5 Powerful Insights into the Bhagavad Gita that will Blow Away Your Mind
1. Don’t escape your worldly duty while being engrossed in the pursuit of the divine.
Some religious scholars commented that the Bhagavad Gita preaches escaping from one’s worldly responsibilities.
However, this is far from being true. The Bhagavad Gita speaks, not of escapism, but of absolute involvement. That is why, when an overwhelmed Arjun seeks to digress from the war, Krishna, his charioteer, convinces him to continue the combat.
Krishna makes it clear at the outset that such cowardly behaviour is not expected of a warrior, for it’s neither noble nor inspiring. He exhorts Arjun to shed the impotence of his heart, and gear up for what was most necessary to do at that point of time – FIGHT THE BATTLE FIERCELY.
2. Take out time for self - introspection.
Think clearly before you take a leap of faith. The Bhagavad Gita teaches how not giving time for self - introspection can precipitate a personal crisis.
When the war discussions were going on, Arjun was too emotionally invested to think logically.
Even if he had not taken the final call to war against his own cousins (Kauravas), he was equally responsible for nodding in silence while others were deciding on his behalf. He had ‘outsourced’ his decision making to others, while relegating his own point of view to the background. He remained silent when others were speaking, and now it was that silence which was costing him his peace of mind.
3. If you want to treat yourself heartily, you have to voice yourself vociferously.
The shankh and other such instruments that are played before the commencement of Mahabharat war express the innate desire to vindicate all the injustices meted out to the harmless Pandavas who had been unlawfully deprived of their RIGHTS – of due property, of kingship, and of a dignified life.
The shankh is the metonymy for individual mettle. It symbolizes the beginning of annihilation of injustice and the heralding of a new era. That the Mahabharat war begins on a soundful note to stir the right kind of vibration in every warrior’s heart – is the reason why chanting meditations that play upon the vocal cord remain the prime recommendation of mental agility by all Yoga gurus and fitness freaks to this date.
Moreover, the sound/voice that is the core constituent of human expression is the first step towards the realization of one’s RIGHT.
Voicing yourself gently and clearly yet fearlessly is the first step towards nurturing the rightful aspirations of your feelings and emotions. This is Krishna – as direct as possible – without the need of being politically correct. If you want to ‘treat’ yourself ‘feastly’, you have to voice yourself fiercely!
It must be noted here that being fierce does not imply being disrespectful, as most people would like to interpret, or rather, misinterpret. It only means being absolutely clear of one’s objective – loaded with a firm intent as well as politeness at the same time.
4. Learn from the moves of your opponent.
Make a preliminary assessment of every situation before embarking upon it.
Duryodhana takes a preliminary glance of all the great warriors from the Pandavas’ army so as to acquaint himself with the massive stock of strength and valour residing in his opponents. He does not want to jump the gun and misfire with haste in a battle that is going to decide who the rulers of Hastinapur would NOT be.
It is important to make an objective assessment of any problem before embarking upon its solution; for doomed are those who jump the gun without smelling the rat smoldering nearby.
5. The concepts of Hell and Heaven is a full time activity of a weak mind.
Arjun’s ‘weakness’ of spirit and strength grips over his logical faculties and flies his mind into endless assumptions and conclusions.
He begins to blabber the popular notions floating in the world – of hell and heaven - of the ‘other-worldy’ consequences of his actions - of how his ‘sinful’ actions could ‘corrupt’ his entire clan - of the so-called chastity of women. Arjun concludes that his involvement in the battle would strip him of his Dharma and fix his spot in the firmament of ‘hell’ forever.
Only a strong mind is a clear mind - full of intent.
