Gita 01.27 The Sequence Of Perception Determines The Consequence On Our Emotion

 

Audio Link 1: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-01-27-the-sequence-of-perception-determines-the-consequence-on-our-emotion/

 

tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ

sarvān bandhūn avasthitān

kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo

viṣīdann idam abravīt

 

Word-for-word:

tān — all of them; samīkṣya — after seeing; saḥ — he; kaunteyaḥ — the son of Kuntī; sarvān — all kinds of; bandhūn — relatives; avasthitān — situated; kṛpayā — by compassion; parayā — of a high grade; āviṣṭaḥ — overwhelmed; viṣīdan — while lamenting; idam — thus; abravīt — spoke.

 

Translation:

When the son of Kuntī, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus.

 

Explanation:

Arjuna has just come to the middle of the two armies and has seen generations of relatives and people familiar to him arrayed on the other side. This completely discombobulates and confuses him. Here, the perception and emotion are described:

tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ: Arjuna saw all of them.

sarvān bandhūn avasthitān: All kinds of relatives together.

kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo: He became overwhelmed with compassion.

viṣīdann idam abravīt: Lamenting, he spoke these words.

 

For all of us, how our emotions are shaped by our situations is quite complex. Our vision is central to our perception. Although we say “seeing is not believing,” seeing still has an enormous effect on how we act and how we don’t act. Therefore, it’s important for each of us to take tangible steps forward in our spiritual journey by carefully parsing and evaluating what we allow into our situations. This means that how we handle a particular situation depends on what we permit into our vision and consciousness.

 

When Arjuna first arrived on the battlefield, he wanted to identify who was fighting on the opposite side, assisting the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. However, as we see here, Arjuna’s vision changes completely. Whereas he initially saw these people as supporters of someone evil, he now starts seeing them as his relatives.

 

When we consider the process by which our emotions arise, we can understand that they are a response not just to external situations but also to our perception of those situations—and more specifically, to what we focus on within that perception. In other words, it depends on what we highlight.

 

For example, sometimes, when reading a book, we might use a highlighter to mark something striking so that it stands out for future reading and reference. While this highlight is a physical act—whether done with a marker or digitally on a screen—our mind also has an innate highlighter. However, this mental highlighter doesn’t always serve us well. It can often do us a disservice because it may emphasize undesirable parts of reality while downplaying aspects that are more adaptable and amenable. As a result, we may neglect the parts of reality that could actually benefit us.

 

Thus, it’s crucial to recognize whether our inner highlighter is working for us or against us. For instance, if someone is particularly interested in certain things—like a specific character in a novel or particular types of scenes, such as action, guns, or steamy scenes—they might highlight those parts while scrolling through pages, causing their mind to rush to those points. Ultimately, it’s important for each of us to take things step by step, moving in a progressive way guided by our intelligence, rather than in a default way as directed by our mind.

 

For Arjuna, as soon as he saw the opposing army, his mind immediately highlighted the presence of Bhīṣma and Droṇa. Although many other kings were present, his focus was drawn to Bhīṣma and Droṇa. Seeing them, he became overwhelmed, thinking, “How can I fight against them? They are my loved ones, the ones who have trained and mentored me, who are my venerable elders.” This vision then extended to other loved ones on the battlefield, further affecting his state of mind.

 

When we see things, the sequence in which we see them also affects us. If Arjuna had seen Duryodhana first, then the other Kauravas, and only afterward Bhīṣma and Droṇa, he might not have been so overwhelmed with weakness. Because Duryodhana’s attitude and actions gave Arjuna many compelling reasons to fight, Arjuna needed to acknowledge this and make it his focus. This was the very reason the Pāṇḍavas went to war—they couldn’t tolerate Duryodhana’s insolence, especially toward Kṛṣṇa, and that fueled their fierce determination to fight against him.

 

However, because Arjuna first saw Bhīṣma and Droṇa, followed by the others, his initial perception—his first impression—had a lasting impact. The first impression often shapes our subsequent impressions. In this case, Arjuna’s first impression of the opposing party was that he saw Bhīṣma and Droṇa first, which caused him to lose his will to fight.

 

For all of us, it is essential to be extremely responsible and not allow ourselves to get carried away by unwanted or unhealthy perceptions. Instead, we must vigilantly guard our consciousness, focusing on what is most important—our devotion to Kṛṣṇa, our desire to serve Him, and our ultimate attainment of Him. When we shape our vision in harmony with our primary intention, our perceptions will strengthen that intention rather than weaken it. Our vision needs to be directed by our intention; otherwise, it may sabotage that intention.

 

Unfortunately, that’s what happens to Arjuna—his vision sabotages his intention because of the sequence of perception. For example, when we see food items, if we first encounter something we dislike, it may cast a negative mood over the other items we might enjoy. Similarly, if we’re about to meet a group of people and we first focus on those we don’t like, that can create tension, negatively affecting our interactions with the entire group. While we can’t control situations or people’s dispositions, we cannot leave our intentions at the mercy of these factors. To ensure our intentions work for us rather than against us, we need to actively pursue them by directing our vision in a way that supports, rather than sabotages, those intentions.

 

Thank you.