Having a Balanced Mind Especially in Difficult Times is Very Important

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna Vishada Yogam: Chapter 1: Verse 3

पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम् ।

व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता ।। 3।।

paśhyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrāṇām āchārya mahatīṁ chamūm

vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa tava śhiṣhyeṇa dhīmatā ।। 3।।

 Shloka Translation

BG – Ch. 1- Ver. 3: Duryodhana said: Respected Teacher! Look at the great army of Pandu’s sons, expertly equipped for combat by your gifted disciple, Drupad’s son.

Explanation

Dronacharya was instructed by Duryodhana to examine the expertly positioned military formation of the Pandava army, which was commanded by King Dhrupad’s son Dhristadyumna. He was also a student of Dronacharya’s. In a subtle way, Duryodhana was reminding his master of a past error.

King Drupada’s part of the kingdom was taken by Dronacharya and the Pandavas many years prior after they had defeated him in war. Drupada made a sacrifice to have a son in order to exact revenge for his defeat. Out of that sacrifice fire, Dhristadyumna was born with the blessing that he will kill Dronacharya in the future. Despite being aware, Dronacharya very humbly accepted the request to train Dhristadyumna in the military and gave his student everything of his expertise without bias.

Even though Dhristadyumna was Drupada’s son and had a curse to kill him, Duryodhana was telling Dronacharya that despite the fact that he was his student. Now that his students were in battle, he wanted to be sure that Dhronacharya wouldn’t treat them more justly than in the past.

Reflection 

Here, we start looking at Gita’s theme of mental tranquility. When our mind, the emotional center of our brain, is quiet and unagitated, we perform at our best. Our intellect, the area of the brain that considers alternatives and makes logical decisions, can provide us with the most logical course of action when our mind is calm.

We saw in the last verse that Duryodhana wanted to make sure Drona was sufficiently driven to battle his students, the Pandavas, should he become weak because he had a soft place for them. Therefore, Duryodhana made an effort to break Drona’s composure by reminding him that the commander of the military formation in front of them is Drupada’s son.

Duryodhana sought to stir up Drona’s emotions by reminding him that Drupada’s son Dhrushtadyumna is in charge of the opposing army. He did this by making Drona believe that his students put Dhrushtadyumna in the front position on purpose to hurt his feelings.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, and meditation for stress, and each meditation’s benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the next verse, we will see how Duryodhana speaks to Dronacharya to change his thinking towards Pandavas.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…