I’m in the throes of deeply studying the Bhagavad Gita for the upcoming training I teach this weekend. The Gita’s message is timely as it is a book about conflict and we have all just experienced one of the most conflicted, gory and exhausting election seasons yet.
Arjuna, the main character of this epic text, is in the midst of a personal life crisis, a dark night of the soul. He is facing a battle and is stopped in his tracks, frozen, numb at the prospect of having to the fight. Luckily, he has a enlightened chariot driver, Krishna, who knows exactly how to guide Arjuna to a place of peace and decision in the midst of dark times.
The Gita is essentially a metaphor for the battles we observe in life, but more importantly the inner battle we wage on a daily basis. The battles in the political arena is one thing, but each of us is daily faced with a mind that spurns out fear, struggle, worry, doubt. Life is not easy.
Krishna, the wise guide in the Gita, offers the following advice which has great significance to these modern times. He says the only way to alleviate suffering that comes in life is to consciously nest into the deepest part of oneself. The deepest part of self, also called the wise mind, has no fear, no hate, no shame, no division, no animosity.
So how does one dive deep and contact the wise self? Krishna counsels we must practice yoga to still our minds. This is the only way we will ever hear our inner guidance. And that inner guidance is the one and only key to our lasting happiness and peace.
May you not lose hope about the state of the world, but rather find the passion and commitment to seek peace within. As more people create inner peace, we are bound to reach the tipping point that will point our world toward the same.