Arjuna stood upon his great war chariot, drawn by milk-white steeds between the two assembled hosts on the field of Kurukshetra. He looked upon the ranks and beheld fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and cherished companions standing armed for slaughter.

Overcome with profound pity and anguish of heart, Arjuna spoke sorrowfully: 'O Krishna! When I see these my own kinsmen gathered here eager to kill, my limbs fail me, my mouth is dry, my body trembles, and my hair stands on end!

My great bow Gandiva slips from my trembling hand, and my skin burns all over. I am unable to stand firm, and my mind wanders in darkness. I foresee nothing of good from slaying my own kindred in this strife.

What is kingdom to us, O Krishna? What are pleasures, or life itself, when those for whose sake we desire empire and enjoyment stand ready to abandon life and riches? Rather would I that the sons of Dhritarashtra should slay me unresisting and unarmed in the field!'

To him who was thus overwhelmed with sorrow, his eyes swimming with tears, Krishna spoke these luminous words: 'Whence has this weakness overcome you in this perilous hour? It is unmanly, ignoble, and bars the door to heaven. Arise, scorcher of foes, cast off this faint-heartedness!'

Arjuna wept: 'How shall I shoot arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my reverence? Better to eat the bread of beggary in this world than to slay these great teachers.'

Krishna answered with a divine smile: 'You mourn for those whom you should not mourn, though your words sound wise! The truly wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.

Never was there a time when I was not, nor you, nor these princes; nor shall any of us ever cease to be hereafter. As the embodied soul passes in this body through childhood, youth, and old age, even so does it pass into another body. The wise man is not bewildered thereby.

The contacts of the senses with matter, which produce cold and heat, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end; they are fleeting. Endure them patiently, O son of Bharata!

Know that that which pervades all this universe is indestructible; none can bring about the destruction of the Imperishable! Bodies are said to have an end, but the spirit that dwells within them is eternal, boundless, and immortal.

He who thinks that the soul can slay, or he who thinks the soul can be slain, both of them are in ignorance: it neither slays, nor is it slain.

It is never born, nor does it ever die; nor having once been, does it ever cease to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient, it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

Even as a man casts off worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied soul casts off worn-out bodies and enters into other new ones.

Weapons cannot cleave this soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot dry it away. It is everlasting, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and eternal! Therefore, knowing it to be such, you have no cause to grieve.'

Arjuna asked: 'If you deem wisdom superior to action, why do you urge me to this dreadful deed? My mind is perplexed by your teachings; tell me clearly which path will lead me to the highest good.'

Krishna said: 'In this world, two paths were revealed by Me of old: the path of knowledge for the contemplative, and the path of selfless action for the active.

Not by merely abstaining from works does a man achieve freedom from action, nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection. For no one can remain even for a moment without performing action; everyone is driven to act by the qualities of nature.

He who restrains his outer organs of action, yet sits pondering over the objects of the senses with his mind, is a self-deluded hypocrite. But he who, controlling the senses by the mind, performs action without attachment, he is of noble spirit!

Perform your allotted duty. Action is better than inaction; even the maintenance of your physical body would be impossible without action.

To action alone have you a right, but never to its fruits! Let not the reward of action be your motive, nor let there be in you any attachment to inaction.

Perform all work established in Yoga, abandoning attachment, even-minded in success and in failure. Evenness of mind is called Yoga.'

He who has conquered himself by the Self, to him the Self is a friend; but for him who has not conquered his self, the Self remains an adversary, hostile like an enemy.

The higher Self of him who is self-controlled and peaceful is completely serene in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor.

Let the yogi constantly concentrate his mind, remaining in solitude, alone, with mind and body restrained, free from yearning and longing for possessions.

Holding the body, head, and neck erect, motionless and steady, gazing without wavering, peaceful in heart and fearless, let him sit meditating upon the Supreme.

As a lamp placed in a windless sanctuary flickers not, such is the likeness of the yogi of controlled mind, practicing concentration upon the Self.

When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains stillness, and when seeing the Self by the Self, he is satisfied in his own being; when he knows that boundless joy which is grasped by the purified intellect, transcending the senses, then he rests unshakable.

Having attained this, he regards no other gain as greater; and established in this, he is not shaken even by the heaviest sorrow!'