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Prologue – Making

Sense of Ancient Indian

Wisdom

Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā is one of the most practical texts from
which one can draw great strengths to handle problems in life.
The Gītā does not treat real-life difficulties and dilemmas as
something sorrowful or negative. Instead, it empowers the
seeker to ask the quintessential question: “Can I address my
problem(s) sensibly?” Having thus empowered, the Gītā further
enables answering this question as well. This perspective is
invaluable considering the impracticality of the idea that
nothing can or must be allowed to go wrong in life. In chapter
11 of the Bhagavad Gītā, Krishna tells Arjuna –

…
… nimitta mātram bhava savyasācin ॥

“Be, but an instrument, a medium that receives on behalf of a
larger audience.” Symbolically this in a way reminds us that
through Arjuna, the teaching, and the messages of Gītā get
transmitted to the world. Unless we develop this perspective,
there is a risk of missing the point, viz. the power of the
conversation can manifest as invaluable teachings. Instead, we
would be viewing the entire Gītā as a conversation between two
individuals in their effort to address a particular problem that
one of them faced at that time. Thus, Arjuna can be seen as an
instrument to propagate much larger thinking. This enables one
to think of larger and personally relevant problems in the light
of these teachings. The first chapter creates the foundation for
the impending conversation to unravel. The battlefield
metaphorically alludes to the battles of real life and the crises
that we encounter every day, big or small.

Many eminent people cutting across different disciplines,
professions, as well as nationalities, have displayed a

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