A core teaching · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Practice for applause collapses into instability.”
Austerity done for honor, praise, and worship, or with a show of display, is said to be rajasic here. It gives unstable, temporary results.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyfor honor, respect, and worship · austerity · with pretence, show · and · indeed · that which · is done · that · here, in this world · is said · rajasic · unstable · impermanent
Practice done to impress others, gain respect, or look holy is unstable and short-lived. It may bring attention, but not lasting value.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Kinds of Faith).
Verse 18 sits in Chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Kinds of Faith". The chapter has 28 verses in total.
A colleague announces his Navratri fast loudly every day and waits for admiration. Krishna would call that rajasic austerity: done for honour and display, with results that fade as fast as the praise.
Did you like this verse?
Austerity done for honour, praise and show is rajasic, Krishna says, and its results are unstable.
What this verse means
Practice done to impress others, gain respect, or look holy is unstable and short-lived. It may bring attention, but not lasting value.
Context & commentary
Krishna continues explaining three kinds of austerity to Arjuna. After describing pure discipline, he turns to the kind done for status, admiration, or display. It looks spiritual, but it is shaky and temporary.
What it looks like today
A colleague announces his Navratri fast loudly every day and waits for admiration. Krishna would call that rajasic austerity: done for honour and display, with results that fade as fast as the praise.
“You can feel the difference between sincere effort and performance. The second leaves you emptier, even when others clap.”