Sanjaya said: Beholding Arjuna thus collapsed in despair, his heart besieged by pity and his eyes brimming with tears, Krishna, the slayer of Madhu, addressed him. "Where has this unmanly weakness come from in this hour of trial?" the Blessed Lord asked. "This despondency does not become a noble soul; it brings neither honor in this world nor passage to the heavens. Do not yield to feebleness, Arjuna, for it is unworthy of you. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness, arise, and conquer your foes!" Arjuna answered, "O Krishna, how can I draw my bow and shoot arrows at Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my deepest reverence? It would be far better to live on begged scraps in this world than to slay these great and venerable teachers. Even if they are driven by worldly ambitions, to strike them down would mean tasting wealth and pleasures drenched in their blood. We do not even know what is better—whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. Before us stand the sons of Dhritarashtra, and if we kill them, life itself will hold no savor. My very nature is paralyzed by this pity, and my mind is hopelessly lost concerning duty. I surrender to You as Your disciple. Instruct me, and tell me definitively what is truly for my highest good. For I see nothing that can drive away this grief that parches my senses, not even unrivaled dominion over the earth or sovereign lordship over the gods." Having poured out his heart to Krishna, Arjuna—the conqueror of sleep and dread of his enemies—declared flatly, "I will not fight," and sank into complete silence. Then, standing midway between the two vast armies, Krishna looked upon the grieving prince and, with the trace of a smile, began to speak. "You speak words that sound like wisdom," the Lord said, "yet you grieve for what is not worthy of sorrow. The truly wise mourn neither for the living nor for the dead. Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these assembled kings; nor will there ever come a time when any of us shall cease to be. Just as the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth, and old age within this present form, so does it pass into yet another body at death. The steadfast mind is not bewildered by this change. "It is merely the contact of the senses with their objects that brings heat and cold, pleasure and pain. These experiences are fleeting, having a beginning and an end; endure them patiently, Arjuna. The one whom these sensations cannot disturb, who remains poised and equal in pleasure and pain—that steadfast person is fit for immortality. The unreal never comes into being, and the real never ceases to exist; the essential truth of both has been perceived by those who see things as they are. "Know that which pervades this entire universe to be indestructible; nothing can cause the ruin of the imperishable. These material bodies have an end, but the indwelling Self is eternal, indestructible, and beyond all measure. Therefore, arise and fight! He who thinks the Self can slay, and he who thinks the Self can be slain, are equally ignorant. It neither kills, nor is it ever killed. It is never born, nor does it ever die; having once been, it never ceases to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless, and ancient, it remains untouched when the body is destroyed. When a person knows this Self to be imperishable, immutable, and unborn, how could he possibly kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed? "Just as a person discards worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied Self casts aside outworn bodies and enters into others that are fresh. Weapons cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot drench it, and wind cannot wither it away. It is unbreakable, incombustible, immune to water, and proof against the wind. It is everlasting, all-pervading, unmoving, immovable, and primordial. It is called unmanifest, inconceivable, and beyond all alteration. Knowing the Self to be so, you have no reason to grieve. "Even if you were to believe that the soul is continually born and continually dying, still, O mighty-armed warrior, you should not lament. For to whatever is born, death is absolute; and to whatever dies, rebirth is equally certain. Over an inevitability such as this, you have no cause to weep. All created beings are unmanifest before their birth, manifest in the interim, and unmanifest again in death. What is there in this to bewail? One regards the Self as a miracle, another speaks of it as a wonder, and another hears of it with awe; yet even after hearing of it, hardly anyone comprehends it. This indwelling soul within the body of every living creature can never be slain. Therefore, you should not mourn for any being whatsoever. "Look also to your own sacred duty, and do not waver. For a warrior, there is no higher fortune than a righteous war. Blessed are the warriors called unsought to such a battle, for it opens wide the gates of heaven. But if you refuse to fight this righteous battle, you will abandon your duty, cast away your honor, and incur sin. People will recount your enduring disgrace, and to one who has lived with honor, infamy is worse than death. The great chariot-warriors will believe you fled the field out of sheer terror, and those who once held you in highest esteem will look upon you with contempt. Your enemies will mock your prowess and speak unspeakable, cutting words—and what could be more painful than that? If you are slain, you will attain heaven; if you conquer, you will enjoy the earth. Therefore, arise, resolved to fight! Treat alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat; steel yourself for battle, and you will incur no sin. "What I have shared with you thus far is the analytical wisdom of Sankhya. Now listen to the insight of Yoga, endowed with which you will shatter the bonds of action. On this path, no effort is ever lost, no harm is incurred, and no step is wasted; even the smallest practice of this truth delivers one from great fear. Here, the intellect is resolute and single-pointed, whereas the thoughts of the irresolute scatter endlessly into countless branches. "Those lacking true vision are seduced by the flowery phrases of the scriptures, delighting only in ritual debates and claiming there is nothing beyond. Driven by selfish craving and aspiring for heavenly pleasures, they perform elaborate rites to secure rebirth, wealth, and power. For those clinging to enjoyment and dominion, whose minds are led astray by such rhetoric, the resolute intellect capable of resting in contemplation never takes root. The scriptures deal with the play of the three modes of nature; rise above those modes, Arjuna! Free yourself from the tyranny of dualities, establish yourself firmly in pure being, let go of the anxiety to acquire and protect, and rest in the Self. To a knower of the truth who has realized the Self, all scriptures are of no more use than a small well when floodwaters spread everywhere. "You have a right to your work, but never to its fruits. Let not the expectation of results be your motive, nor ever allow yourself to succumb to inaction. Perform your duty established in Yoga, casting off attachment, and remaining even-minded in both success and failure. This equanimity of mind is what is called Yoga. "Action driven by desire is vastly inferior to the Yoga of wisdom. Seek sanctuary in clear discernment, for pitiful are those who work only for reward. One who is united with this wisdom casts away both good and evil deeds even in this life; therefore, devote yourself to Yoga, for Yoga is skill in action. The wise, possessing this understanding, renounce the fruits of action, win freedom from the bondage of birth, and reach the state beyond all sorrow. "When your intellect crosses beyond the dense swamp of delusion, you will become utterly indifferent to all you have heard and all you have yet to hear. And when your mind, once bewildered by conflicting doctrines, stands motionless and unshakable in deep meditation, you will have attained the true state of Yoga." Arjuna asked, "O Krishna, what are the marks of one whose wisdom is firmly established, who rests steadfast in divine contemplation? How does a person of steady mind speak, how does he sit, and how does he walk?" The Blessed Lord said: "When a person completely renounces all the desires that arise within the mind, finding contentment in the Self alone through the Self, he is said to be of steady wisdom. His heart is untroubled by sorrow, and he has ceased to crave pleasure; freed from passion, fear, and anger, he is a sage of unwavering mind. He is detached everywhere; meeting with good or ill, he neither exults nor despairs. His awareness is securely fixed. "When, like a tortoise drawing its limbs safely beneath its shell, he completely withdraws his senses from their objects, his wisdom becomes firm. The objects of sense may fade away from one who abstains from them, but the subtle craving remains; even that subtle longing vanishes, however, when one beholds the Supreme. "Yet beware, Arjuna: the turbulent senses can violently sweep away the mind of even a discerning seeker who strives with all his might. Restraining them all, he should sit steadfast, his awareness centered entirely on Me; for he whose senses are mastered possesses true and steady wisdom. "When a person dwells on sense objects, an attachment to them is born. From attachment springs desire, and from thwarted desire bursts forth anger. From anger arises delusion; from delusion comes the loss of memory; with the ruin of memory, discrimination is destroyed; and with discrimination lost, the person is completely ruined. "In contrast, the self-controlled person moves among the objects of the world with his senses curbed and free from both craving and aversion; his mind obedient to his will, he attains serene clarity of being. In that serenity, all afflictions come to an end, and the intellect of the peaceful mind is swiftly anchored in tranquility. "For the undisciplined, there is no true wisdom, nor can there be contemplation; without contemplation, there is no peace, and without peace, where can happiness be found? When the mind drifts after the wandering senses, it carries away one’s discrimination just as a stray gale sweeps a boat off course upon the waters. Therefore, O mighty-armed warrior, whoever has wholly shielded his senses from their objects is established in steady wisdom. "What is deep night to all ordinary creatures is the state in which the self-controlled sage is wide awake; and that worldly pursuit in which all creatures are awake is like night to the sage who sees. "The ocean remains unmoved, deep and steady, even as torrential waters continually pour into it; in the same way, the sage into whom all desires effortlessly flow without stirring a ripple attains lasting peace—not the man who thirsts after desires. "That person attains peace who, having abandoned all longings, walks through life free from craving, without the sense of 'mine,' and stripped of ego. "This, Arjuna, is the eternal state of being rooted in Brahman. Once a person attains it, delusion never touches him again. And if he is established in this state even at the final hour of death, he passes into the boundless peace of liberation, one with the Absolute."