7 Gita Shlokas That Teach How to Be Respected Without Asking for It
Riya Kumari | Sep 19, 2025, 23:43 IST
Shri Krishna
( Image credit : AI )
Highlight of the story: Okay, confession time. I used to think respect worked like an Amazon Prime delivery: you hit “order,” the universe ships admiration straight to your door. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t. The Bhagavad Gita quietly drops truth bombs that make you realize respect isn’t something you fish for; it’s more like an accidental side effect of getting your life together. Think of it as the ultimate slow-burn rom-com arc: you stop trying to impress, and suddenly everyone’s impressed.
There are nights when you lie awake and feel the weight of every room you’ve ever entered, every conversation where you were unheard. You wonder if respect is a favor people grant or a quiet recognition that blooms when you’ve stopped needing it. The Bhagavad Gita answers without fanfare, it speaks of a dignity that does not beg, a strength that does not need witnesses. These verses are not lofty riddles meant to intimidate. They are maps for those who have walked through humiliation, heartbreak, and the long corridors of loneliness. They meet you where you are, whether in a crowded office or an empty kitchen at midnight and remind you that the deepest respect begins when you stop performing and start being.
“Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana.”
(Your right is to the action alone, never to its fruits.)
Respect is not payment for effort; it is the quiet echo of integrity. Do the work because it must be done, not because someone might applaud. The applause fades. The work remains.
2. Balance Over Approval
“Yogasthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya.”
(Stay rooted in yoga, equanimity and let go of attachment.)
The world thrives on reaction: like, dislike, praise, judgment. Your strength is in stillness. People sense it when you are not pulled by their moods, and that steadiness draws a respect no title can buy.
“Atmaupamyena sarvatra samam pasyati yo’rjuna.”
(One who sees all beings as equal to oneself.)
When you see others as you, the need to demand respect dissolves. Equality is not a slogan; it’s an inner knowing that softens your edges and disarms hostility. Respect grows naturally around such presence.
“Uddhared atmanatmanam na atmanam avasadayet.”
(Raise yourself by your own self; do not degrade yourself.)
No one can hand you dignity. You climb out of despair by refusing to betray yourself. In that private victory, respect is inevitable, because you have already given it to the person in the mirror.
“Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate.”
(Attachment arises from dwelling on desires.)
Chasing admiration is its own cage. The more you crave validation, the more it escapes. Let the need fall away, and what remains is a calm magnetism people cannot ignore.
“Sama dukha sukham dhiram so’mritatvaya kalpate.”
(The one who remains steady in pleasure and pain is fit for immortality.)
Life will hand you triumph and loss in the same breath. Meet both with quiet acceptance. Respect follows those who do not crumble when the script changes.
“Bandhur atmatmanas tasya yenatmaivaatmana jitah.”
(One’s own self is the friend of the self when the self is conquered.)
The greatest companionship is with the self that no longer wages war within. When you befriend that still core, the world cannot help but acknowledge it, even if no words are spoken.
Respect is not granted by society; it is recognized by it. You do not earn it by louder arguments or sharper clothes. You embody it in the quiet decision to live by truth, even when no one notices. The Gita does not promise applause. It offers something harder and more luminous: the kind of self-respect that stays when every other light goes out.
1. Work Without Chains
(Your right is to the action alone, never to its fruits.)
Respect is not payment for effort; it is the quiet echo of integrity. Do the work because it must be done, not because someone might applaud. The applause fades. The work remains.
2. Balance Over Approval
(Stay rooted in yoga, equanimity and let go of attachment.)
The world thrives on reaction: like, dislike, praise, judgment. Your strength is in stillness. People sense it when you are not pulled by their moods, and that steadiness draws a respect no title can buy.
3. See Yourself in Everyone
(One who sees all beings as equal to oneself.)
When you see others as you, the need to demand respect dissolves. Equality is not a slogan; it’s an inner knowing that softens your edges and disarms hostility. Respect grows naturally around such presence.
4. Lift Yourself First
(Raise yourself by your own self; do not degrade yourself.)
No one can hand you dignity. You climb out of despair by refusing to betray yourself. In that private victory, respect is inevitable, because you have already given it to the person in the mirror.
5. Release the Grip of Desire
(Attachment arises from dwelling on desires.)
Chasing admiration is its own cage. The more you crave validation, the more it escapes. Let the need fall away, and what remains is a calm magnetism people cannot ignore.
6. Hold Joy and Sorrow Lightly
(The one who remains steady in pleasure and pain is fit for immortality.)
Life will hand you triumph and loss in the same breath. Meet both with quiet acceptance. Respect follows those who do not crumble when the script changes.
7. Become Your Own Ally
(One’s own self is the friend of the self when the self is conquered.)
The greatest companionship is with the self that no longer wages war within. When you befriend that still core, the world cannot help but acknowledge it, even if no words are spoken.