1

Chapter 1: Self Analysis (Yoga of Arjuna's Despondency)

Chapter 1: Self Analysis
Theme of the chapter 1 is Self Analysis
Provides a detailed analysis on the state of a typical mind
Self analysis helps us to understand the problems associated with our own mind
Most of the time mind is not in an optimal state
Conflicts between discriminative thoughts and destructive emotions
Confused and disturbed when facing challenges
Failure of self control before temptations and emotions
Inability to focus or concentrate on the problem in hand
Lack of control over the mental states
Insecurity and unhappiness inspite of what we have

These problems can impact us in multiple ways
We cannot perceive the situations as it exists rather, we see them as interpreted by
our mind which may be different from the reality.
The interpretation of the same fact may vary from time to time depending on our
mental state.
Our mood or state of mind is not in our control. As a result our behavior in the world
outside is not in our control
We cannot consistently express our full potential in the activities we do, making our
inner peace and external efficiency a mere chance.
We cannot bounce back to life easily after facing a difficult situation which is not in our
hands
Many times we surrender to our emotions and temptations inspite of our knowledge,
wisdom and maturity

Most of the times we never see our mind as a culprit for these problems; rather we try to
change the world
By clearly showing the problems associated with our mind, Self analysis helps us to make a
cognitive change which can make a significant impact in our internal mental state and our
ability to perform in the world outside.







2
Challenges are part and parcel of Life

As human beings we have to face a variety of challenges in our life. These challenges could be physical,
mental or intellectual, personal or social, national or international and may vary from person to person,
place to place and time to time. But it is a fact that life always throw different challenges to us. Having
taken human life, we cannot but face these challenges.


Observation : Every masters or leaders in the world also had to face challenges

Look at the life of all great masters around the world. Their life was no bed of roses. They had to face
multiple challenges throughout their life. It is the way they dealt with the challenges that made them
so different and successful.

Insert icons of Swami Vivekananda, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther king

How well we face the challenges determines the quality and success of our life. If we accept this fact,
the next important question is what we can do to face these challenges diligently.

Role of Mind in facing challenges

In order to face the challenge before us efficiently we need to
1. Perceive the challenge accurately
2. Analyze the solution using our knowledge and wisdom
3. Execute the solution diligently


Words of wisdom : Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I
can, And wisdom to know the difference

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer by the American theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr.

This can be done only with the help of a strong mind. If our mind is weak, disturbed or distracted we may
not be able to perceive, analyze and/or respond to the challenges in front of us.

When the mind is not in an
Optimal state
Impact Example
3
Overwhelming emotions can
project wrong or a distorted
situation
Wrong perception of the
challenge can lead to wrong
analysis and wrong reaction.
Wrong perception is a primary
cause for stress in all.
A positive criticism from sincere
boss with a good intention can
be misinterpreted as wrong
judgement
We may not get the proper
solution for the challenge before
us
We tend more to make an
emotional reaction instead of a
proper response. This might be
an extreme unwanted reaction
contrary to our own true nature.
A meeting we manage becomes
a shouting between team
members and became a fight.
We may just stay perplexed in
front of that without response.
We cannot do our best to face
the challenge
Efficiency of our activity for
facing the challenge is impacted.
We cannot express our full
potential
A good candidate express
himself at the time of his job
interview due to the situational
pressure



Without an Optimal mental state, our probability of being successful is less


When we face an unconducive or tempting situation, our mind becomes agitated, distracted or
deluded
This will result in wrong perception of the situation. The problem we see may not even exist.
To the wrong perception, the disturbed mind will give an emotional response which may not be
good for our well being
Whatever response we come up with, we cannot execute properly as our mind is not in our
control.


These series of steps makes the probability of our success very less when the situation is not conducive
and we become a victim of situation.

This will make our ability to succeed in a situation only by chance. We are successful only when the
situation is conducive. As a result any small external disturbance can make us agitated and fail in our
life.

In order to be successful in the endeavor we undertake, be it is spiritual or material, we should have
proper control over mind and keep it in an optimal state. What we need is appropriate emotions
proportionate to circumstance, properly blended with discriminative thoughts and creative
intuitions. This is a prerequisite for being effective in the world; whether our goal is material or spiritual.

Gita Speaks: Master the mind
4
For the person who has conquered their mind, the mind is their best friend. But for those
with uncontrolled minds, their mind is their worst enemy. ( Gita Chapter 6 Verse 6)

Most of the people at most times dont realize the role of the mind in being successful in our day to day
life. Without checking the state of our mind, we try to change the world as much as possible.

Historically and psychologically it is proven that the external change alone cannot make us contented or
successful in the world. Without the associated internal mental fine tuning, any amount of changes we
make externally will not make us happy from within and be efficient in the activities we do.

We always take our mind for granted and think that our mind is always ready to face the challenges and
blames everything else in the world including GOD for all the problems in our life.


Observation : All our experiences are nothing but interpretation of our mind
Let us understand that all our experiences are nothing but the interpretation of our own mind. Any
misinterpretation may distort our perception and thereby the way we respond.




Self Analysis is the first step towards Self Improvement

Here the Gita tells us clearly that a strong and optimal mental state is a prerequisite for our mental well
being and for pursuing any goals in life. Each chapter of the Gita provides us a process for transforming
our mind to the optimal mental state.


Word of Caution: Objective of scriptures are not just mind management
Objective of the Gita is not just improving our mental state but to lead us to the ultimate freedom
(Moksha) from all insecurities and unhappiness. This is the permanent solution to all the human
problems. But this can be achieved only with an optimal mind. Therefore the scriptures fine tunes our
mind to the most optimal state with which we can our higher spiritual goals.



The first step in this journey is an analysis on the current state of our mind and see the problems
associated with it. This is the theme of chapter of 1 of the Gita . These problems are common to most of
the human minds and is a fundamental problem to be addressed. Self analysis help us see the problems
associated with our mind and this understanding will help us to make the necessary internal adjustments.
5


Context of the Gita

The context of the Gita can be presented in multiple ways; as the fundamental problems associated with
human mind is not limited to a particular context. The problem can manifest in different contexts in
different places and times.

Examples from Life
A brilliant student, who has mastered the subjects very well find it difficult to express his
knowledge in the exam due to the situational pressure
An unexpected violent reaction from a husband towards his wife due to an unintended
provocation during a casual talk, leading to the destruction of the family itself
A sudden fear that blocks the eloquence of the speaker after seeing a vast audience in front of
him
A decent human being surrendering to lust and acting contrary to his own dignity in spite of
knowing the consequences
A skilled sports person finding it difficult to perform in a critical game.


The fundamental problem here is the lack of having an optimized mind. In such contexts

We cannot effectively do anything that needs to be done at that given point of time.
We cannot accept the outcomes which are not in our control
We cannot bounce back to our life incase of an event which is beyond our control.
We get confused when we face a challenge before us
Our mind will be wandering in the past worries and future anxieties ignoring the present.
Our mind will be in disturbed, distracted or dull state most of the times.
We cannot perceive the world as it is and our experience will be colored by our mental states
We will not be able to experience peace, happiness or tranquility and we will be living in an
illusionary reality.

Depending on our maturity, the degree in which a person is impacted by these problems may vary but we
have to admit the fact that this problem exists for almost all the human beings.

Observation: Context of all the scripture is the same
The context of all the great scriptures in the world is essentially the same. The characters, place,
6
language and situations might be different but the problem that manifests through that contexts is
the same.



The chapter 1 of the Gita presents this very same fundamental human problem in the context of a great
civil war, Mahabharata that happened in ancient india. Ancient scriptures usually do not distinguish
history from symbology and often we can see the history is mixed with symbology.

The ancient masters in India used to pick historical incidents of their times and use them as a context to
present subtle spiritual truth to the masses. The great sage Vyasa (compiler of the Bhagavad Gita) took a
historical war that happened during that time and used that as a context for giving out the solution for
the fundamental human problems.


Masters Speaks: Paramahamsa Yogananda
In a language of simile, metaphor and allegory, the Bhagavad Gita was very cleverly written by Sage
Vyasa by interweaving historical facts with psychological and spiritual truths, presenting a word-
painting of the tumultuous inner battles that must be waged by both the material and the spiritual
man.




Mahabharata War : A context to demonstrate fundamental human problem

The Mahabharata war, used in the context of Gita is a civil war that happened in ancient India and was
fought between the cousins Pandavas (representing the noble and righteous forces) and Kauravas
(representing evil and unrighteous forces). The leader of the righteous army was Arjuna, who represents
a typical human being . Arjuna was highly skilled and capable of handling any external challenges. He has
proved his skills several times previously and was intellectually convinced of the need for this righteous
war. He had 13 years of time to make the decision on this war and was fully determined to fight this war.

With this great conviction Arjuna comes to the battlefield determined to fight with the enemies but as
soon as he started facing the external challenges, he became a victim of the situation and lost his abilities
and gradually got overpowered by emotions. All the knowledge and wisdom he had couldnt help him at
all as his thinking brain was hijacked by the emotional brain and ended him up in a complete freeze. As a
result, Arjuna started to come up with lot of arguments for justifying his own act to retreat from the war.
No doubt, the arguments were seemingly good and very logical. But those arguments came out of a weak
mind and anything coming from a weak mind has no value.

7

Observation: The problem here to fight or not to fight the war
Here the problem is not fighting the war or not but if we can face the situation with an optimal mind.

If Arjunas argument for retreating from the war came out of an optimal mental state, it would have
been legitimate.

The fundamental problem is our inability to keep an optimal mental equilibrium which will enable us to
face the spiritual or worldly challenges effectively.

What Gita asks us to do is to be a master of the situation rather than being a victim of the situation.
Being a master of the situation enables us to take proper decisions.







Observation : Gita is not a warmongering book
It is extremely important to note that Gita is not a warmongering book. The teaching does not
advocate violence but help us to look at the whole world with respect and compassion. The battle is
only used as a context to represent a challenge faced by an individual.
8

The war in Gita doesnt have any significance other than presenting us the fundamental human
problem from the perspective of a soldier.

Important point here is that if this teaching can be applied in the context of a war, this can be applied
in any context as the gravity of the problem faced by individual in a war is much more than in any
typical situation.

For every individual his field of domain is the context and the same teaching is applicable to all these
context. Each one of us need to identify the context for these teaching in our own life and try to apply
the message.



In this context Bhagavan Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, gives the teaching of Gita. In this teaching, Krishna is
not trying to solve the problem superficially but he addresses the root cause of the problem and solves it
through a step by step mental transformation of the student. It is important to note the fact that
Bhagavan Krishna did not make any changes to any of the external situations nor did any miracles. He
just made the student Arjuna realize and transform him into his own true self who is able to face any
challenges before him.

This is what Gita can do for all of us. Gita can help us bring out our most optimal mental state and make
us capable of facing any challenges ahead us. Gita addresses the root cause of the fundamental human
problem so it can elevate us to our highest potential.

The same message is applicable to a person facing a challenge in Wall Street or to a leader of a country or
to an ordinary person struggling to live his day-to-day life effectively. We can see that challenges were
there before from time immemorial and challenges in some way or another are there now and challenges
will be there in future too. What really matters is how we choose to deal with those life challenges.


Bible Speaks : The fundamental human problem in Bible (Book of Genesis)
The holy Bible also addresses the same fundamental human problem in a different context. The book
of Genesis clearly shows the fundamental problem associated with human mind through Adam and
Eve. The book clearly shows the downfall of Adam and Eve surrendering to temptations because of the
influence of lower tendencies.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He
said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the
woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall
not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.
But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the
9
fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so
they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves ( Genesis 3-6)

These verses from the Holy Bible, clearly demonstrates the fundamental human problem and how the
human beings slips down from the kingdom of GOD to a lower state of existence. Adam and Eve was
given everything by the GOD and was completely convinced with the fact that forbidden fruit should
not be consumed. But under the influence of Satan (negative forces), all the discrimination of Eve has
gone and she surrenders to the temptations. She was also able to influence Adam into this path and as
a result they have fallen down from the Kingdom of GOD

When we surrender to the situations (temptations or lower values), our mind is taken over by the
Satan (Negative Forces). Thus we are living in a world that is occupied by negative forces. The laws
governing this invaded territory is not that of harmony (Dharma) established by GOD but
unrighteousness advocated by Satan (Negative forces).

We need to understand that we all are under the influences of negative forces (Satan) on a day to day
basis and surrenders our own mind to Satan. When our mind is ruled by Satan how can we expect
harmony and peace from such a mind.

St. Paul makes this point very clear in Romans 7:15 as

I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can't. I do what I don't want
to - what I hate."

The very same truth is given in Mahabharata by sage Vyasa through King Duryodhana

"I know what is good and what is bad. I also know that bad consequences will follow bad actions. But I
am impelled to do only bad deeds. I know what is good. I know that good deeds will yield good results.
But my mind is not inclined towards doing good


This is the fundamental human problem. Our mind can be easily influenced by the negative forces or
the lower tendencies . Arjuna, Eve and all of us are victim of these challenges. We need to understand
this problem. These negative influences in the mind makes us to be confused in the situations we face
and ultimately make us surrender to compulsions and addictions .

This fundamental problem is addressed by all masters such as Bhagavan Krishna, Lord Jesus Christ Lord
Buddha etc . through their teachings. They all came to show us a path towards our own true nature
which is nothing but the Kingdom of GOD . Let us understand that Kingdom of GOD which is the
ultimate destination given by the teaching of Jesus is within us only.( "Neither shall they say, Lo here!
or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21))

This path might be called in different names in different scriptures such as Yoga in the Gita, Path to
Kingdom of GOD in Bible and Path of Dharma in Dhammapada. But in deeper analysis all these
paths leads us to the very same goal of Self realization / Moksha, Kingdom of GOD / or Nirvana.
10

The important point here is that let us not look at these teaching and problems as Eves or Arjunas
problem alone. This is our own problem and we can see that Eve and Arjuna are within us every day
whenever we face a situation. We are fighting this war with the demonic forces or satan on a day by
day basis.


,


Buddha Speaks : The battle within
The very same fundamental human problem of surrendering mind to the lower tendencies in the battle
within is given in the Buddhist literature as the encounter between Lord Buddha and Mara .

In Buddhism, the demon or negative forces are represented by Mara. During his path of enlightenment
Lord Buddha was challenged by Mara with lot of temptations. In this process Mara sends his three
daughters to Lord Buddha to prevent him reaching the state of Nirvana (Self Realization) .

These daughters are identified as

1 Craving ( Tanha)

2 Boredom ( Aarati)

3 Passion ( Raaga)

Mara personifies unwholesome impulses, unskillfulness, the "death" of the spiritual life. He is a
tempter, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making mundane things alluring, or the
negative seem positive.

The Dhammapada shows us how Lord Buddha was able to conjure these forces and attain the highest.
In his teaching Lord tells us how difficult it is to conquer these internal enemies and reminds us of the
fact that we are constantly in war with Mara and his daughters.




Subjective analysis of the Mahabharata War : The battle within

Other than the obvious meaning, the Mahabharata battle carries a more deeper subjective meaning. The
sages of India always used to take historic events to convey subtle philosophical / spiritual truths to
common people. A deep analysis of the first chapter of the Gita reveals that beyond an external war
there is always a psychological battle that happens within our psyche every time we face a problem. Here
11
we need to understand that the mental state of an individual at a given time is determined by thoughts
or emotions that dominate at that time.

This internal psychological battle is fought between the following forces for gaining the control of mind
and body.


1. Destructive Emotional Tendencies born out of our blind mind (represented as Kauravas in the
Mahabharata battle). At any given point of time these tendencies try to drive ourselves towards
their goals and objectives of pulling us down from the path of good.
2. Divine Discriminatory Tendencies born out of discriminative intelligence (represented by
Pandavas in Mahabharata war). These tendencies includes self control, life force control, divine
calmness etc. Though these tendencies are lesser in number, they are supported by the supreme
consciousness (Bhagavan Krishna).


These armies fight each other to gain the control of the body (Kurukshetra).

Domination of Divine discriminatory forces take us closer to our own true Self or Kingdom of GOD

Domination of the positive forces in our mind will take us closer to our true Self or the kingdom of GOD,
providing happiness and calmness and making us more efficient in our activities. Such an optimal mental
state makes us capable of facing any situations in the world outside.

Domination of Destructive emotions or negative thoughts forces take our mind to a hellish state or
away from GOD

Domination of negative forces will bombard our mind with a constant stream of nagging thoughts,
suspicions doubts or disturbing emotions. While any one of these can cause defeat and devastation, we
are often plagued by more than onefilling our daily lives with mental combat against an array of
aggressors. These negative forces over a period of time build strongholds in our mind as habits; once we
are addicted to these habits it becomes very difficult for us to get control over mind and as a result we
becomes a victim of the situations infront of us.

This is what happens to us on a day to day basis. We are facing the world with this weak mind and get
suffered. In order for us to get out this state it is extremely important to understand the following

For most of the people at most time the blind mental tendencies will be victorious in this psychological
battle and as a result the individual will not be able to live up to his full potential.

Observation : Importance of subjective context
12
In our study of Gita we need to understand the subjective context by relating challenges to our own
problems and try to understand the message from that context. We should not be carried away with
the Mahabharata war background and get caught up in Arjunas problems or history or other questions
around the context and eventually will miss the real teaching in this process.

Gita is addressing our own problems and we should be able to contemplate upon the problems we face
here in this 21st century and apply the teachings to solve our problems.



Identification of the Problem is the first step towards solution

It is a fact that Identification of the problem is the first step towards the solution. The first chapter of the
Gita helps us to understand our fundamental problem though Self analysis so that we can use the
teaching in the remaining chapters for improving our mental state and finally establish ourselves in our
higher nature.