Bhagavad Gita 18.59 meaningLetting go — and standing up
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“Saying ‘I won’t’ out of pride won’t work. Your nature will make you act.”
What it means
“If, out of ego, you decide ‘I won't fight,’ that decision is pointless — your own nature will compel you.”
The original Sanskrit
यदहंकारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे । मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥
yadahaṃkāramāśritya na yotsya iti manyase mithyaiṣa vyavasāyaste prakṛtistvāṃ niyokṣyati
Translations
Literal translation
That you think 'I shall not fight', by relying on egotism,-vain is this determination of yours. (Your) nature impel you!
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
और अहंकारवश तुम जो यह सोच रहे हो, "मैं युद्ध नहीं करूंगा", यह तुम्हारा निश्चय मिथ्या है, (क्योंकि) प्रकृति (तुम्हारा स्वभाव) ही तुम्हें (बलात् कर्म में) प्रवृत्त करेगी।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 18.60“Bound by your own nature and its tendencies, Arjuna, you will end up doing — helplessly — what in your confusion you don't want to do.”