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Bhagavad Gita: Chapters 1 and 2

Unable to master enough justification to “commit a great sin” of massacring his “own

kinsmen,” Arjuna “sat down in his chariot, overwhelmed with sorrow/ [and] He dropped his bow

and arrows” (Antonov 9). The first chapter of the Gita introduces readers to the familiar situation

of personal and interpersonal conflicts. This section of the epic poem is titled Arjuna’s Despair.

After that, in the second conversation, a deity offers the warrior solutions, which are detachment

and devotion to duty. Lord Krishna challenges Arjuna to resist fickleness, cast away his

miserable faint-heartedness, perform his obligation, and acknowledge the soul’s eternity. This

part is known as Sankhya Yoga. Most metaphorically, the first two chapters of Bhagavad Gita

teach that there is a warrior, and a war-like scenario, inside all of us, but the remedy is to

function like a Yogi or a Yogini.

The wisdom in the Gita accounts for the daily, seasonal, and once in a lifetime challenges

that humans face. Most of these situations include disagreements and conflicts of interest.

Detachment is the central theme in living in the ways of Sankhya Yoga, which Arjuna needed. In

life, people have to move on from different situations, relationships, and stages to others, and

with unhealthy attachment, transitions become turbulent. For instance, in the modern-day case

where COVID-19 is causing loss of jobs, access to family and friends, amenities, luxuries and

pleasures, humanity gets a chance to apply Sankhya Yoga, and value togetherness, plus higher

ethical and spiritual values. It is stormy to adjust to new norms, yet they will always emerge, and
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the wise are those who do not have an excessive attachment to possessions or even the concept

of this life since all these shall pass. Somehow, this encourages empathy and kindness among

humans instead of the prevalent self-centeredness and vanity.

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Works Cited

Antonov, Vladimir. Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries. Translated by and Mikhail Nikolenko,

2011.