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Today, in this illusionary and complicated world, we are all thriving for success and inner peace. Both The Secret and The Bhagavad Gita have laid the foundation of their own principles and processes, which by following them, a person can reach great heights and success.

Let’s walk through some of their core principles before heading towards comparison.

The Secret

The book is about the Law of Attraction which by following it, anyone can achieve his/her own desires and ambitions. One has to incorporate complete faith into the Universe and it’s the Universe that will fulfill all the desires in its own way and in its own time.

Here are 3 basic steps to follow this magical trick:

Ask
One must be clear about the requirements of life and ask the same from the Universe.  This will radiate energy into the Universe with the corresponding frequency, and Universe will recept it accordingly.

Believe & Imagine
One must believe in the Universe that the wish/desire will be fulfilled. There must not be any doubts in the faith about the Universe.

Recieve
After the energy has been transmitted into the Universe, one must feel the gratitude of receiving it. The enthusiasm of receiving the same should be clearly expressed.

The Bhagavad Gita

The book, also known as The Song of the God is all about surrendering Oneself completely to the Divine. Here is a list of some key principal takeaways from the book.

1. Focus on your actions and not your results (Chapter 2 Verse 47)

karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi

[You have a right to perform your prescribed duties. But you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions]

2. Soul is neither born nor does it ever die (Chapter 2 Verse 20)

na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre

[The soul is never born nor does it ever die. So be fearless, as it is not destroyed even if the body is destroyed]

3. Lust, Greed, and Anger leads to Hell (Chapter 16 Verse 21)

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

[There are three gates leading to the self-destruction of the soul—lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, all should abandon these three]

The Contradiction

The Secret depicts the Law of Attraction to be applied directly on a desire which may be in the form of greed. If that desire is not fulfilled, it takes the form of anger, or otherwise, it gets converted into ego which ultimately urges the human being to perform actions that are harmful to society. Whereas, in The Bhagavad Gita, (Chapter 2 Verse 38) states that:

sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi

[One should fight for the sake of duty treating loss or gain equally. There should not be any element of happiness/sadness attached to the work. Fulfilling the responsibility in this form will never incur sin]

Moreover, according to The Secret, there is no concept of work or Karma to be performed while achieving the goal. It’s just a mere inclination towards imagination and sending frequencies to the Universe. Whereas, The Bhagavad Gita states the Law of Karma and the concept of Karma Yogi. One must perform tasks without any desire or being conscious of the result of the action. The Universe always reacts based on our Karmas. If our Karmas are not aligned towards the desire that we are thinking about according to The Secret, it will never be fulfilled. Also, just performing those 3 steps without actually doing Karma won’t help in achieving anything. Chapter 3 Verse 4 of The Bhagavad Gita states that:

na karmaṇāmanārambhānnaiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo’śnute,
na ca saṁnyasanādeva siddhiṁ samadhigacchati.

[Not by abstention from works does a man enjoy the fruits of karma, or by mere renunciation (of works) does he attain to his perfection or achieves his goal]

Lastly, following only desires will never lead to mental peace and the person will always be in a constant state of anxiety since he/she is only focused on desires/greed. It will become a never-ending process since the person will continue to strive for more and more and so he/she will never be satisfied. Chapter 3 Verse 4 of The Bhagavad Gita states that:

āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṁ
samudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat,
tadvatkāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī.

[One who is not disturbed by desires only achieves peace. And not the one who strives to satisfy such desires]

Is the Law of Attraction Wrong?

There is no doubt that The Law of Attraction does not work. It is completely efficient and fully functional. It’s just not the correct way to follow as mentioned in the book The Secret.

The article about following The Law of Attraction in the correct way will be published in my next blog.

tam eva śharaṇaṁ gachchha sarva-bhāvena bhārata
tat-prasādāt parāṁ śhāntiṁ sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śhāśhvatam

[Surrender exclusively unto him with your whole being. By his grace, you will attain perfect peace and the eternal abode]