Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

Arjuna, the senses exist beyond the physical; mind beyond the senses; intelligence beyond the mind. Beyond intelligence is your sense of self. By knowing who you really are you will conquer all yearning.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3, verses 42 and 43 (paraphrased).

Business is about seduction. To increase market size, we have to seduce customers who have never used our product or service.

To let our potential be realized without deriving our identity from it, or without denying its existence, is the hallmark of wisdom.

Let go of your self-pity and your rage, noble sage. Let the knots of your mind unbind until aham gives way to atma. Only then will you be able to restore your hermitage and bring back joy to your world,' said Ram with the demeanour of a king. Gautama

As in the dialogue between Yudhishtira and Nahusha, the Mahabharata repeatedly states that one becomes a Brahman not by birth but by effort. Thus the epic challenges the traditional understanding of caste.

Buddha began to spread his philosophy, which propagated that all sorrows arise from desire; so to end sorrow, one must give up desire. The sanyas tradition, renunciation of material life, took root in a big way.

Then it moved. A kick. Then another. The king woke up with a start. 'Come here quickly. Feel this,' he called the ghosts. They saw the excitement in the king's eyes. They

Thus, showing does not guarantee seeing. Telling does not guarantee hearing.

If she is wise, she will accommodate the inadequacy. If he is wise, he will strive to grow,' said Sita, still looking at Ahilya and the hesitant tenderness of Gautama. Kushadhvaja

I realize the futility of rage and know the power of forgiveness.' Enlightened

To see the world from another's point of view, and make sense of it.

The notion of karma is unique to Indian thought. No action exists in isolation. Every decision impacts the ecosystem. Karma is often mistaken for the adage, "As you sow, so shall you reap.

To see the world from another's point of view, and make sense of it.' 'I think it has blossomed in Ram.

Such is the law of karma. Every action, howsoever innocent, has a reaction, that one has to experience if not in this life, then in the next,

True love is the ability to love people despite their mistakes.

nothing in this world is spontaneous. Everything is a reaction to the past. Shantanu

Anyone can give advice, but a person cannot act, cannot do his karma, unless he is confident.

By introducing the idea of immortality and rebirth in Chapter 2 of The Gita, Krishna changes the scope of the discussion, for without death serving as a boundary, there is no fear, no yearning for food or meaning, nowhere to come from, or go to, for the end is no longer the end and the beginning is no longer the beginning. Rather than change the world that defies control, rather than seek validation from things temporary, we engage, observe, discover and enjoy.

what is apparently a good deed need not really be a good deed, for every moment is governed by factors that are often beyond human comprehension.

Overhearing The Gita I

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

Often in business we take decisions based on how we interpret the situation, not being sure of whether the call we have taken will work or not. When it works, we are often taken by surprise. But the world at large demands an explanation.

the power of maya: that which deludes you to be unhappy can be overpowered by another delusion that causes greater unhappiness.

our actions have infinite consequences; we have limitless choices, if we open our mind to them. Thus, a shift in imagination brings about a dramatic shift in identity, meaning, value, assumptions and aspirations.