Gita 01.33 When Various Purposes Pull Us In Different Directions We Need To Prioritize Our Purposes
ta ime ’vasthitā yuddhe
prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni ca
ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrās
tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ
Word-for word:
te — all of them; ime — these; avasthitāḥ — situated; yuddhe — on this battlefield; prāṇān — lives; tyaktvā — giving up; dhanāni — riches; ca — also; ācāryāḥ — teachers; pitaraḥ — fathers; putrāḥ — sons; tathā — as well as; eva — certainly; ca — also; pitāmahāḥ — grandfathers
Translation:
These are the ones standing here in battle, ready to give up their lives and wealth—the teachers, fathers, sons, and also grandfathers.
Explanation:
In this verse, Arjuna expresses his reluctance to fight, and he says
ta ime ’vasthitā yuddhe: they are situated here for the purpose of fighting
prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni ca: they are ready to give up their lives, wealth, everything; and then he starts listing the various relatives who are ready to do that
ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrās tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ: he looks at his teacher, Droṇācārya, his grandsire, and other relatives.
In the previous verse, Arjuna says that the very people we might want to fight for, with whom we would like to enjoy the gains of victory and the successes of life—if those same people are pitted against us, then what is the point of fighting? What is the purpose of living? Thinking thus, Arjuna becomes extremely disheartened.
All of us have certain purposes in life, and we could say there are levels of purposes. For example, when we’re hungry, we might cook some food or go to a restaurant so that we can eat. While eating is not the ultimate goal of our life, it is a purpose that drives us immediately. Beyond that, another purpose could be related to being a student or working to get a job. The purpose might be to earn money so that we can have food, or perhaps to take care of our family and support their growth. We may also seek to grow in our career, make an impact, or earn a name.
All of these are purposes that drive us. If these purposes align in the same direction, they form a hierarchy—our first purpose might be bodily survival, the second could involve maintenance of our family members, the third could be personal job satisfaction or fulfillment, and the fourth might be achieving a certain social standing. In this way, we all have various purposes that motivate us.
Purpose precipitates progress—provided, of course, that the purpose is progressive. However, a purpose can also be regressive. For instance, an alcoholic’s purpose may be to drink, and this could drive the person to addiction, taking him away from positive growth.
When we understand that we have multiple levels of purpose, we can move forward toward the purpose that is best for us—one that will help us fulfill ourselves. However, if different purposes start pulling us in different directions, things become difficult.
For example, if we need to visit a friend, complete some office work, and get a haircut, we can manage these tasks easily if they are in the same vicinity. However, if they are in three different directions and we have a finite amount of time to accomplish all three, we may become perplexed about what we should prioritize and what we should let go of.
Similarly, when our different purposes start pulling us in various directions, we must select which purpose matters most to us and focus on that. Discerning that purpose—and understanding what matters most to us—requires self-awareness. If we don’t understand ourselves, we cannot move forward or progress.
To advance, each of us needs to understand what motivates us the most and where we can be driven effectively. In this progressive journey, it is vital that we learn to move linearly based on our priorities.
For Arjuna, he believes he will gain the kingdom by fighting the war, but the very people with whom he would like to celebrate that victory are not on his side—those people would be killed. He realizes that these very individuals are pitted against him and are ready to give up their wealth and lives. Here, Arjuna finds that two purposes are violently contradictory to each other.
This is the moment when we experience cognitive dissonance, which can lead to a cognitive breakdown, as we grapple with which purpose to fulfill and which is more important. When we have to drive to one place or another, it creates practical confusion. However, when the decision is based on our concepts and beliefs, it becomes a cognitive problem rather than a practical one.
Resonance or consonance refers to when two sounds harmonize, while cognitive dissonance occurs when two sounds move in opposite, often violently conflicting, directions. In such a situation, we find ourselves unsure of how to move forward.
The paralysis that Arjuna will experience will be explained soon, but for now, he is voicing his apprehension by pointing out that these purposes are violently contradictory—it’s as if he has to go not just in two different directions, but in two opposite directions. When two desired destinations lie in opposite directions, we experience distressing dissonance, and that is what is happening to Arjuna.
Kṛṣṇa will help him resolve that confusion by revealing a higher purpose that underlies all other purposes. This realization will be the basis for Arjuna’s relief and the substance of the Bhagavad-gītā. This purpose will be rooted in Arjuna’s understanding of who he is and what he is meant to do in life.
We will discover that bhakti, based on Arjuna’s identity as a soul, is not just another purpose to pursue—rather, bhakti is the purpose that permeates and unites all other purposes in life. The reasoning behind this will be discussed in our future verses.
Thank you.
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