Your Are a Warrior in the Battlefield of Life

by Jayaram V

Notes: I have translated the Bhagavadgita twice. The first one was a loose translation. The second one was a word to word translation with a detailed commentary. The commentary is however different from what you will find here. In this section I will share with you my thoughts about the knowledge, philosophy and wisdom of the Bhagavadgita as I understand it from my perspective. Jayaram V

Life is a battle. You not only fight external battles with the world outside but also internal battles with your own destructive and evil qualities. The world in which you live is a battlefield. Your mind and body are also battlefields. It is where you fight physical and mental battles against your own evil, negative, or unlawful tendencies, qualities, desires, thoughts and attitudes. In the sacrifice of life, you serve both good or evil. Sometimes circumstances and sometimes your own desires and expectations influence your actions and decisions.

Your life is shaped by on which side you stay and against whom you fight. Every day when you step out of the bed, you enter the battlefield of the world. Every day, you have to choose between your constructive and destructive thoughts and desires, and between your compulsions and your ideals. Since you are a mixture of the gunas, you cannot escape from this predicament.

Therefore, the message of the Bhagavadgita is very relevant to you. Its symbolism can be applied to your daily life. Arjuna is your wakeful self. It symbolizes his confusion, sorrow, and suffering in the face of a crisis. Krishna, the wise teacher, is your wisdom. It is what restores your balance and confidence and puts sense in your thoughts and actions. Your senses are Sanjaya, the observer. Your selfishness is Dhritarashtra, the ego. Your selfless thoughts are Pandavas and their army, the forces of light. Your selfish thoughts are Kauravas and their army, the forces of darkness. Your whole mind-body complex is the battlefield - Kshetra.

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