“Clarity of Mind”

Arjuna's greatest challenge is brought into focus here: how to maintain his own clarity in regard to those he loves and admires the most and those he most abhors. . . because they are all fighting together on one side, the side that opposes his claim to his rightful domain. From Arjuna's perspective it couldn't be worse. From Kṛṣṇa's perspective, it couldn't be more perfect.

Bhīṣma, a great man he calls "Grandfather", the most revered warrior of his time, his mentor and teacher since childhood is on the other side of this battle. The conflict of facing his own teacher in battle as well as Droṇa, another revered guru, and many others he holds dear, has made Arjuna weak, anxious and depressed. On the other hand if he does not take action against the evil of Duryodhana (fights dirty), who has refused to return his and his brothers' properties at the agreed upon time, and reclaim what is rightfully his - his failure to act will cost him ultimately his own self.

Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna in this verse the way through, at a moment when he's deeply stuck in a belief in what he's not able to do, because of what he believes the consequences to be. It's a universal story – it's the way through for all of us. We all have the same characters in our life fitting the descriptions above – beloved, friend, enemy, hateful relative . . . .

How is it possible to maintain the same clarity of mind with regard to all of them? The answer is perfectly clear.. by not allowing our attachment to them, our dislike of them, our fear of them, or our reverence for them, prevent us from taking the actions we need to take for ourselves. Being the great epic that it is, the Mahābhārata, of which the Bhagavad Gītā is a tiny chapter, teaches the story of every person. Like Arjuna, who has to overrule his own wrong choice of withdrawing from battle (in which case he was acting like an enemy to himself) and make the choice to act with no concern or projection whatsoever about the results of his actions – so it is for all of us. We have to make the choice continually.

It's hard to imagine how to see everyone with equal vision, until the need arises to make the choice to begin. Like everything it's a process, and the results of the effort to see every person with the same degree of clarity, or as a first step, begin to try to find out why it's especially difficult with some, results in more peace of mind. This verse provides a mirror for the practice of the central message of the Gītā, which is relinquishing attempts to control the future outcome. The outcome is always in relationship to the broad range of characters listed in the verse. By not taking the necessary actions in relation to them, our own self image suffers. Rather than risk being seen as an enemy to them we instead act as an enemy to ourselves. (Learn-a-verse Gītā 6.5 and 6.6, just preceding the verse 6.9) When we do so, it's an example of the Gītā, Chapter 1 - the Yoga of Arjuna's depression.

In our world today we have the goals of zero hunger, zero emissions. . . and equally important is zero prejudice. This verse speaks to the heart of yoga. It comes about by abhyāsa, practice-effort and vairāgya, the full recognition of the power of our own choice to see clearly and let go of anything that limits us. Prejudice is the ultimate limitation. This Gītā verse from chapter 13 puts it in perspective:

"The one who sees Ishvara, never breaking down, remaining the same in all beings who are breaking down – that person sees." 13.26

Arjuna had Kṛṣṇa to put the truth before him. We have Kṛṣṇa's words. This is where learning a verse by heart and then repeating it daily or every other day, comes in handy.

Pronunciation Tips to increase your enjoyment
t and d and n are dental sounds with tip of tongue touching back of upper teeth.
th and dh are pronounced dental as described but with added breath.
ś (sh) and vowel ṛ are cerebral sounds with the tip of the tongue turn up towards the front of the palate vault.
Note: their position occurs naturally in the word dveṣṭi. sh sound ṣ guides the tongue to a cerebral ṭ.
ś (sh) is palatal with the tongue in the same position as ya - try saying "Paśya".

Each segment is repeated twice: 1st Listen - 2nd Repeat