— Modern paraphrase attributed to Krishna; these English words are not from the Gita
About this quote
हिन्दी में
सुख की कुंजी यह है कि इच्छाएँ कम की जाएँ।
What it means
The claim here is arithmetical rather than moral. Happiness is treated as a ratio between what you want and what you have, and the line says the reliable way to improve that ratio is to shrink the wanting, because the other side of the equation is not under your control. The problem is located in the appetite itself, not in the world’s failure to satisfy it.
It is worth keeping as a compact statement of a very old idea, but the popular reading drifts. Most people hear it as advice about owning less — minimalism with a spiritual accent. The Krishna of the Bhagavad Gita is not asking anyone to withdraw from the world; he is pressing a reluctant warrior to act. What is criticised there is being governed by desire, not the number of things one desires. These particular English words are a modern paraphrase rather than a sentence from the Gita.
What it teaches you
Name the exact condition you currently believe stands between you and being content — the promotion, the move, the argument resolved. Then recall what occupied that slot five years ago, and whether getting it did what it promised. The point of this line is the pattern of substitution, not the item currently in the slot.
अर्थ और सीख
यह पंक्ति कहती है कि सुख पाने का सस्ता और भरोसेमंद रास्ता चीज़ें बढ़ाना नहीं, बल्कि चाह घटाना है — क्योंकि दुनिया आपके वश में नहीं, चाह कुछ हद तक है। ध्यान रहे, इसका अर्थ संन्यास या कम सामान रखना नहीं है; बात इच्छा के गुलाम न होने की है। सीख यह है कि जिस एक शर्त को आप अपने सुख की कुंजी मानते हैं, उसे पहचानिए और देखिए कि पाँच साल पहले उसी जगह कौन-सी शर्त खड़ी थी।
