We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Oppenheimer reflects on the profound shift in human perception after witnessing the atomic bomb, recalling the Bhagavad-Gita's description of Vishnu as the destroyer of worlds.
- In plain terms
- The world changed forever after the atomic bomb, reminding Oppenheimer of ancient texts about destruction.
- What can you take from it?
- Technological breakthroughs can fundamentally alter humanity's view of its own power and fate.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What responsibilities come with creating powerful technologies?
- How do we process moments of global transformation?
Another view
The quote relies heavily on the author's personal interpretation of a religious text without broader consensus.
More from J. Robert Oppenheimer
It's not that I don't feel bad about it. It's just that I don't feel worse today than what I felt yesterday.
Permalink to quote #7 When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you've had your technical success. That…
Permalink to quote #9 The open society, the unrestricted access to knowledge, the unplanned and uninhibited association of men for its furtherance - these are what may make a vast, …
Permalink to quote #6
Related quotes
Even of old the Christian world, so bitterly antagonistic to any ideas not specifically contained in their creeds and dogmas, made an exception in Socrates' ca…
Edith HamiltonEdith Hamilton quote #3 As formas superiores do pensamento tem uma tendencia fatal a tornar-se na futura lei revelada: e toda a filosofia termina, nos seus velhos dias, por ser religi…
Jose Maria Eca de QueirozJose Maria Eca de Queiroz quote #6 While the Jeffersonian did not flatly deny the Creator's power to perform miracles, he admired His refusal to do so.
Daniel J. BoorstinDaniel J. Boorstin quote #6