120 Profound Hindu Quotes On Spirituality

Spirituality has always been an important part of Hindu philosophy and way of life. Hinduism has a rich tradition of wisdom passed down through centuries in the form of quotes and teachings by ancient sages and gurus. This article aims to share some of the most profound Hindu quotes on spirituality to offer insights and inspiration.

The quotes have been organically grouped into themes related to spirituality like dharma, karma, meditation, yoga, truth, non-violence and more. Each quote is presented with the name of the sage or thinker it is attributed to for additional context. While brevity was key in selection to keep the article concise, the focus was on including diverse perspectives from across various spiritual traditions within Hinduism.

It is hoped that reading these profound and thought-provoking quotes sparks reflection on life’s deeper questions and reinforces the significance of virtues fostered in Hindu scriptures. More importantly, it strengthens one’s philosophical foundations and dedication to principles of righteousness, non-harming, truthfulness and ethical living.

– Finding purpose through ancient wisdom

“Be good, do good. This sums up the whole of morality.” – Mahavira
“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” – Dalai Lama
“Everything that lives is holy, life delights in life.” – Upanishads
“Look within. Within is the fountain of all good, and once you have tasted its sweetness you will forget the temptation of any other water.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Live and help others live. This whole secret of human felicity.” – Swami Vivekananda
“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back.” – Buddha
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” – Buddha
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Nithyananda
“Silence more echoes than sound.” – Upanishads
“Health is the greatest gift; contentment the greatest wealth; trust, the best relationship.” – Upanishads
“Man, alone, suffers because he has forgotten that he is a part of One Humanity.” – Swami Vivekananda
“Live a good, truthful and full life. If you see a need, have courage and humanity to fill it.” – Morarji Desai
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; think of it; dream of it; let the brain, muscle and nerves grow.” – Swami Vivekananda
“The nature of the soul is bliss.” – Upanishads
“Anger is a wind that blows out the lamp of the mind.” – Buddha
“Let there be no darkness in your heart, neither blindness in your eyes, that in your avalanche-voice be no silence.” – Tagore

– Life lessons from Hindu scriptures

“As you think, so shall you become.”- Upanishads
“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy – by one, or more, or all of these – and be free.” – Swami Vivekananda
“The universe is not separate from us; we are intrinsically connected to all things.” – Upanishads
“To be awake is to be alive. We must meet life face to face. We must work joyfully and pray joyfully, facing both success and failure with equanimity.” – Swami Vivekananda
“The only constant in life is change. Change is the law of nature.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“The past is past. Let the dead past bury its own dead. Of what use is sorrow over the past?” – Tamil saying
“The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.” – Ramakrishna
“Non-violence is the greatest religion. Others are its branches.”-Mahavira
“First remove the self, established in the Self, enjoy supreme peace.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home.” – Upanishads
“Action alone can create the future. The destiny of tomorrow depends on what we do today.”- Swami Vivekananda
“Renounce and enjoy.” – Upanishads
“We are what our deep, driving desire is. As our deep desire is, so is our will. As our will is, so is our deed. As our deed is, so is our destiny.” – Upanishads
“Through compassion we transcend suffering.”- Buddha
“The simple things in life make us happy.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.”- Rumi
“Do your work with mastery of self and dedication to God, unswayed by success or failure.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Your belief determines your attitude, your attitude determines your actions, your actions determine your habits, your habits determine your character, your character determines your destiny.” – Hindu Proverb

– Hindu philosophy on the human experience

“You are the creator of your own destiny by your own actions.” – Hindu Proverb
“Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls, where words comes out from the depth of truth, where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, – where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, – there is the Nation, great and strong.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“If the whole universe is in yourself, who are you then?” – Upanishads
“Work alone does not bind you; it is the attachment to the results of work.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.” – Hindu Proverb
“The intellect without character and morality cannot prosper.” – Buddha
“The soul is not bound by place or time but ever remains immersed in the bliss of the self.” – Upanishads
“What we are searching for is inside you.” – Hindu Proverb
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
“How can a mortal understand the way of heaven? The things around us only what we see.” – Hindu Proverb
“The essence of all things is the Self alone. There is Brahman alone and nothing else at all.” – Shankaracharya
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” – Buddha
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein (influenced by Hindu philosophy)
“Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.” – Buddha
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“This self cannot be gained by teaching, or by intellect or by listening from others: That self which you have, which is immortal, is to be realized.” – Katha Upanishad
“All worldly actions are purifying or degrading according to whether they are done with or without attachment.” – Chinmayananda
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

– Spiritual insight from Vedic traditions

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha
“The secrets of life are hidden within you. If you look deeply enough they become revealed to you.” – Upanishads
“All that is heard is not The Word. Who comprehends it is certainly wise.” – Chandogya Upanishad
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
“You are what your deepest desire is. As your deepest desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
“When one sees all beings in oneself and oneself in all beings, one shrinks not from anything.” – Dhammapada
“Where ignorance is the ruler, there is blind darkness; but where wisdom rules, there is light as of sunlight.” – Chandogya Upanishad
“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” – Baba Devi
“Peace can only come when we genuinely respect others.” – Dalai Lama
“The soul is self-luminous like the sun; it illumines other bodies, as it were, but is not itself illumined by them.” – Chandogya Upanishad
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare paraphrasing the Mahabharata
“Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is falsehood that stands in need of public support.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Everything that exists is rooted in mind; mind is their sole forerunner.” – Dhammapada
“Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love.” – Dhammapada
“You become what you think. Change your thoughts, change your world.” – Dandapani
“The soul is self-luminous, like a lamp that lights up other objects but is not dependent on any external light itself for its own illumination.” – Upanishads
“Be still in chaos, and quiet mind will come. Within the silence, find the music, and if you listen, it will be your song.” – Dag Hammarskjold
“Keep your mind calm and peaceful under all conditions. If you get agitated, you lose effectiveness in every single thing.” – Dalai Lama
“This soul is not bound by any deeds it does. It burns up all its deeds in the fire of its own true nature. It does not attain pleasure or pain from any deeds it does.” – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

– non-attachment teachings from the Upanishads

“To whom nothing is near, nothing is far; to whom nothing is dear, nothing is not dear; he for whom the world does not exist, for him alone exists the world.” -Katha Upanishad
“Let a man renounce all desires of the mind and perfectly subjugate this his self by his (higher) self; Then let him practice yoga for satisfaction of the Supreme Soul. He who (thus) practices yoga, keeping his self satisfied by (his) self, finds (supreme) happiness and attains eternal abode.” -Bhagavad Gita
“He has neither fear, nor grief, who, everywhere and in everyone, sees verily nothing else but the Brahman.” -Mandukya Upanishad
“There the sun shines not, nor the stars, nor the lightning – what to speak of this earthly fire? He shining, everything shines; through His light, all these light up.” -Praśna Upanishad
“He who sees everything in himself and himself in everything, does not lose his sight by seeing anything else.” -Isa Upanishad
“He who always sees sameness everywhere—when there is equality everywhere, through tranquillity and harmony— such a person is considered the foremost.” -Kaivalya Upanishad
“For the illumined one whose soul is tranquil, who is born again by renouncing objects of sense, who controls the mind and controls also the self, for him there is neither joy nor grief.” -Kaushitaki Upanishad
“That Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much hearing. Whom He chooses, by him alone is Atman attained—to such a one Atman reveals His own form.” -Kena Upanishad
“This Atman which is bright as sunshine, beyond the darkness of ignorance, is unborn and eternal. Attaining It alone a wise man is liberated from the bonds of birth, and rejoices having obtained immortality.” -Kaushitaki Upanishad
“He from whom all works, all desires, all senses have been removed—him the wise call the tranquil.” -Mundaka Upanishad
“Free from vain attachments, living aloof, without pride, desires and egoism—such a person goes to immortality.” -Mundaka Upanishad
“He who is not attached to anything external or internal, who has not taken refuge in anything, that infinite and fearless one is alone called Brahman, not this which is but a name.” -Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
“There is nothing here we can call our own; death is certain and life uncertain. In such a condition, who can live happily without knowing the support of the Supreme?” -Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
“When a person frees himself from identification with body, organs and mind, then he realizes ‘I am He, I am Brahman – the infinite’. This is the truth.” -Mandukya Upanishad
“He who sees that all things end only in Him, and that He is eternal and omnipresent—he only has a steady intelligence.” -Mundaka Upanishad
“ One who does not give rise to love or hatred for any, who is concentrated and peaceful, remains undisturbed in pleasure and pain as also in merit and demerit.” -Praśna Upanishad
“The tranquil one who has found peace by renouncing all desires that enter the heart—one who dwells in the Self, being free from all sense-objects—attains the supreme Immortality.” -Katha Upanishad
“Let the wise one restrain his senses like the feather of a bird through his mind.” -Mundaka Upanishad
“A man is called steadfast when all desires that have found entrance in his heart are cast away.” -Kaushitaki Upanishad
“The Self-existent pierced the openings (of the senses) outward; therefore one looks outward, not within oneself. Some wise man, however, with his eyes closed, pierced through imagination by knowledge, beholding in his heart the quiescent One.” -Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

– Quotes on Karma and reincarnation from Bhagavad Gita

“The contacts of senses with objects gives rise to sensations of heat and cold, pleasure and pain which come and go and are impermanent. Expect them not, O best of Warriors and be peaceful.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:14
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the embodied soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, is intelligent amongst men, and he is disciplined in yoga.” – Bhagavad Gita 4:18
“Whatever deeds are done by embodied beings come from Him alone, whether regulated or not. Thinking ‘I am not the doer’ understanding thus one is not attached to one’s activities.” – Bhagavad Gita 5:14
“The Wise do not get attached to the fruits of actions. They remain focused and not attached. They work without expectation, truly free, and yet engage in action.” – Bhagavad Gita 4:21
“Never does this Supreme Spirit take birth, nor does It perish. Nor having come into being does It again cease to be.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:20
“The unreal has no existence. There is no annihilation of the Real. The truth about both has been seen by the seers of the Truth.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:16
“As the embodied soul continuously passes in this body from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:13
“All actions are carried out, in all cases, by the qualities in nature. The man deluded by ego thinks I am the doer.” – Bhagavad Gita 3:27
“One who is not disturbed in difficulties and is not elated in pleasures, who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:56
“A person who has conquered the mind is established in equanimity and renounces all desire for wants.” – Bhagavad Gita 6:8
“When a man sees inaction in action and action in inaction, then he is wise among human beings.” – Bhagavad Gita 4:18
“Your right is to work only, but never to the fruits thereof. Be not attached to inaction.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:47
“One’s own duty, though imperfectly done, is better than doing another’s duties perfectly well.” – Bhagavad Gita 3:35
“As a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so casts off the worn bodies and enters others that are new.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“He who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among human beings.” – Bhagavad Gita 4:18
“You have control only over action, none over results. Do not consider yourself the cause of the results, and their karmas will not bind you.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:47
“When a man completely casts off, O Parantapa, all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then is he said to be one of steady understanding.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:71
“Just as a person lays aside an old garment and wears a new one, so the embodied soul gives up old disintegrating bodies and transfers to others that are new.” – Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“A leaf, a flower, a fruit, water—whatever you eat, eat to live; live to serve God and humanity with love, care, compassion; that is Your duty here.”

Conclusion

Hindu spiritual teachings offer profound insights into living an ethical, meaningful life. The quotes shared illuminate philosophical principles like karma, dharma, atman, and moksha. They encourage cultivating virtues of compassion, non-violence, wisdom and self-knowledge. Reflecting deeply on these timeless teachings can help promote inner peace and strengthen our connection to life’s deeper purpose and meaning. I encourage taking some time to ponder the messages that most resonate with you. Let the quotes be a reminder to prioritize spiritual growth and elevate your thoughts. Our tradition has gifted us these words as lighthouses to guide through this journey of discovering our full human potential.

120 Profound Hindu Quotes On Spirituality