The Key Commandments in the Bhagavad Gita

Living the Gita, Living in Grace

The Bhagavad Gita is more than scripture, it’s a sacred dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, a warrior caught between duty and despair. Within this conversation lie timeless truths that guide us not with rigid laws but with principles that awaken the soul. These teachings are often called “commandments,” but the Gita’s voice is gentler: it invites, encourages, and empowers.

Here are five essential divine teachings that shape a life of courage, clarity and devotion.

1. Surrender to Your Dharma "It is better to fail in one's own duty than to succeed in the duty of another." (Bhagavad Gita 3.35)

Krishna teaches that each person has a unique nature and sacred role or purpose in life called dharma. It may not always be glamorous or easy, but it is ours. To follow someone else’s path, even successfully, leads us away from our true self. The Gita calls us to live authentically, not just chase success, but walk with purpose.

2. Act Without Attachment "You have a right to perform your duties, but not to the fruits of your actions." (Bhagavad Gita 2.47)

This verse is perhaps the heart of Karma Yoga which is the yoga of selfless action. It teaches that true spiritual practice isn’t just about meditation or renunciation, but about how we live and serve in daily life. Karma Yoga means doing your duty with full sincerity, but without clinging to the outcome. Whether the result is praise or failure, gain or loss, the act itself becomes an offering.

Detached action is not indifference; it is devotion without ego. When we act with love, free from the desire for reward, our work becomes worship.

3. Find Balance "Perform your duties equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga." (Bhagavad Gita 2.48)

Yoga, as Lord Krishna defines it, is not just physical posture but inner balance. Real spirituality is not an escape from life but steadiness within it. Whether we win or lose, gain or lose, yoga keeps the heart still and the mind steady.

4. See All Beings as Equal "The wise see with equal vision a Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater." (Bhagavad Gita 5.18)

This is the Gita’s call to radical compassion. True wisdom does not divide. It sees past labels, castes, and appearances to the divine essence in all. When we see ourselves in others, and others in ourselves, our love becomes inclusive and unconditional. This is not just tolerance, it is deep recognition of the oneness that connects us all.

5. Surrender to the Divine "Abandon all varieties of dharma and surrender unto Me alone. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." (Bhagavad Gita 18.66)

This is the Gita’s ultimate teaching is surrender. When all else fails, when confusion clouds the path, Lord Krishna’s final instruction is simple: come to me. Trusting the Divine gives us the deepest strength. It is the realisation that we never walk alone.

Surrender doesn’t mean giving up, it means resting in something greater. It’s not passive, it’s powerful. It’s the soul remembering its source.

Living the Gita Today

The Bhagavad Gita doesn’t ask us to be perfect. It asks us to be sincere. It asks us to act, to love, to see clearly, and to surrender. These “commandments” are not laws imposed from above, but truths written into our very being.

May we walk with purpose, serve with detachment, love with equality, and rest in the shelter of divine grace.