It was on the battlefield that Krishna started teaching Arjun. He didn’t teach him when everything was all right, because Arjun was not ready to listen; he thought Krishna was just his friend. But when turbulent times came, knowledge and wisdom became essential, for calmness, steadiness, and clarity of mind were necessary to perceive things the way they were and to act wisely.

First, we must recognise and accept that it is a turbulent time. When we deny the turbulent time, we live in a utopia and are unable to find a solution. The first step is to recognise, and the second is to accept. Accepting a situation helps calm the mind.

At first, Arjun did not accept the situation. He sat on the floor and trembled – the superhero, who had never cried in his life, wept in front of Krishna, saying, “I cannot fight.” Krishna said, “Come on! Drop this weakness from your heart. Let go of this emotional baggage you are carrying. Get up.” Krishna boosted Arjun’s ego, saying, “You can handle this situation. Come on, get up. What will people say about you?”

On the battlefield, when Arjun began to feel despondent thinking about the possible outcomes of his actions, Krishna gave him teachings of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Jnana Yoga, and thus the Gita was born. Krishna said to Arjun, “You have the right to perform your duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.”

Gita teaches us to maintain equanimity irrespective of circumstances. Click To Tweet

Most people do not act without expecting results. When you cook rice, you put the rice in water and then place it on fire, because you know that this action will give a result. Results depend on actions. You think, ‘I cooked the rice, I put it on the fire.’ No, rice followed the law. If you, or anyone anywhere, put rice in water and place it on fire, it will be cooked. But you think that you did it. You cannot do anything that is against the law. Acting is within your control, but even then, you can only influence it indirectly, not directly.

The only way to control your actions is to transcend the three gunas – sattva, purity; rajas, passion; and tamas, inertia. Tamas represents inertia, rajas, restlessness, and sattva, balance. When you give up laziness and heedlessness, remain balanced without becoming restless for the fruits of your actions, and transcend even these three qualities, you can influence your actions as well.

Constantly thinking about the fruits of your actions weakens you. The one who focuses 100% on their actions alone is free. If you are participating in a race, you should have no interest in looking at who is running faster than you. Your focus should be on your track and your run. When you give 100% in any task, even if you lose, you feel satisfied that you used your full potential and performed your best. When you compete with yourself, you progress in life, but when you compete with others, you weaken yourself.

So, move forward in life with focus. The Gita teaches us to maintain equanimity irrespective of circumstances. Experiencing unity within not only sharpens your intellect but also enriches your emotions. Until you are emotionally calm, how can happiness be possible in your life?

Happy Gita Jayanti !