Home > Author > Devdutt Pattanaik
181 " When you first give something in order to get something, you are a generous yajaman. If you demand something before you give something, you are a devata. As children you can be devatas, but to grow up means to be a yajaman. When you are able to give without expecting anything in return, you are the greatest yajaman. "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata
182 " man the master of his own destiny and the creator of his own desires, "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata
183 " Don't indulge your senses with bhoga, yoke your emotions with yoga. "
184 " At that moment, the king realized how different man was from animal. Animals spent their entire lives focused on survival. Humans could look beyond survival, seek meaning in life, harm others to save themselves, help others by sacrificing themselves. Humanity was blessed with a faculty that enabled it to empathize and exploit. It was this unique faculty that allowed humans to forsake the jungle and establish civilization. "
185 " Rebirth takes away the sense of urgency and the quest for perfection that are the hallmarks of Western thought. The Gita does not speak of changing the world. It speaks of appreciating the world that is always changing. "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , My Gita
186 " The wise want nothing but accept whatever comes their way, letting it pass when it is time to part ways. Ram is "
187 " Vyasa thus shows how confrontation and conflict does not necessarily happen when one is right and the other is wrong; it can happen simply because two people follow different value systems. "
188 " Somvat had seen a creature such as Sthunakarna only on the walls of Ileshwara’s temple. Images of such deformed beasts lined the northern wall just below images of the Apsaras. ‘Because the world belongs not just to beautiful creatures,’ said the Pujari. ‘Shiva loves them. He is the indifferent one, who looks beyond bodies, beautiful and ugly, male and female, young and old, at the suffering soul. "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , The Pregnant King
189 " All Hindu rituals end with the chant ‘Shanti, shanti, shanti’ because the quest for peace is the ultimate goal of all existence. This peace is not external but internal. It is not about making the world a peaceful place; it is about us being at peace with the world. "
190 " You renounced your right to think independently when you let someone else play your game for you. His word is your word. And you must be committed to keeping it. For to keep one's word is dharma. To hate is not dharma. "
191 " Arjuna, fair or unfair, the results of any action depend on five things: the body, the mind, the instruments, the method and divine grace (luck? fate?). Only the ignorant think they alone are responsible for any outcome.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, verses 13 to 16 (paraphrased). "
192 " Remember, it is the nature of the ignorant mind to be drawn towards things that will cause harm and to avoid things that are good. We must remember that what tempts us will in all probability be the cause of our downfall. What we shy away from, what we procrastinate about, probably is what will help us evolve.’ So "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , The Book of Ram
193 " In nature, the strong overpower the weak in order to improve their chances of survival. But in culture, the strong must protect the weak. That is dharma. "
194 " Animals are loyal to a pack, a herd, a hive; human beings can choose which side they fight on. And the choice must be based on dharma. "
195 " Do you derive your identity by comparing yourself with me? This is maya, a necessary delusion without which society cannot function. It can uplift you with inspiration, depress you with jealousy or grant you peace by revealing how different you are from me. "
196 " Peace comes when one comes to terms with the three worlds: the personal world, the cultural world and the natural world. "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology
197 " We can never know everything and we can never be sure. All information is incomplete, and all readings distorted by personal prejudice. And yet we have to take decisions all the time and hope the results favour us. Bhartrihari "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , How to take decisions (Management Sutras)
198 " there is a reality greater than what you perceive. "
199 " WHEN THE HEART IS OPENED up, when love flows into it and from it, a sense of security prevails. With security comes freedom. There is no need to pretend. We can be ourselves. "
― Devdutt Pattanaik , Krishna's Secret
200 " Most desired form of happiness?'Contentment "