The Gita Doesn’t Say “Be Perfect” It Says “Be What You Truly Are.”
Riya Kumari | Jun 17, 2025, 12:40 IST
Perfection is the Photoshop of the soul. It's that airbrushed version of you who drinks eight glasses of water, never drunk-texts their ex, and somehow has a matching bra and underwear on a Tuesday. And here’s the kicker: that version isn’t even real. It’s the lovechild of capitalism and insecurity. The Gita doesn’t say “Polish your flaws into oblivion.” It says, “Do your dharma. Play your role. Own your chaos.”
We’ve all done it. Waited for a text that didn’t come. Watched the typing bubble flicker like a false promise. Replayed conversations in our head, not for fun, but for forensic analysis. We call it “talking.” We call it “vibing.” We call it “complicated.” But if we were honest, most of it is just waiting. Waiting for clarity, for courage, for someone else to decide. So where do you go when your friends are tired of giving advice, when your therapist takes the weekend off, and even your dog looks exhausted by your spiral? For me, oddly, it was The Bhagavad Gita. Yeah, that Gita. 700 verses of ancient wisdom whispered on a battlefield—and somehow, weirdly, it made more sense than anything I’d seen on YouTube. Because the Gita doesn’t speak in cute catchphrases or delusional optimism. It doesn’t promise you'll get the love you want. It just teaches you how to live—and let go—with grace.
1. “Do What You Must, Not Because It’ll Work, But Because It’s Right”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.47: कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
(You have a right to your actions, but not to the results.)
We chase outcomes like they’re owed to us. If I’m kind, they’ll stay. If I open up, they’ll understand. If I give everything, they’ll give something back. But that’s not love. That’s bartering. The Gita strips it down: do the right thing because it’s the right thing—not because you think it’ll get you what you want.
And that includes love. Send the message if your heart means it. But let go of what it does to theirs. Because love is not control. It's clarity. You showed up. You spoke your truth. The rest? Not your battlefield.
2. “Feel It, But Don’t Become It”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.14: शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः... तितिक्षस्व भारत
(Pleasure and pain come and go. Endure them.)
When they reply, your heart races. When they don’t, your stomach sinks. We ride these waves as if they define us. But they don’t. They just pass through. The Gita doesn’t ask you to suppress what you feel.It asks you not to drown in it. Emotions are real—but they’re not reliable maps.
They’re weather. And you? You’re the sky. So yes, cry. Be disappointed. Rant about their inability to communicate like an adult. But don’t become the storm. Let it rain. Then let it clear.
3. “Attachment Is the Root of Fear”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63: सङ्गात् संजायते कामः... भयात् संमोहः
(Attachment leads to desire. Desire leads to fear. Fear leads to confusion.)
We’re not always afraid of losing people. We’re afraid of what we made them mean. We get attached not just to the person, but to the version of ourselves when we’re with them—the loved one, the chosen one, the seen one. So when they pull away, it’s not just heartbreak. It’s identity loss. The Gita doesn’t condemn love. It warns us about the kind that swallows us whole.
The kind where we forget who we are without them. What if you could love, fully, and still stay rooted? What if you could want, but not need? What if you didn’t have to shrink, twist, or perform to be loved? That’s not detachment. That’s dignity.
4. “See Beyond the Story”
— Bhagavad Gita 5.18: पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः
(The wise see all with equal vision.)
We all have stories. “They did this, so I must not be enough.” “I always attract people who leave.” “No one ever chooses me back.” But they’re just that—stories. And we retell them until they become our script. The Gita asks us to rise above the narratives. To see the soul underneath the surface. Not just in others, but in ourselves.
You are not the person who always gets hurt. You’re not the one who’s hard to love. You’re not “too much” or “not enough.” You’re just someone trying to be real in a world that rewards pretending. And that? That’s power.
5. “You Were Never Meant to Break—Only to Remember”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.20: न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित्
(The soul is never born and never dies.)
You’ve been through enough to know this by now: the pain doesn't last. Neither does the joy. But what stays, if you let it, is the deeper knowing. That you are more than your rejections. More than your wounds. More than this moment. What breaks is never the soul. What breaks is the illusion. The attachment. The idea that someone else gets to define your worth.
So if you're in pain, don't rush to fix it. Sit with it. Let it strip away everything that isn't true. Because what remains after all the noise and confusion—is you. Unshaken. Aware. Awake.
We all want the same thing: to be seen, held, chosen. But maybe what we really want is to feel safe being ourselves, even when we’re not. The Gita doesn’t promise that love will always go your way. But it promises that you don’t have to lose yourself trying.
And in a world where “seen” can mean ignored and “love” can mean temporary, that’s something worth holding onto. So go ahead. Text them if you must. Just don’t text away your soul. Let love come. Let love go. But never let it cost you you.
1. “Do What You Must, Not Because It’ll Work, But Because It’s Right”
Outcome
( Image credit : Pexels )
— Bhagavad Gita 2.47: कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
(You have a right to your actions, but not to the results.)
We chase outcomes like they’re owed to us. If I’m kind, they’ll stay. If I open up, they’ll understand. If I give everything, they’ll give something back. But that’s not love. That’s bartering. The Gita strips it down: do the right thing because it’s the right thing—not because you think it’ll get you what you want.
And that includes love. Send the message if your heart means it. But let go of what it does to theirs. Because love is not control. It's clarity. You showed up. You spoke your truth. The rest? Not your battlefield.
2. “Feel It, But Don’t Become It”
Effort
( Image credit : Pexels )
— Bhagavad Gita 2.14: शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः... तितिक्षस्व भारत
(Pleasure and pain come and go. Endure them.)
When they reply, your heart races. When they don’t, your stomach sinks. We ride these waves as if they define us. But they don’t. They just pass through. The Gita doesn’t ask you to suppress what you feel.It asks you not to drown in it. Emotions are real—but they’re not reliable maps.
They’re weather. And you? You’re the sky. So yes, cry. Be disappointed. Rant about their inability to communicate like an adult. But don’t become the storm. Let it rain. Then let it clear.
3. “Attachment Is the Root of Fear”
Thunderstorm
( Image credit : Pexels )
— Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63: सङ्गात् संजायते कामः... भयात् संमोहः
(Attachment leads to desire. Desire leads to fear. Fear leads to confusion.)
We’re not always afraid of losing people. We’re afraid of what we made them mean. We get attached not just to the person, but to the version of ourselves when we’re with them—the loved one, the chosen one, the seen one. So when they pull away, it’s not just heartbreak. It’s identity loss. The Gita doesn’t condemn love. It warns us about the kind that swallows us whole.
The kind where we forget who we are without them. What if you could love, fully, and still stay rooted? What if you could want, but not need? What if you didn’t have to shrink, twist, or perform to be loved? That’s not detachment. That’s dignity.
4. “See Beyond the Story”
Act
( Image credit : Pexels )
— Bhagavad Gita 5.18: पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः
(The wise see all with equal vision.)
We all have stories. “They did this, so I must not be enough.” “I always attract people who leave.” “No one ever chooses me back.” But they’re just that—stories. And we retell them until they become our script. The Gita asks us to rise above the narratives. To see the soul underneath the surface. Not just in others, but in ourselves.
You are not the person who always gets hurt. You’re not the one who’s hard to love. You’re not “too much” or “not enough.” You’re just someone trying to be real in a world that rewards pretending. And that? That’s power.
5. “You Were Never Meant to Break—Only to Remember”
Drown
( Image credit : Pexels )
— Bhagavad Gita 2.20: न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित्
(The soul is never born and never dies.)
You’ve been through enough to know this by now: the pain doesn't last. Neither does the joy. But what stays, if you let it, is the deeper knowing. That you are more than your rejections. More than your wounds. More than this moment. What breaks is never the soul. What breaks is the illusion. The attachment. The idea that someone else gets to define your worth.
So if you're in pain, don't rush to fix it. Sit with it. Let it strip away everything that isn't true. Because what remains after all the noise and confusion—is you. Unshaken. Aware. Awake.
Conclusion:
And in a world where “seen” can mean ignored and “love” can mean temporary, that’s something worth holding onto. So go ahead. Text them if you must. Just don’t text away your soul. Let love come. Let love go. But never let it cost you you.