7-verse reading plan
Bhagavad Gita on guilt and past mistakes: 7 verses
For something you did that you keep replaying at night.
- 7 verses
- Gita, then the Mahabharata
- About 14 min to read
- Sanskrit, English, audio
Arjuna asks a question many of us ask at night: why do I do the wrong thing even when I don't want to (3.36)? Krishna's answers are some of the most hopeful in the Gita. Even the worst wrongdoer crosses over on the raft of understanding (4.36). Fire turns wood to ash (4.37). Whoever turns around wholeheartedly is counted among the good (9.30). You still owe others whatever amends are due, and these verses free you to make them. The last is from the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira after the war.
The seven verses
- Verse 1See itWhy did I do it?Gita 3.36
- Verse 2What's underneathThe raft acrossGita 4.36
- Verse 3SteadyAs fire turns wood to ashGita 4.37
- Verse 4SteadyCounted among the goodGita 9.30
- Verse 5DoSoon it becomes who you areGita 9.31
- Verse 6DoThen set it downGita 18.66
- Verse 7A storyHe won the war and wanted to disappearMahabharata
Why did I do it?
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
Why do I do the wrong thing even when I don't want to, as if something forces me?
Bhagavad Gita 3.36 · Arjuna
Full translation
Arjuna said: O descendant of the Vrishni clan, what drives a person to commit wrongdoing, even unwillingly, as if forced?
अर्जुन बोले हे वार्ष्णेय फिर यह मनुष्य न चाहता हुआ भी जबर्दस्ती लगाये हुएकी तरह किससे प्रेरित होकर पापका आचरण करता है ॥
What it means for you
Arjuna asks this, and many of us ask it too: what pushes a person to do wrong, even unwillingly, as if forced? If you're carrying something you did, you've probably asked it at night. The Gita treats the question as worth a full answer.
Try this
Write what happened in two sentences, with no adjectives about yourself.
The raft across
सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ॥
Even if you were the worst wrongdoer of all, the raft of wisdom would carry you across.
Bhagavad Gita 4.36 · Krishna
Full translation
Even if you are the worst of wrongdoers, you will cross all wrongdoing by the raft of knowledge alone.
अगर तू सब पापियोंसे भी अधिक पापी है, तो भी तू ज्ञानरूपी नौकाके द्वारा निःसन्देह सम्पूर्ण पापसमुद्रसे अच्छी तरह तर जायगा ॥
What it means for you
Krishna says even if you were the worst of all wrongdoers, the raft of understanding would carry you across. Guilt says you are what you did. The verse says you can cross over from it, with the river still there behind you.
Try this
Ask yourself: what did I not understand then that I understand now?
Understanding frees you to change and to make amends to anyone you harmed.
As fire turns wood to ash
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥
As a blazing fire turns wood to ash, real understanding burns away the hold of past actions.
Bhagavad Gita 4.37 · Krishna
Full translation
As a blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, so the fire of knowledge reduces all actions to ashes, Arjuna.
हे अर्जुन जैसे प्रज्वलित अग्नि ईंधनोंको सर्वथा भस्म कर देती है, ऐसे ही ज्ञानरूपी अग्नि सम्पूर्ण कर्मोंको सर्वथा भस्म कर देती है ॥
What it means for you
Real understanding, Krishna says, burns away the hold of past actions the way fire turns wood to ash. The event happened. Its grip on you, the replaying and the shame, is what can burn.
Try this
If there's a letter you'd write to the person you hurt, write it, even if you never send it.
Counted among the good
साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ॥
Even if you've done great wrong, the moment you turn wholeheartedly, count yourself among the good.
Bhagavad Gita 9.30 · Krishna
Full translation
Even if a person of very bad conduct worships Me with undivided devotion, that person must be regarded as righteous, for the resolve is rightly made.
अगर कोई दुराचारीसेदुराचारी भी अनन्यभावसे मेरा भजन करता है, तो उसको साधु ही मानना चाहिये । कारण कि उसने निश्चय बहुत अच्छी तरह कर लिया है ॥
What it means for you
Api cet su-durācāraḥ: even someone who has done great wrong, once they turn wholeheartedly, is to be counted among the good, because their resolve is now right. Krishna looks at the turn as well as the record.
Try this
Name the turn you're making, in one sentence: from now on, I…
Turning around includes making amends to anyone you harmed.
Soon it becomes who you are
कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ॥
Such a person soon turns good and finds lasting peace. Mark it: no one devoted to me is ever lost.
Bhagavad Gita 9.31 · Krishna
Full translation
One who is devoted to Me quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly: My devotee never perishes.
वह तत्काल उसी क्षण धर्मात्मा हो जाता है और निरन्तर रहनेवाली शान्तिको प्राप्त हो जाता है । हे कुन्तीनन्दन तुम प्रतिज्ञा करो कि मेरे भक्तका विनाश पतन नहीं होता ॥
What it means for you
Kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā: such a person soon becomes good and finds lasting peace. Krishna even tells Arjuna to declare it boldly. The change starts as a decision and becomes character through what you do next.
Try this
Do one act of repair today: an apology, a correction, or help given where you once took.
Then set it down
अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
Lean on me alone. I will free you from every wrong. Don't worry.
Bhagavad Gita 18.66 · Krishna
Full translation
Abandon all duties and take refuge in Me alone. I will free you from all wrongdoing; do not grieve.
सम्पूर्ण धर्मोंका आश्रय छोड़कर तू केवल मेरी शरणमें आ जा । मैं तुझे सम्पूर्ण पापोंसे मुक्त कर दूँगा, चिन्ता मत कर ॥
What it means for you
Krishna's last counsel in the Gita: take refuge in me; I will free you from every wrong; do not grieve (mā śucaḥ). He says it to a man about to act. Once you've owned what you did and done your part, you're allowed to put the weight down.
Try this
Before sleep, say what you've done to make it right. Then say: I'm putting this down tonight.
Krishna says this to someone about to act. It lifts fear, and your responsibilities stay with you.
He won the war and wanted to disappear
ख्यापनेनानुतापेन दानेन तपसाऽपि वा ॥
A wrong you did can be outweighed by the good you do next: own it, regret it, give back.
Mahabharata, Shanti Parva
Yudhishthira after the war
Yudhishthira won the war and could not bear it. So many of his own family were dead, and he blamed himself. He wanted to give up the throne and go into the forest for good. One after another, his brothers, Draupadi, and the sages Devasthana and Vyasa argued with him about duty, guilt, grief and the shortness of life. Slowly he agreed to stay and rule, and to spend what was left of his life doing good.
Guilt and grief are real, but they are not the end. The good you do next counts.
What it means for you
Running away can feel like the only honest answer to what you did. Yudhishthira's family argue for staying and doing good with what's left.
Try this
Choose one ongoing way to give back that's connected to what happened, and start it this week.
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 guilt & past mistakes.
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 the Bhagavad Gita say about guilt?
Does the Gita say past mistakes can be forgiven?
Which Gita verse helps with regret?
Should I read one verse a day or all seven at once?
More Gita verses on guilt & past mistakes
- Bhagavad Gita 6.5Lift yourself. Do not let yourself sink.
