When reality doesn't match expectations
Learn to hold expectations lightly and accept what is with grace. Find peace in the present moment.
Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana, ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango 'stv akarmani
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
Matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah, agamapayino 'nityas tams titikshasva bharata
O son of Kunti, the contact between the senses and sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are impermanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendant of Bharata, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
Yam hi na vyathayanty ete purusham purusharshabha, sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram so 'mritatvaya kalpate
O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.
Duhkhesv anudvigna-manah sukhesu vigata-sprhah, vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate
One who is not disturbed in spite of miseries, who doesn't crave happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
Yadriccha-labha-santushtho dvandvatito vimatsarah, samah siddhav asiddhau ca kritvapi na nibadhyate
Content with whatever comes of its own accord, free from duality, without envy, equal in success and failure — even while acting, such a person is not bound.
Na prahrisyet priyam prapya nodvijet prapya capriyam, sthira-buddhir asammudho brahma-vid brahmani sthitah
One who is not elated upon receiving the pleasant and not disturbed upon receiving the unpleasant, with steady intellect and undeluded — such a knower of Brahman is established in Brahman. Emotional equanimity in both pleasure and pain is the sign of the Brahman-knower.
Sukha-duhkhe same kritva labhalabhau jayajayau, tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam papam avapsyasi
Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin.
Adveshta sarva-bhutanam maitrah karuna eva cha, nirmamo nirahankarah sama-duhkha-sukhah kshami
One who is not envious but a kind friend to all living entities, free from proprietorship and false ego, equal in happiness and distress, forgiving.
Santushṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ, mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Ever content, steadfast in meditation, self-controlled, and of firm resolve, with mind and intellect offered to Me—such devotees are very dear to Me.
Jitatmanah prasantasya paramatma samahitah, shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu tatha manapamanayoh
One who has conquered the mind has already reached the Supreme Self, for they have attained tranquility. To such a person, happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.
Bahya-sparseshv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham, sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham akshayam ashnute
Those who are not attached to external sense pleasures realize divine bliss in the self. Being united with God through meditation, they experience unending happiness.
Asakta-buddhih sarvatra jitatma vigata-sprihah, naishkarmya-siddhim paramam sannyasenadhigacchati
Those whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who have mastered the self and are free from desires, attain through renunciation the supreme state of freedom from action.
Raga-dvesha-vimuktais tu vishayan indriyaish caran atma-vashyair vidheyatma prasadam adhigacchati
But a person free from all attachment and aversion, able to control the senses through regulative principles of freedom, can obtain the full mercy of the Lord. One who engages with sense objects with controlled senses, free from attraction and repulsion, attains prasada — divine grace and serenity of mind.
Prasade sarva-duhkhanam hanir asyopajayate prasanna-cetaso hy ashu buddhih paryavatishthate
For one thus satisfied in divine grace, the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; and in such pleasant consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established. The serene mind rapidly establishes itself in wisdom. Inner peace (prasada) is not merely pleasant — it is the very ground from which steady wisdom grows.
Mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa, nirashir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigata-jvarah
Therefore, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on the self, free from desire and possessiveness, and cured of mental fever, fight.
Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah
Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.
Yatroparamate chittam niruddham yoga-sevaya, yatra chaivatmanatmanam pashyann atmani tushyati
When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains quietude, and when beholding the self by the self, one is satisfied in the self.
Yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate cha yaḥ, harṣhāmarṣha-bhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa cha me priyaḥ
One by whom the world is not disturbed, and who is not disturbed by the world, who is free from joy, envy, fear, and anxiety — such a one is dear to Me.
Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na shochati na kankshati, samah sarveshu bhuteshu mad-bhaktim labhate param
One who is thus transcendentally situated realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. Such a person never laments nor desires anything, is equal to all beings, and attains supreme devotion to Me.
Read slowly and contemplate. Don't rush through these verses. Pick one that resonates and sit with it for a few minutes.
Return regularly. Ancient wisdom reveals itself gradually. Come back to these verses when you need them.
Apply to your situation. Consider how each teaching relates specifically to what you're experiencing right now.
Share what helps. If a verse brings you peace or clarity, share it with others who might need it.