Bhagavad Gita - 1 Points to Ponder

1.     The conversation of Bhagavad Gita happens at two locations -

                          a.     Between indecisive Arjuna and certain Krishna and

                          b.     Between Sanjaya with divine vision and blind Dhritaraashtra.
Preaching Arjuna was fruitful as he had honest queries and he unflinchingly submitted to Lord Krishna to show him the pathway. Even though Dhritaraashtra heard the running commentary of the entire conversation between Krishna and Arjuna he persisted with his blind love for his son and the dominion. Even Lord could not change the thought process of the blind Dhritaraashtra. The author probably wants to convey that Bhagavad Gita is for the believers. If one is a non-believer and looks at it with skepticism one may not be benefitted.

2.     There is an underlying anxiety running around. Author starts with the anxiety of Dhritaraashtra, continues with that of Duryodhana, Drona, Bhishma and finally Arjuna. We can see that Dhritaraashtra, Duryodhana and Arjuna - all are interested in the end result of the war though in different sense.

3.     Diplomacy is to say what you have to say without really saying it. Diplomacy finds its place in human life because we resist hearing things that are not dear to our ears.

4.     Arjuna was very capable warrior who had won many battles and had killed many before. Now the guilt that he has to kill his own for his selfish motives has started in him. He is unable to overcome and is overwhelmed by it. But he is not completely convinced about his decision not to be a part of the war. So he tries to find many reasons why he should not be a part of the war though he believes that the war is inevitable and he would not be able to prevent it.

5.     Capability and performance are two entirely different entities. Arjuna was an excellent warrior with immense strength. But when he himself is not convinced what he is about to do is right he loses his strength so much so that he is even unable to stand. Capacity along with undeterred conviction results in performance. When one is not convinced about the very purpose of one's own decision, one cannot expect undeterred conviction and thus performance. One has to be clear in one's mind why he/she is doing what he/she is doing. Lack of clarity leads to confusion, indecisiveness and inability to perform.

6.     Let us assume momentarily that Bhagavad Gita is just a mythological literature and does not have any historical value. What would be the value of Bhagavad Gita if all these ethical questions were raised by anyone other than Arjuna? If it were to be a simple soldier he would have been probably just sent home or imprisoned. If it was Nakula or Sahadeva it would not have a similar impact. If it was Karna, Drona or Bhishma an entirely different meaning would have been attached to their ethical questions. If it were either Bheema or Yudhishtira the conversation would not have been so intimate. Arjuna and Krishna were of same age and had extreme intimacy to share their inner feelings. No two people in entire Mahabharata share such an intimacy to have no barriers and keep their minds open to each other. As it was an honest discussion between two people the author was right in choosing Krishna and Arjuna because of their intimacy to unfold Bhagavad Gita.

7.     Moreover one has to be in that position of strength and influence to raise ethical questions. If an ordinary soldier had raised similar questions he would have been either termed a coward or a traitor. The person who is raising these questions is as important as Krishna, the preacher, to have an impact on the reader. It had to be none other than Arjuna.