Verses of Hope for Hard Times

“asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya”

Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.

A seeker's prayer within the Upanishad — a cry to be led from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.

“yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata”

Whenever righteousness fades and wrong arises, I take form and come, age after age.

Spoken by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra (within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva), revealing that He takes form age after age, whenever righteousness fades.

“ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate”

To those who think of Me with undivided heart, I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.

Spoken by Krishna to the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — the Gita sits within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva — as Arjuna, overcome with grief and unwilling to fight his own kin, laid down his bow before the war.

“yato dharmas tato jayaḥ”

Where there is dharma — righteousness — there is victory.

Famously spoken by Queen Gandhari to her son Duryodhana before the war at Kurukshetra: when he sought her blessing for victory, she would not bless an unjust cause, telling him only that victory stands where dharma stands.