Now hear from Me the threefold nature of happiness, O best of the Bharatas — that in which one delights through practice, and through which one reaches the end of suffering.
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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.18.36
- Topics
- HappinessSpiritual PracticeSuffering
Same theme, different voices
All the blessed regions that belong to the gods can be obtained through penance. Penance is the root of great happiness. Those who practice severe penance and give up their bodies can attain the status of gods.
We have been given this human life to understand the all-pervading, omnipresent God. This knowledge can only be given by someone who has themselves realized God. Life becomes truly happy only after meeting such a God-realized person.
The peace, freedom, and happiness of all souls come from living in accordance with God's will.
Sorrow has ravaged the kingdom of my heart like a ruthless army. Come back, glad Lord of Rome, and liberate the land! Before your power, the enemy will shatter and flee.
The ego is the biggest hurdle for humans to attain God. Guru Nanak Dev explains that God is the one who creates all forms, lives, and decides their fate, making some high and others low, letting them experience happiness or misery, and some are freed from the cycle of birth and death while others continue in it.