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Surprise! Your Mind Is A Battlefield
The Struggle To Know Yourself
A family at war is the basic story of the The Bhagavad Gita.
The Gita, or “The Song of the Lord” is part of a larger epic text called the Mahabharata. It was written between 400BCE — 200CE.
In the 13th chapter, Krishna talks about a battle we fight within ourselves.
The battlefield is a symbol of the conflict that occurs within us as we learn how to discipline our thoughts and actions.
Krishna defines the battleground as our mind/body.
This battleground includes the energy of the mind, the body, and our senses. He equates the soul to the greater Self, which is separate from the mind/body.
What is the nature of your desires?
Krishna tells us that we first need to know the field, which involves understanding the nature of our desires.
The destructive aspects of life are also important to consider. Examining our ego and our senses begin the process. Krishna encourages us to be persistent in this quest for self-knowledge.
What is the nature of your attachments?
Knowing our attachments is a good starting point for learning about how our mind/body operates. This enemy can be beaten by arming oneself with discipline and performing actions that are directed toward releasing these attachments.
Once we truly see and understand our desires and attachments we can find a way to move away from this devotion to the mind/body and toward our Self.
What do we need to move away from desires and attachments?
The qualities that are needed to escape the mind’s influence are described in detail in The Bhagavad Gita.
They include humility and a lack of arrogance.
Detachment is another key concept in this practice of moving away from attachments.
After reading this chapter several times, I have summarized the main steps that are outlined by Krishna.
They’re not as simple as they might seem at first glance, but if the steps are followed carefully, the battle can be won.
Dharma can be defined as ‘discipline in action’.
Step one. Use Dharma to bring order to your life.
Step two. Use action and discipline to move away from desire and attachment toward God.
The result of knowing the true nature of your Self is moksha or liberation.
The Bhagavad Gita by Stephen Mitchell
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This was originally researched and written as an assignment for Liberal Studies at North Island College, Canada.
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