Why do surgeons find it difficult to operate on their children?

Why do the people who protest against corruption don’t hesitate to pay bribes when it comes to their own?

Why look at others? In many situations, we all apply different rules to others than the people we like.

What that means is, we like it or not, but we have an inherent bias towards people we consider ours, which results in double standards. 

That’s what happened to Arjun during the Kurukshetra war. Before the Kurukshetra war, Arjun had fought hundreds of wars and defeated/killed countless worriers. That means he had no issue with the war itself. 

But, when he saw Bhishma and Dronacharya on the opposite side he started trembling. 

Since childhood, Bhishma had been a father figure whom all Pandavas had looked up to. He had been their protector and guide for their entire lives. Similarly, Dronacharya was their teacher, and for Arjun, being his favorite student, the bond between them was very special.

Therefore, the thought of fighting with them and the need to essentially kill them to win this war was nerve wreaking for Arjun. 

The first chapter of Bhagavad Gita describes this in detail and ends with  Sanjay informing Dhritarashtra that Arjun has cast aside his bow and arrow and has sunk into his chariot in distress and grief. 

As we know, Sanjay was the narrator of the events happening in the war to King Dhritarashtra. Sanjay got the power to see things from a distance due to the blessings of Vyasa so that Dhritarashtra can follow the progress of the war.

The second chapter of Bhagavad Gita starts with Shri Krishna’s reaction to this very unusual behavior of Arjun. Let’s cover that in the next post.

सञ्जय उवाच |

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् |
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदन: ||2.1||
Sanjay Said, Seeing Arjun overwhelmed by grief, pity, and tears in his eyes, Shri Krishna said the following words to him. 

If we look at our lives, just like Arjun, there are many times we get overwhelmed by grief, pity, and delusion due to various situations in our lives. 

We don’t have to fight a war like Arjun, but there are times where we want to give up our duties due to a false sense of pride or fear of failure or simply because no one appreciates it.

This is where Bhagavad Gita can help us get back on track, making sure we do what needs to be done, along with elevating ourselves spiritually.

So, the best way to understand Bhagavad Gita is to read it by putting ourselves in the shoes of Arjun.