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Bhagavad Gita 18.38 meaningLetting go — and standing up

In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it

“Happiness from treats feels sweet first, then turns sour.”

What it means

“Happiness from the senses meeting their objects feels like nectar at first and becomes poison in the end. That happiness is restless.”

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The original Sanskrit

विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् । परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥

viṣayendriyasaṃyogādyattadagre.amṛtopamam pariṇāme viṣamiva tatsukhaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam

Translations

Literal translation

That joy is referred to as born of rajas which, arising from the contact of the organs and (their) objects, is like nectar in the beginning, but like poison at the end.

Swami Gambhirananda

हिंदी अनुवाद

जो सुख विषयों और इन्द्रियों के संयोग से उत्पन्न होता है, वह प्रथम तो अमृत के समान, परन्तु परिणाम में विष तुल्य होता है, वह सुख राजस कहा गया है।

Swami Tejomayananda

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Commentaries

How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.

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Keep reading · 18.39“Happiness that deludes you from beginning to end, coming from oversleeping, laziness and carelessness, is dull.”