7-verse reading plan
Bhagavad Gita for losing hope: 7 verses for tough times
It starts where Arjuna did, sitting down in his chariot, unable to go on.
- 7 verses
- Gita, then the Ramayana
- About 14 min to read
- Sanskrit, English, audio
The Gita's teaching begins at its hero's lowest point. Arjuna puts down his bow and sits in the chariot, unable to go on (1.47). Krishna stays with him. These verses move from that collapse to Krishna's first push to stand, his promise that no one who does good comes to ruin (6.40), the care he offers those who turn to him (9.22), and two practices for days when hope is thin. The last is from the Ramayana: Lakshman sitting with Ram through four months of rain.
The seven verses
- Verse 1See itEven Arjuna sat downGita 1.47
- Verse 2What's underneathStand upGita 2.3
- Verse 3SteadyNo one who does good is lostGita 6.40
- Verse 4SteadyWhat you lack, carriedGita 9.22
- Verse 5DoBe on your own sideGita 6.5
- Verse 6DoWith a heart that doesn't give upGita 6.23
- Verse 7A storySome seasons are for waitingValmiki Ramayana
Even Arjuna sat down
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥
Arjuna put down his bow and sat in the chariot, too overwhelmed to go on.
Bhagavad Gita 1.47 · Sanjaya
Full translation
Sanjaya said: Saying this, Arjuna sat down on the chariot seat in the midst of the battlefield, casting aside his bow and arrows, his mind overwhelmed by grief.
संजय बोले ऐसा कहकर शोकाकुल मनवाले अर्जुन बाणसहित धनुष का त्याग करके युद्धभूमि में रथके मध्यभाग में बैठ गये ॥
What it means for you
The narrator Sanjaya speaks these words. He describes the greatest archer of his time putting down his bow and sitting in the chariot, his mind sunk in sorrow. The Gita begins with someone who can't go on, and it stays with him for seventeen more chapters.
Try this
Tell one person, plainly, that things are hard right now.
Stand up
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥
This smallness of heart does not suit you. Shake it off and stand up.
Bhagavad Gita 2.3 · Krishna
Full translation
Do not yield to weakness, Partha. It does not suit you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and rise, scorcher of foes.
हे पृथानन्दन अर्जुन इस नपुंसकताको मत प्राप्त हो क्योंकि तुम्हारेमें यह उचित नहीं है । हे परंतप हृदयकी इस तुच्छ दुर्बलताका त्याग करके युद्धके लिये खड़े हो जाओ ॥
What it means for you
Krishna's first words of counsel are a push: klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ, don't give in to this weakness of heart; stand up. He says it once, the way a friend would, and then spends the rest of the Gita explaining why. Losing hope is real, and there is more to you than this moment.
Try this
Write down one thing you once managed that was harder than you expected.
Krishna says this once, as a friend, and then explains for seventeen chapters. Your feelings still count.
No one who does good is lost
नहि कल्याणकृत्कश्िचद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥
Whoever does good never comes to ruin, my friend. Not here, not after.
Bhagavad Gita 6.40 · Krishna
Full translation
Krishna said: O Partha, there is no destruction for him either here or hereafter. No one who does good ever comes to a bad end, my dear.
श्रीभगवान् बोले हे पृथानन्दन उसका न तो इस लोकमें और न परलोकमें ही विनाश होता है क्योंकि हे प्यारे कल्याणकारी काम करनेवाला कोई भी मनुष्य दुर्गतिको प्राप्त नहीं जाता ॥
What it means for you
Arjuna asks what happens to someone who tries and falls short. Krishna answers tenderly, calling him tāta, my dear: whoever does good never comes to a bad end, here or after. What you've tried to do well has not been wasted.
Try this
List three good things you did this year that nobody saw.
What you lack, carried
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥
Turn to me with your whole heart, and I will carry what you lack and guard what you have.
Bhagavad Gita 9.22 · Krishna
Full translation
Those who think of me alone and worship me with unwavering focus—I carry their welfare and security.
जो अनन्य भक्त मेरा चिन्तन करते हुए मेरी उपासना करते हैं, मेरेमें निरन्तर लगे हुए उन भक्तोंका योगक्षेम अप्राप्तकी प्राप्ति और प्राप्तकी रक्षा मैं वहन करता हूँ ॥
What it means for you
Yoga-kṣemaṃ vahāmy aham: Krishna says he carries what those who turn to him lack and guards what they have. Bills still need paying and plans still need making. The verse invites you to stop carrying all of it alone.
Try this
Hand one worry over, in prayer, to a friend, or on paper, and agree not to pick it up again today.
Trust eases worry. Keep doing your part and planning well.
Be on your own side
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
Be on your own side. Lift yourself up, don't push yourself down. You can be your own friend.
Bhagavad Gita 6.5 · Krishna
Full translation
Lift yourself by yourself; do not let yourself fall. The true self is its own friend, and the true self is its own enemy.
अपने द्वारा अपना उद्धार करे, अपना पतन न करे क्योंकि आप ही अपना मित्र है और आप ही अपना शत्रु है ॥
What it means for you
Uddhared ātmanātmānam: lift yourself by yourself, and don't push yourself down. In hard times the harshest voice is often our own. Krishna asks you to be your own friend, and Arjuna himself shows that asking for help is part of that.
Try this
Speak to yourself today the way you'd speak to a friend in your situation.
With a heart that doesn't give up
स निश्चयेन योक्तव्यो योगोऽनिर्विण्णचेतसा ॥
Yoga is unhooking from sorrow. Practise it with resolve and a heart that doesn't lose hope.
Bhagavad Gita 6.23 · Krishna
Full translation
Know that as yoga: the severance of union with suffering. Practice that yoga with certainty, with an undiscouraged mind.
जिसमें दुःखोंके संयोगका ही वियोग है, उसीको योग नामसे जानना चाहिये । वह योग जिस ध्यानयोगका लक्ष्य है, उस ध्यानयोगका अभ्यास न उकताये हुए चित्तसे निश्चयपूर्वक करना चाहिये ॥
What it means for you
Krishna calls yoga the unhooking from sorrow and says to practise it with resolve, anirviṇṇa-cetasā: with a mind that doesn't lose heart. Hope here is something you do. You carry on, a little each day.
Try this
Pick one small daily action and keep it for a week, whatever your mood.
Some seasons are for waiting
शोचते ह्यवसीदन्ति सर्वार्था विदितं हि ते ॥
Those who keep grieving lose every purpose they had. Don't let sorrow take all of you.
Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda
Ram waits out the monsoon
After Sita was taken, the rains came, and Ram had to wait four months on a mountainside before any search could begin. Nothing could be done. He couldn't sleep for grief. Lakshman sat with him and reminded him that endless grieving drains every purpose, and that this was a season for waiting, not for giving up. Ram resolved to wait well, and when the rains ended, the search began.
Some seasons are for waiting. Wait well, without letting grief take you.
What it means for you
If nothing you do seems to move anything right now, you may be in a monsoon. Monsoons end.
Try this
Name one thing to tend while you wait: your health, a skill, or a friendship.
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 losing hope.
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 losing hope?
Which Gita verse gives strength in difficult times?
What if things feel completely hopeless?
Should I read one verse a day or all seven at once?
More Gita verses on losing hope
- Bhagavad Gita 18.66Take refuge. I will free you. Do not grieve.
