5 Gita Quotes That Flip Your View of Success
Riya Kumari | Oct 01, 2025, 05:05 IST
Shri Krishna ji
( Image credit : AI )
Everyone acts like it’s this glittery crown waiting at the end of a conveyor belt of suffering. You know: get the degree, land the job, marry someone who owns at least one air fryer, and voila, you’ve “made it.” But then the conveyor belt keeps moving, and suddenly you’re forty, explaining your Netflix password to your kids while scrolling LinkedIn to see someone from your high school just got named “Vice President of Growth Synergies” (whatever that means).
Most of us grew up being told success is about achievements, good marks, big salaries, higher designations, bigger houses. But no matter how much you collect, there’s always someone with more. You feel the gap, and success slips away again. The Bhagavad Gita doesn’t sugarcoat this, it directly tells us that the way society defines success is shallow, unstable, and exhausting. Here are five lessons from the Gita that don’t flatter you, they challenge you. If you take them seriously, your view of success will never be the same again.
1. Success is in the work, not the reward
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ (2.47)
You have the right to perform your actions, but never to the fruits of them. Do not let the results drive you, nor give in to inaction.
If your happiness depends on results, you’ll always be a slave, sometimes to praise, sometimes to disappointment. The Gita forces you to see this: outcomes are never in your full control. Do the work, but detach from its reward. That detachment is not weakness, it is freedom. Without it, you will always chase and never arrive.
2. Success is steadiness, not extremes
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ (2.48)
Perform your duty with balance, abandoning attachment to success or failure. Such evenness is called yoga.
The world teaches you to measure yourself by wins and losses. But if your peace rises and falls with outcomes, you’ll never know rest. The Gita’s hard truth: stop tying your identity to achievements. Real success is the ability to remain steady, whether things go in your favor or not. Balance is victory.
3. Success is enduring both joy and pain
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ ।
समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते ॥ (2.15)
One who is not disturbed by happiness and distress, and who remains steady in both, becomes fit for immortality.
We chase happiness and run from pain, but life guarantees both. The Gita doesn’t promise escape, it demands endurance. Strength is not in avoiding discomfort; it’s in standing firm through it. The people who last are not the ones who only enjoy success, but those who survive failure without losing themselves.
4. Success is contentment without envy
यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः ।
समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥ (4.22)
The person who is content with gain that comes naturally, who has risen above envy, who remains equal in success and failure, is not bound.
Comparison will poison every victory you achieve. Envy makes you blind to what you already have. The Gita calls out the disease clearly: unless you free yourself from envy, you will never feel successful, no matter how much you accomplish. Contentment is not laziness; it’s freedom from constantly competing with shadows.
5. Success is freedom from praise and blame
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥ (12.19)
That person who is unmoved by honor or dishonor, who is silent in both praise and blame, who is content, and steady in mind, is very dear to Me.
If other people’s words control you, praise lifts you, criticism breaks you, you are not free. Success that depends on public approval is fragile. The Gita strips it bare: the highest success is inner freedom, where you don’t need validation to know your worth.
Closing
The Gita does not define success as society does. It is not about wealth, recognition, or applause. Those are temporary, and you’ll lose peace chasing them. True success is freedom, from results, from extremes, from pain’s grip, from envy, from people’s opinions.
It’s not the easiest path. But it is the only one where success doesn’t disappear the moment circumstances change. And maybe that’s the bitter truth we all need to hear: success is not out there. It’s in the discipline of your mind, right now.
1. Success is in the work, not the reward
Free
( Image credit : Unsplash )
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ (2.47)
You have the right to perform your actions, but never to the fruits of them. Do not let the results drive you, nor give in to inaction.
If your happiness depends on results, you’ll always be a slave, sometimes to praise, sometimes to disappointment. The Gita forces you to see this: outcomes are never in your full control. Do the work, but detach from its reward. That detachment is not weakness, it is freedom. Without it, you will always chase and never arrive.
2. Success is steadiness, not extremes
Balance
( Image credit : Unsplash )
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ (2.48)
Perform your duty with balance, abandoning attachment to success or failure. Such evenness is called yoga.
The world teaches you to measure yourself by wins and losses. But if your peace rises and falls with outcomes, you’ll never know rest. The Gita’s hard truth: stop tying your identity to achievements. Real success is the ability to remain steady, whether things go in your favor or not. Balance is victory.
3. Success is enduring both joy and pain
Mountain
( Image credit : Unsplash )
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ ।
समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते ॥ (2.15)
One who is not disturbed by happiness and distress, and who remains steady in both, becomes fit for immortality.
We chase happiness and run from pain, but life guarantees both. The Gita doesn’t promise escape, it demands endurance. Strength is not in avoiding discomfort; it’s in standing firm through it. The people who last are not the ones who only enjoy success, but those who survive failure without losing themselves.
4. Success is contentment without envy
Envy
( Image credit : Unsplash )
यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः ।
समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥ (4.22)
The person who is content with gain that comes naturally, who has risen above envy, who remains equal in success and failure, is not bound.
Comparison will poison every victory you achieve. Envy makes you blind to what you already have. The Gita calls out the disease clearly: unless you free yourself from envy, you will never feel successful, no matter how much you accomplish. Contentment is not laziness; it’s freedom from constantly competing with shadows.
5. Success is freedom from praise and blame
Peace
( Image credit : Unsplash )
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥ (12.19)
That person who is unmoved by honor or dishonor, who is silent in both praise and blame, who is content, and steady in mind, is very dear to Me.
If other people’s words control you, praise lifts you, criticism breaks you, you are not free. Success that depends on public approval is fragile. The Gita strips it bare: the highest success is inner freedom, where you don’t need validation to know your worth.
Closing
It’s not the easiest path. But it is the only one where success doesn’t disappear the moment circumstances change. And maybe that’s the bitter truth we all need to hear: success is not out there. It’s in the discipline of your mind, right now.