it now appears in the Epic, is not an original poem composed by a single hand, but an ancient work, rewritten and enlarged. But all are not agreed as to the history of the poem's composition.

The Lord, O Arjuna, dwells in the heart of every being, and by his delusive power spins round all beings set on the machine.

The Bhagavadgītā presents the doctrine that Kṛiṣṇa Vāsudeva, who helped the Pāṇḍava princes at the battle of Kurukṣetra as Arjuna's charioteer, was Supreme God, a descent of the Absolute into the world of men. Kṛiṣṇa is called Bhagavat, and the poem is a product of the Bhāgavata or Vāsudeva sect, which at the time of its composition was beginning to identify Kṛiṣṇa with Viṣṇu.

The senseless think that I am the unmanifest that has come to manifestation;<small>(the meaning of 24 is most uncertain; commentators vary widely in their interpretations...)</small> they do not know my higher being, immutable, supreme.

For better is knowledge than constant practice; and than knowledge meditation is more excellent; than meditation, abandonment of the fruit of work; after abandonment, peace ensues.

If Dhṛtarāṣṭra's men, with weapons in their hands, should slay me in the fight, unresisting and unarmed, that were happier for me!

More excellent than the austere, more excellent even than men of knowledge is the Ascetic deemed; more excellent than workers is the Ascetic; therefore be thou Ascetic, Arjuna.

Doom am I, that causes worlds to perish, matured and here come forth to destroy the worlds; even apart from thee <small>(i.e. even without thine action. Th. (J. C. Thomson, 1855) translates: 'except thee,' and complains that the prophecy was not fulfilled.)</small> not one of the warriors drawn up in ranks opposing shall survive.

For the saint who seeks to scale the heights of control work is said to be the means; when that same man has scaled the heights of control, quietude is said to be the means.

To Vivasvat I expounded this immutable doctrine of control; to Manu did Vivasvat declare it; Manu told it to Ikṣvāku.