Sacred Texts · The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita and the Way of Jesus

The Bhagavad Gita speaks of a God who descends age after age, of the eternal soul, of a leaf or a flower offered in love, and of a single refuge that frees the heart from all its sins. Again and again its longing runs close to the words of Jesus, and in a few places it marks an honest difference. This page reproduces 12 of its passages in the public-domain Arnold translation, each with a clearly-labelled Christian comparison. Read the sources, and see for yourself.

Translation: Sir Edwin Arnold, The Song Celestial; or, Bhagavad-Gîtâ (1885), public domain, via Project Gutenberg (ebook 2388). Arnold’s Song Celestial is continuous English verse in 18 chapters, without numbered slokas; each passage is an exact excerpt, located by content and cited by the classical chapter.verse reference it renders. The key passages 2.20, 4.7-8, 9.26 and 18.66 were validated against the source before publishing. Poetic line breaks are shown with a slash.

12 passages that point toward Christ

• Bhagavad Gita 2.20“Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never; / Never was time it was not; End and Beginning are dreams! / Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spi…”Read + Christian comparison (The eternal soul) →
• Bhagavad Gita 2.47“But thou, want not! ask not! Find full reward / Of doing right in right! Let right deeds be / Thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them. / And live in action! Labour! Make th…”Read + Christian comparison (Works and their fruit) →
• Bhagavad Gita 4.7“I come, and go, and come. When Righteousness / Declines, O Bharata! when Wickedness / Is strong, I rise, from age to age, and take / Visible shape, and move a man with men, / Succo…”Read + Christian comparison (God takes visible shape (the avatar)) →
• Bhagavad Gita 4.11“Whoso worship me, / Them I exalt; but all men everywhere / Shall fall into my path; albeit, those souls / Which seek reward for works, make sacrifice / Now, to the lower gods.”Read + Christian comparison (Which way leads home) →
• Bhagavad Gita 7.7“Than me there is no other Master, Prince! / No other Maker! All these hang on me / As hangs a row of pearls upon its string.”Read + Christian comparison (All things hang on him) →
• Bhagavad Gita 8.5“And, at the hour of death, / He that hath meditated Me alone, / In putting off his flesh, comes forth to Me, / Enters into My Being--doubt thou not!”Read + Christian comparison (The hour of death) →
• Bhagavad Gita 9.26“Whoso shall offer Me in faith and love / A leaf, a flower, a fruit, water poured forth, / That offering I accept, lovingly made / With pious will.”Read + Christian comparison (Devotion (bhakti)) →
• Bhagavad Gita 9.30“If one of evil life turn in his thought / Straightly to Me, count him amidst the good; / He hath the high way chosen; he shall grow / Righteous ere long; he shall attain that peace…”Read + Christian comparison (Even the worst, restored) →
• Bhagavad Gita 10.20“I am the Spirit seated deep in every creature's heart; / From Me they come; by Me they live; at My word they depart!”Read + Christian comparison (The Spirit in every heart) →
• Bhagavad Gita 12.7“But whereso any doeth all his deeds / Renouncing self for Me, full of Me, fixed / To serve only the Highest, night and day / Musing on Me--him will I swiftly lift / Forth from life…”Read + Christian comparison (He will lift them up) →
• Bhagavad Gita 18.62“And whatsoever deeds he doeth--fixed / In Me, as in his refuge--he hath won / For ever and for ever by My grace / Th' Eternal Rest!”Read + Christian comparison (Rest by grace) →
• Bhagavad Gita 18.66“And let go those-- / Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! / Make Me thy single refuge! I will free / Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!”Read + Christian comparison (Take refuge, and be free) →

Frequently asked questions

What is the Bhagavad Gita?

The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse dialogue set within the Mahabharata, in which Krishna counsels the warrior Arjuna on duty, devotion, the eternal soul, and the way to God. It is among the best-loved scriptures of Hinduism. This page indexes only the passages that carry a genuine, clearly-labelled comparison to the teaching of Jesus.

What translation is used?

Sir Edwin Arnold's 1885 verse translation, The Song Celestial, which is in the public domain, sourced from Project Gutenberg (ebook 2388). Because Arnold's poem has no numbered slokas, each passage is an exact excerpt cited by the classical chapter.verse reference it renders. The key passages 2.20, 4.7-8, 9.26 and 18.66 were validated against the source before publishing.

Does Living Bread change the meaning of the Bhagavad Gita?

No. We reproduce each passage accurately and describe its meaning within Hinduism fairly. Any comparison to Christian belief is clearly labelled as a Christian comparison, never presented as the Gita's own meaning.