Hear My definitive judgment in this matter of relinquishment, O best of the Bharatas; O tiger among men, relinquishment is declared to be of three kinds.
Browse topics
Source
The Bhagavad Gita, translated and commentated by S. Radhakrishnan, is one of the most scholarly and accessible English renderings of Hinduism's most beloved scripture — the dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Radhakrishnan, philosopher and statesman, brings both rigorous intellectual insight and genuine spiritual depth to his translation and notes. This edition is treasured for its ability to illuminate the Gita's universal spiritual teaching across cultural and philosophical boundaries.
- Author
- Krishna
- Tradition
- Hindu
- Source text
- Bhagavad Gita
- Chapter
- Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18
- Verse / page
- BG.18.4
- Topics
- RenunciationWisdomDiscernment
Same theme, different voices
The sages, united with pure reason, renounce the results of their actions and, liberated from the cycle of birth, they attain a state of bliss.
It will happen that God will guide the soul through a difficult path of dark contemplation and dryness, making it feel lost. The soul will be filled with darkness, trials, and temptations. It may encounter someone who, like Job's comforters, will say that it's suffering from sadness, low spirits, or a negative attitude, or that it may have a hidden sin, and that's why God has abandoned it.
A devotee serves selflessly, just like a player in a game who doesn't give up despite being hit. The devotee continues to serve with increased enthusiasm, even in the face of adversity.
He can serve God Almighty only when he cuts off all his selfish interests relating either to this world or to the next, and worships God absolutely for His sake alone, inasmuch as whoever worships God for anything's sake worships himself and not God.