This is a collection of Uddhava Gita quotes. Uddhava Gita is part of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It consists of the advices given by Lord Krishna to Uddhava.
Lord Krishna to Uddhava
Lord Krishna to Uddhava
One who is endowed with scriptural erudition culminating in realization, who has attained to the Self, and has not mere theoretical knowledge, should surrender knowledge to Me – knowing the universe to be but an illusion.
For I am the desired goal of the Jnani and its efficient means; I am his worldly prosperity as well as liberation. There is nothing else but Me which is dear to him.
Those who have perfected themselves in knowledge and realization attain to My Supreme abode. Since the Jnani cherishes Me through his knowledge, therefore he is the most beloved to Me.
Austerity, pilgrimage, repetition of the Mantra, charity, and whatever else is sacred, cannot improve that perfection which springs from even a modicum of realization.
Therefore, O Uddhava, dwelling on your own self till the attainment of realization, he endowed with knowledge and realization, and worship Me with devotion.
The threefold modification, O Uddhava, which has come upon you is an illusion, for it only comes in the middle and is not at the beginning and end. When birth and such other things befall it, what is that to you? For that which exists at the beginning and end of an ureality, alone persists in the middle. (Source Chapter XIV, 1 – 7, Uddhava Gita Translated by Swami Madhavananda, Advaita Ashram)
With a pure mind one should observe in all beings as well as in oneself only Me, the Atman, who am both inside and out, and unobstructed like the sky.
Ideas of rivalry, jealousy, pity, and egoism quickly depart from a man who always thinks of Me in all men.
Charity, the performance of one’s duty, the observance of vows, general and particular, the hearing of the scriptures, meritorious acts, and all other works – all these culminate in the control of the mind. The control of mind is the highest Yoga.
The foolish man who, with his vision blinded, is tempted by such illusive creations as lust, gold, ornaments, apparel and the like, considering them as objects of enjoyment, is destroyed, like the moth. (Uddhava Gita 3.8)
The clever man should take the essence out of all sources, from scriptures small as well as great – like the bee from flowers. (Uddhava Gita 3.10)
Expectation is surely the greatest misery, and the giving up of all expectations is the greatest bliss. (Uddhava Gita 3.44)
If the ingredients say beaten rice and sugar were to be kept mixed as they are, it is possible to separate them with some effort. If you were to make ‘halva’ (pudding) of them by cooking them all together, the ingredients are inextricably merged with each other and they cannot be separated. You can only throw away the entire ‘halva.’
Similarly, one should not try to separate the mind and the objects. Throw away both. How can one throw them away?
If you want a child to throw away the lighted candle it has caught hold of, you have to tempt the child with a more attractive object.
So think of the Lord’s form when automatically the mind and the objects – both leave you.
As you think so you become. In Advaita, it is called Brahmakara Vritti. By continuously thinking of the Lord’s form when automatically the mind and the objects – both leave you.
Noble friend, when I (Sri Krishna) leave this world darkness will descend: The dreaded age of Kali will being ~ the age in which all that is auspicious becomes hidden and obscured.
Do not remain here (at Dwarka) when I have gone. You are a worthy soul, but in this darkness which is to come people will indulge in all that is unworthy.
Shake of all attachments whether to family or friends. Roam the world as one free of all attachment, with impartial vision.
Whatever you see, hear or touch know that you cannot know it for what it is. Know that whatever your mind makes of it is like a mirage that will fade away.
A confused mind sees a world of multiplicities, a world of good and bad. This creates a compulsion to act or refrain from acting, depending on what will bring gain and what will cause loss.
Therefore, control your senses and your mind. See this entire universe as the Self and see this self in me, its supreme sovereign.
In this way you will come to know and realize that the self with you is the same self of all embodied beings. Once you know this your mind will be completely satisfied and all obstacles will be removed.
Give no attention to people who laugh in ridicule, forget the body, go beyond all sense of shame; fall prostrate on the ground and bow to all beings down even to the dog …the cow and the ass. See everything in Me and Me in everything. Cut off all sorts of attachments. Have perfect unswerving devotion to Me.
Look upon this universe as a delusion, a play of the mind, now seen and the next moment destroyed, like a dream, and extremely inconsistent like the circle drawn by a firebrand.
The threefold distinction of waking, dream and deep sleep which is caused by the transformation of Gunas, of the qualities of Nature, is Maya.
By constant meditation upon the Lord, the mind of the Yogi becomes Para-sattva and thenceforth he becomes like the Lord Himself because he gets all the powers of the Lord and nothing is impossible for him.
Uddhava Gita
Uddhava Gita on Greatness of Devotion
In the case of a devotee who is free from all worldly desires and who has offered himself heart and soul to Me (Krishna ), I shine in his heart as his very self. The joy arising from this experience is something that a sense-bound creature can never realize.
I (Krishna ) always follow the footsteps of the sage who desires nothing, who is always tranquil and who has enmity to none, in order that all the worlds within Me get purified by the dust of his feet.
Though a devotee of Mine might be under the domination of the senses at the beginning of his spiritual life, with the gradual growth of devotion, he is able to overcome them.
Just as a flaming fire reduces all fuel to ashes, so does devotion to Me destroy all sins obstructing its development.
Just as a flaming fire reduces all fuel to ashes, so does devotion to Me destroy all sins obstructing its development.
I can be attained through intense faith and unswerving and whole-hearted devotion. Steady and deep-rooted devotion to Me purifies and elevates even a man of ignoble birth in a society.
One who has transcended material good and evil automatically acts in accordance with religious injunctions and avoids forbidden activities. The self realized person does this spontaneously, like an innocent child, and not because he is thinking in terms of material good and evil.
One who is the kind well-wisher of all living beings, who is peaceful and firmly fixed in knowledge and realization, sees Me within all things. Such a person never again falls down into the cycle of birth and death.
Generally those human beings who can expertly analyze the actual situation of the material world are able to raise themselves beyond the inauspicious life of gross material gratification.
Just as a fish, incited by the desire to enjoy his tongue, is fatally trapped on the fisherman’s hook, similarly, a foolish person is bewildered by the extremely disturbing urges of the tongue and thus is ruined.
Material desire is undoubtedly the cause of the greatest unhappiness, and freedom from such desire is the cause of the greatest happiness.
Absorbing the intelligence in Me (Sri Krishna) constitutes mental equilibrium, and complete discipline of the senses is self-control.
Tolerance means patiently enduring unhappiness, and steadfastness occurs when one conquers the tongue and genitals.
The greatest charity is to give up all aggression toward others, and renunciation of lust is understood to be real austerity.
Real heroism is to conquer one’s natural tendency to enjoy material life, and reality is seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere.
Truthfulness means to speak the truth in a pleasing way, as declared by great sages.
Cleanliness is detachment in furtive activities, whereas renunciation is the sannyasa order of life.
The true desirable wealth for human beings is religiousness, and I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, am sacrifice.
Religious remuneration is devotion to the acharya with the purpose of acquiring spiritual instruction, and the greatest strength is the pranayama system of breath control.
The doors of liberation are opened wide to one who has achieved human life. But if a human being simply devotes himself to family life, then he is to be considered as one who has climbed to a high place only to rip and fall down.
Just as fire manifests differently in pieces of wood of different sizes and qualities, the omnipotent Supreme Soul, having entered the bodies of higher and lower life forms created by His own potency, appears to assume the identity of each.
The various phases of one’s material life, beginning with birth and culminating in death, are all properties of the body and do not affect the soul, just as the apparent waxing and waning of the moon does not affect the moon itself. Such changes are enforced by the imperceptible movements of time.
Even when reflected in various objects, the sun is never divided, nor does it merge into its reflection. Only those with dull brains would consider the sun in this way. Similarly, although the soul is reflected through different material bodies, the soul remains undivided and nonmaterial.
Uddhava Gita on Qualities of a Learned Man
A saintly person is merciful and never injures others. Even if others are aggressive he is tolerant and forgiving toward all living entities. His strength and meaning in life come from the truth itself, he is free from all envy and jealousy, and his mind is equal in material happiness and distress.
His intelligence is never bewildered by material desires, and he has controlled his senses.
His behavior is always pleasing, never harsh and always exemplary, and he is free from possessiveness.
He never endeavors in ordinary, worldly activities, and he strictly controls his eating. He therefore always remains peaceful and steady.
He has conquered over the six material qualities – namely hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death.