Bhagavad Gita - Book 1, Volume 10

INTRODUCTION

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Here is Arjuna's dilemma spoken plainly. He had two options and is looking to be convinced of one or the other. The first was that going to battle was wrong, especially against his kinsmen. Therefore he should cease and desist, walk away from the war before it starts. All his arguments up to this point were in this line of thinking.

At the same time, Arjuna was open to the possibility that what he had set out to do was indeed correct, in which case he would go back into battle mode, as a true ksatriya would do. Arjuna's mind now brings up one more argument. Arjuna agreed that Duryodhana and his allies were the aggressors and wrongdoers. Whatever they had done to him, his brothers and his wife was unpardonable, and they needed to be punished for that.

Krishna playing flute against mountains and starry night sky

By all rights Arjuna would have been quite justified in attacking and killing those wrongdoers for what they had done.

‘But,’ Arjuna asked, ‘Would one wrong be corrected by another wrong? How can I be happy killing my kinsmen, however justified I might be in doing that?

Their misdeeds cannot be remedied by my misdeed and that would only make me miserable.

There are two factors central to Arjuna's dilemma. The first one is that of relationship. The problem that Arjuna faced is one that we all face when asked to do unpleasant things to people we know. It is always easier to criticize and punish people one does not know. With people one knows, there is a danger of breaking the relationship through perceived negative behavior, even when it may be fully justified. To face this factor in one's dilemma, one must first break the connection or develop a sense of detachment that allows right action without worrying about the consequences. As long as the path is right, whatever destination the path takes one to will also be right. The other factor that Arjuna faces is the problem of directness of action. If he shot an arrow and killed a kinsman, death was a direct result of his action. He had to look the victim in the eye before releasing his arrow.

Arjuna was affected by the
combination of these two factors.
It affected him because he was not
a Duryodhana, who denied the
consequences of his actions to
himself and others or a Krsna who
would have taken responsibility for
his actions, being aware all the
time. His mind was pointing out
that he might be doing wrong, but
had not yet ascended into that
state of awareness to be able to
take responsibility for such actions.
Arjuna was pleading with Krsna,
‘Please tell me, am I right? Should
I withdraw from this battle?’

Portrait of young Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam seated in meditation pose

GOALS:

To help the child cognize that
even when making the right
decision seems difficult and
unpleasant to those you share a
relationship with, one ought to
be strong and stand up for the
right path. To understand that as
long as the path is right,
whatever destination the path
takes one to will also be right.

ASSESSMENTS

1. Why does Arjuna initially feel that he is

making the wrong decision by destroying his

kinsmen?

2. Explain one factor that is contributing to

Arjuna's dilemma.

Portrait of young Nithyananda Paramashivam

ART OF

THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

DRAW GOOD AND PLEASANT IN A PICTORIAL FORM.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Paper

Pencil or Sketch Pen or Colour Pencils

PROCEDURE:

Encourage children to draw good and pleasant in pictorial format. Ask them to tell what they drew.

INFERENCE:

He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end. Always choose authenticity even if it does not look pleasant. Doing what is right, may not always be pleasant, but doing that which is pleasant may not be right sometimes

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

WORD GAME OF 'GOOD AND PLEASANT'

INFERENCE:

He who chooses
the pleasant misses
the true end.
Always choose
authenticity even if
it does not look
pleasant. Conclude
by reviewing the
importance of
being authentic
even when, doing
what is right seems
unpleasant

Procedure:

Make the children, sit in a circle.
You will say words like medicine,
pizza, computer and so on. The
children has to tell which is
pleasant, which is good, and give
the reason for that.

Portrait of Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Procedure: Habits of the mind There are many things in our life that is like a must, those are all habits of the mind. Complete with all the habits of the mind like Questioning out of anger, Anxiety, Vested interest, Power, Depression/upset, Anger, Tiredness, Boredom, Even sleeping and eating. Anything you feel you 'must do' or 'must have' is a habit of the mind and needs completion. It should be completed immediately. Like when you plant a plant , the soil is loose and it grows nicely but as time goes it becomes hard and strong , not letting the plant to grow healthily. But when the soil is loosened from time to time and the soil is not let to become hard the plant grows very healthily. Same way when it is a habit , it is like the strong mud where expansion does not happen in you. Doing completion with it is like ploughing the soil and making it loose so that you are in space of completion and nothing binds you and you are always complete.

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Inference:

It is the habit of the mind to always choose pleasant. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end. Always choose authenticity even if it does not look pleasant.

CONCLUSION:

As long as the path is right, whatever destination the path takes one to will also be right.