7-verse reading plan
Bhagavad Gita on fear of failure: 7 verses, starting at 2.47
For the night before something you are afraid to fail at.
- 7 verses
- Gita, then the Ramayana
- About 14 min to read
- Sanskrit, English, audio
Arjuna's crisis is fear of what his action will lead to. Krishna answers with the most quoted line in the Gita, 2.47: you have a right to the work, never to its fruit. From there the verses show why the result was never yours alone (18.14), why no sincere effort is wasted (2.40), how to stand the same in a win or a loss, and what acting with skill looks like. The last is from the Ramayana, the moment Hanuman is reminded what he can do.
The seven verses
- Verse 1See itThe work is yours. The result never was.Gita 2.47
- Verse 2What's underneathYou are one cause out of fiveGita 18.14
- Verse 3SteadyNo sincere effort is wastedGita 2.40
- Verse 4SteadyWin or lose, stand the sameGita 2.38
- Verse 5DoYoga is skill in actionGita 2.50
- Verse 6DoDo the work in front of youGita 3.8
- Verse 7A storyHanuman at the back of the crowdValmiki Ramayana
The work is yours. The result never was.
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
Your work is yours to do; the results are not yours to hold. Don't let that make you stop.
Bhagavad Gita 2.47 · Krishna
Full translation
You have a right to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not become the cause of the result, and do not cling to inaction.
कर्तव्यकर्म करनेमें ही तेरा अधिकार है, फलोंमें कभी नहीं । अतः तू कर्मफलका हेतु भी मत बन और तेरी अकर्मण्यतामें भी आसक्ति न हो ॥
What it means for you
Karmaṇy evādhikāras te: your right is to the action. Fear of failure is a fear about the fruit, which was never given to you to control. Krishna also closes the escape route: don't let this make you stop acting. Care, prepare and aim well, then put the outcome down.
Try this
Write down the result you're afraid of. Under it, write the three actions that are actually yours.
Plan and care about results as much as you like. Just keep the outcome from owning you.
You are one cause out of five
विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥
Every result has five causes: the setting, the doer, the tools, the efforts, and the unseen. You're one of them.
Bhagavad Gita 18.14 · Krishna
Full translation
The field, the doer, the instruments, the many efforts, and the fifth factor, the unseen force, all shape every action.
इसमें कर्मोंकी सिद्धिमें अधिष्ठान तथा कर्ता और अनेक प्रकारके करण एवं विविध प्रकारकी अलगअलग चेष्टाएँ और वैसे ही पाँचवाँ कारण दैव संस्कार है ॥
What it means for you
Near the end of the Gita, Krishna lists what shapes any outcome: the setting, the doer, the means, the many efforts, and daiva, the unseen. You are one of five. Fear of failure quietly assumes you're all of them.
Try this
Take one past failure and name the other four causes. Notice how much of it was never yours.
You still own your part fully. You are one cause among five.
No sincere effort is wasted
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥
No sincere effort here is ever wasted. Even a little of it shields you from great fear.
Bhagavad Gita 2.40 · Krishna
Full translation
In this human world, no effort toward this steady wisdom is ever lost. No harmful result comes from it. Even a little practice of this dharma protects one from great fear.
मनुष्यलोकमें इस समबुद्धिरूप धर्मके आरम्भका नाश नहीं होता, इसके अनुष्ठानका उलटा फल भी नहीं होता और इसका थोड़ासा भी अनुष्ठान जन्ममरणरूप महान् भयसे रक्षा कर लेता है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna says nothing you begin on this path is lost, and even a little of it protects you from great fear. Honest effort stays with you as skill and steadiness, whatever the result.
Try this
Write one thing an old 'failure' taught you that you still use.
Win or lose, stand the same
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
Hold pleasure and pain, gain and loss, win and defeat as equal. Then step in and act.
Bhagavad Gita 2.38 · Krishna
Full translation
Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike. Then enter the battle; you will not incur wrongdoing.
जयपराजय, लाभहानि और सुखदुःखको समान करके फिर युद्धमें लग जा । इस प्रकार युद्ध करनेसे तू पापको प्राप्त नहीं होगा ॥
What it means for you
Notice the order: first steady yourself about the outcome, then act. Winning and losing will still feel different. You can step forward without your worth riding on which one comes.
Try this
Before your next attempt, say: either way, I'll still be me tomorrow. Then begin.
Yoga is skill in action
तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥
Yoga is skill in action: doing the work well, without being bound by it.
Bhagavad Gita 2.50 · Krishna
Full translation
One who is united with clear discernment casts off both good and bad deeds in this life. Therefore, devote yourself to yoga, for yoga is skill in action.
बुद्धिसमता से युक्त मनुष्य यहाँ जीवित अवस्थामें ही पुण्य और पाप दोनोंका त्याग कर देता है । अतः तू योगसमता में लग जा, क्योंकि योग ही कर्मोंमें कुशलता है ॥
What it means for you
Yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam. Once the fear of the result loosens, your attention comes back to the work, and the work gets better. Skill here means doing the task with your whole mind on it.
Try this
Give your hardest task 25 undivided minutes today. No checking how it's going.
Do the work in front of you
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥
Do the work that's yours. Doing something beats doing nothing; even living needs action.
Bhagavad Gita 3.8 · Krishna
Full translation
Do the duty prescribed for you. Action is better than inaction, and even your body cannot be sustained by inaction.
तू शास्त्रविधिसे नियत किये हुए कर्तव्यकर्म कर क्योंकि कर्म न करनेकी अपेक्षा कर्म करना श्रेष्ठ है तथा कर्म न करनेसे तेरा शरीरनिर्वाह भी सिद्ध नहीं होगा ॥
What it means for you
Fear often shows up as not starting. Krishna's answer is plain: action is better than inaction, and even keeping the body alive needs action. Do the next piece, ready or not.
Try this
Do the smallest next step on the thing you've been avoiding, before noon.
Hanuman at the back of the crowd
विशिष्टं सर्वभूतेषु किमात्मानं न सज्जसे ॥
You have the strength, the brains and the courage. Why are you holding yourself back?
Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda
Jambavan reminds Hanuman who he is
At the edge of the ocean, the search party looking for Sita stopped. One by one, each warrior said how far he could leap, and none could reach Lanka. Hanuman sat quietly at the back. The old bear-king Jambavan turned to him and reminded him who he was: his birth, his strength, everything he had already done. Why are you holding back? Hanuman stood, grew to his full size, and made ready to leap.
Sometimes you need someone to remind you what you are capable of.
What it means for you
Fear of failure can make you the quietest person in the room. Let these verses, or a friend, be your Jambavan.
Try this
Send one person a message reminding them of something they're good at. Then ask someone to do the same for you.
That's all seven.
Come back to the one that stayed with you, or let Wisdom pick seven verses for your own situation.
Your situation is your own
Seven verses picked for your fear of failure.
Everyone gets the same seven on this page. Tell Wisdom what you're facing in a sentence or two, and it picks verses for you.
Week 1 is free. A few questions, about two minutes.
On iPhone, Wisdom gives you one verse each morning, read aloud. Get the app →
Common questions
What does Karmanye Vadhikaraste mean?
What does the Gita say about failure?
Which Gita verse is good before an exam or interview?
Should I read one verse a day or all seven at once?
More Gita verses on fear of failure
- Bhagavad Gita 2.48Act steadily, the same in success and failure.
- Bhagavad Gita 6.40One who does good never comes to a bad end, in this life or the next.
