Kenapi daivena hridisthitena

Some motivating power decides in my heart

yatha niyukto'smi tatha karomi

and whatever it designs, that only I can do.

Duryodhan was the head of state. He knew what was right but he could not do it; he knew what was wrong but he could not refrain from doing it; and he gave the reason. He expressed... that it is the national consciousness which is the motivating power of the head of state. (pp. 182-183)

Arjuna's dilemma is outlined in the first chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, which narrates his situation as the armies are preparing for battle. Feeling indignant when faced on the battlefield with the forces of Duryodhan, Arjun asks Lord Krishna to draw his chariot between the two armies so that he might more closely observe the opposing army. After doing so, Lord Krishn, knowing that Arjuna's anger will weaken him, induces a sudden change in Arjuna's attitude in order to make him receptive to the

knowledge that Lord Krishna has to offer him (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1967, pp. 46-51).

Lord Krishna induces this sudden change through a series of skilled actions and words. Having brought Arjun to view the forces of Duryodhan, Lord Krishna says:

" Parth, behold those Kurus gathered together" (I. 25). Maharishi (1967) explains that Lord Krishna refers to Arjun as " Parth, " that is, the son of Prith, Arjuna's mother; in so doing he stirs Arjuna's tender feelings. He also reinforces this emotion by describing the army of Duryodhan as " Kurus" — Arjuna's kinsmen. The immediate result is that Arjun begins to view his opponents as kinsmen rather than as enemies. His anger subsides; in a wave of compassion his resolve for battle is completely lost and he feels overwhelmed by the dilemma of his situation.

As described by Maharishi (1967), Arjuna's dilemma is that the call of duty and freedom requires him to defeat the forces of Duryodhan and remove the oppression which the kingdom has suffered under him, while the love and compassion he experiences makes him feel that it would be wrong to kill his kinsmen. Unable to act, Arjun drops his bow, and prompted by another phrase of Lord Krishn, turns to him for guidance. Maharishi points out that Lord Krishna has created in Arjun a natural state of receptivity to knowledge by making him aware of a dilemma that he cannot resolve from his present level of knowledge. When Arjun surrenders to Lord Krishna's wisdom and becomes receptive to his guidance, Lord Krishna responds with the solution to Arjuna's dilemma. This response forms the remainder of the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita.

Maharishi (1963) has described in the following way the interaction between Arjun and Lord Krishna and the knowledge that Lord Krishna provides:

The way in which surroundings and circumstances influence the individual mind is demonstrated at the very beginning of the text, where, the most highly evolVeda man, the greatest archer of his time, Arjun, the hero of the Mahabharat, although awake to a most complete knowledge of right and wrong in the world, is unable to rise to the occasion before him and falls into a state of utter dejection. The surroundings have so strong an effect upon his mind that all persuasion and suggestion are powerless to help him.

The Bhagavad-Gita teaches that the effect of surroundings and circumstances upon the mind depends upon its strength — that the intensity of the effect of an impression is in inverse ratio to the strength of the mind. At one time Arjun is found in a perilous state of indecision, but, after putting into practice the psychological teaching of the Gita, it is not long before he is found in full power of confidence and decision, although the circumstances remained quite unchanged. A close study of Lord Krishna's discourse reveals a great depth of psychological insight; it shows that the individual mind, however intelligent it may be on the superficial conscious level, can be overcome by its failure to understand and encompass a situation which obviously lies beyond its control, unless it is in tune with the unlimited cosmic mind. The establishment of conscious coordination between the individual and the cosmic mind is the only way to ensure that the individual becomes entirely free of the possibility of failing to understand a threatening situation and of successfully rising above its adverse effect. A pond is apt to dry out in the heat of summer, but for the ocean the question does not arise. The psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita presents one master technique for bringing out this coordination of the individual mind with the cosmic mind; the attention is to be brought to the field of the transcendental absolute existence. This is to transform the weakness and limitation of the individual mind into the unbounded strength of cosmic intelligence. This great achievement is so simple to achieve that any and

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every individual on earth can succeed in it, and in this way make unnecessary all the petty complexities and innumerable sufferings in life (pp. 263-264).

After approximately two hours of interaction, Arjun is ready to resume his role as the leading warrior of his army. Maharishi notes that during this period of time Arjun has gained from Lord Krishna the knowledge and direct experience of Yoga — " union" or enlightenment.

Arjun learns from Lord Krishna that before enlightenment one is never able to determine all of the rights and wrongs of action; and that the key to performing right action is to establish one's awareness in the field of pure consciousness, in the state of Yoga or union, and then act. (Please refer to the following article in this series on Maharishi Vedic Psychology for a detailed discussion of this principle.) Only action from the level of the unified field of natural law is capable of creating the most evolutionary effect for the actor and the whole environment.

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