Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

Those who believe in karma do not blame. They do not judge. They accept that humans live in a sea of consequences, over which there is limited control. So they accept every moment as it is supposed to be. They act without expectation.

when a man praises himself, it is intellectual suicide.

dharma is not about justice; it is about empathy and wisdom. Dharma is not about defeating others, it is about conquering ourselves. Everybody wins in dharma.

we believe our problems are the greatest and our misfortunes the worst, there is always someone out there who has suffered more.

You want the world to behave as you wish. It does not, hence your anger and your grief.

Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes, Indra has a hundred, And You and I, only two .".

bliss comes when love is shared with all.

Like animals that seek food for their survival, humans yearn for meaning for their sanity: what is our value, our purpose and our identity in this world?

Every human creates his own imagined version of the world, and of himself. Every human is therefore Brahma, creator of his own aham. Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahma. Tat tvam asi, so are you. We knot our imagination with fear to create aham. Tapasya and yagna are two tools that can help us unknot the mind, outgrow fear and discover atma, our true self.

Dharma is more about empathy than ethics, about intent rather than outcome. I follow dharma when I am concerned about your material, emotional or intellectual hunger. I follow adharma when I focus on my hunger at the cost of yours.

Krishna offers Arjuna two things: what he is and what he has. Arjuna chooses what Krishna is. Duryodhana is happy with what Krishna has. This divide between him and his, me and mine, what one is and what one has, is the difference between seeking the soul and being satisfied with matter.

One must accept that one's life is the result of past karmas and that one has the power to choose one's response to every situation.

It is ironical that for all the value we give to the rational, life is primarily governed by the irrational. Love is not rational. Sorrow is not rational. Hatred, ambition, rage and greed are irrational. Even ethics, morals and aesthetics are not rational. They depend on values and standards which are ultimately subjective.

Arjuna, immerse your mind in me and I will uplift you from the ocean of recurring death. If you cannot do that, then practise yoga and work on your mind. If you cannot do that, then do your work as if it is my work. If you cannot do that, then make yourself my instrument and do as I say. If you cannot do that, then simply do your job and leave the results to me.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 12, verses 6 to 11 (paraphrased).

Accept that nothing happens without a reason. Accept that all experiences have a purpose.

These chants relieved vedana, the yearning of the restless human soul, hence became collectively known as the Veda. Those who heard them first came to be known as the Rishis.

Myths may not satisfy the demands of rationality or science, but they contain profound wisdom - provided one believes they do and is willing to find out what they communicate.

According to Vedic scriptures, God does not 'create' this world. He simply made all creatures aware of it. Awareness leads to discovery. Discovery is creation.

Within the infinite myths lies the eternal truth

The world that is perceived through any measuring scale is called maya.

The Ramayana has never been a tale of Ram's life. It is a tale of how Ram lived for others. By retelling his tale, storytellers hope to inspire themselves and others to live as Ram did.

Your suffering was repayment for the karmic debt incurred then

The point of existence in this dynamic, ever-changing world then was not to aspire or achieve, but to introspect.

As long as we cling (moha), we are trapped. As soon as we let go, we are liberated (moksha). We become independent and content in our own company (atma-rati) yet generous and dependable for the other (brahma-nirvana).