A core teaching · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Desire for quick success makes people chase fast-acting powers.”
People who want quick success worship radiant beings, because results from action come quickly in the human world.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallydesiring · of actions · success, accomplishment · worship · here · radiant beings · quickly · indeed · in human · world · success, accomplishment · becomes · born of action
People who want immediate success often turn to lesser powers for help, because in the human world action can produce quick results.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Verse 12 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
Before the festival rush, a small trader wants profit this quarter, so he tries every shortcut and every ritual for luck. Krishna sees the logic: quick results do come in this world, and that is why people reach for them.
Did you like this verse?
People wanting quick success worship the devas, because action bears fruit quickly in this world.
What this verse means
People who want immediate success often turn to lesser powers for help, because in the human world action can produce quick results.
Context & commentary
Krishna explains why people seek quick gains through ritual power rather than steady inner understanding. On the battlefield, Arjuna wants a way out of crisis now, and Krishna shows how the mind reaches for fast results.
What it looks like today
Before the festival rush, a small trader wants profit this quarter, so he tries every shortcut and every ritual for luck. Krishna sees the logic: quick results do come in this world, and that is why people reach for them.
“The urge for speed can make you chase shortcuts instead of understanding what truly works.”