The Bhagavad Gita, which is commonly referred to as The Gita for short is one of the most important Hindu scriptures. It is honored as a sacred scripture of Hinduism and considered as one of the most important religious classics of the world. Comprising of 700 verses Bhagavad Gita, is a part of the Mahabharata. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to his intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization. Krishna the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita, is regarded by the Hindus as the supreme manifestation of the Lord Himself, and is referred to within as Bhagavan—the divine one.

Listed are some of the finest quotes from the Bhagvad Gita

~ Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. ~

~ Governing sense, mind and intellect, intent on liberation, free from desire, fear and anger, the sage is forever free ~

~ Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. ~

~ The person whose mind is always free from attachment, who has subdued the mind and senses, and who is free from desires, attains the supreme perfection of freedom from Karma through renunciation. ~

~ The serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and the purity of mind are called the austerity of thought. ~

~ If due to ego you think: I shall not fight; this resolve of yours is vain. Your own nature will compel you. ~

~ Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as the embryo rests deep within the womb, wisdom is hidden by selfish desire. ~

~ Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. ~

~ Those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in meditation. But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through meditation. ~

~ The soul who meditates on the Self is content to serve the Self and rests satisfied within the Self; there remains nothing more for him to accomplish ~

~ Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives ~

~ This yoga should be practiced with firm determination and perseverance, without any mental reservation or doubts. ~

~ I desire neither victory nor pleasure nor kingdom, O Krishna. What is the use of the kingdom, or enjoyment, or even life? ~

~ Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed ~

A Simple story to help you understand the basics. You can also know more from the Bhagvad Gita in English

There was a king ruling Hastinapura, now known as Delhi. He had two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra was born blind. Therefore, Pandu became the King. Pandu had five sons. They were called the Pandavas. Dhritarshtra had one hundred sons. They were called the Kauravas.

After the death of king Pandu, his eldest son, Yudhisthira was to be the Ruler. But the Kauravas would not like it. The eldest of Kauravas, Dhuryodhana wanted the whole kingdom for himself. Through trickery and treachery, he made many attempts even to kill the Pandavas. All peace talks by Pandava Ambassador, Sri Krishna also failed. So the war between Pandavas and Kauravas could not be avoided.

Both Pandavas and Kauravas belonged to the same family and therefore many family elders were also part of this war. Arjuna, the Pandava Prince had disliked the idea of fighting against the family elders, Gurus and close relatives. Lord Krishna was the Charrioteer to Arjuna in the battle field. Arjuna communicated his hesitation to get on with the war. And it was left to Lord Krishna to respond to the hesitation of Arjuna. And this response given by Lord Kishna to Arjuna was very long and is codified in 18 chapters.

Who reported this talk taking place at the battle field? King Dhritarashtra was curious to know what was happening in the battle field. You know he was blind. He therefore asked Sanjay, his Charioteer to tell him about it and it was he who reported the entire talk verbatim to Dhritarashtra. According to Gita, Sanjay had the boon of " Divyachakshu" i.e. being able to see from the Palace as to what was happening in the battle field.

Bhagvat Gita is the actual talk between the confused Arjuna and his Charioteer Lord Krishna in the battle field. This talk was basically a spiritual talk encompassing real truth about human life. The 18 Chapters of Bhagvat Gita can be broadly divided into three parts each dwelling about Gyana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.

I had great difficulty in understanding the concepts of Gyana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga until I studied Bhagvat Gita. It is such a nice Hindu Scripture that clarifies many aspects of our lives.

Mahatma Gandhi had said: When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to guide me.

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist and Critic had said: The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed.

Henry David Thoreau, American Writer & Philosopher had said: In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous philosophy of Bhagavad Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.

Albert Einstein had said: When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect, everything else seems so superfluous.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said: The Bhagavad-Gita is a call for action to meet the obligations and duties of life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet and Philosopher had said: I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books, It was as if an empire spoke to us. Nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent. The voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and disposed of the same questions which exercise us.

Such is the indelible impression Bhagvat Gita had left in the minds of even the great people that we know of. And sure it would help you in your own personal life as well.