Arjuna's Agony

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This piece is about the inner conflict one feels when they have to do something that goes against their better nature. The pain of pulling the trigger on something you can’t take back but have to do can never be easy. This is a predicament that we’re faced with often in life. In the midst of difficult times, making decisions with a sound mind can feel next to impossible. This is the kind of situation Arjuna finds himself in just before the war begins. After seeing his own family members in the frontlines of the enemy, he can’t accept that he may have to kill his own kin. Does he give up his sacred way of life as a kshatriya (warrior) by defecting from the war, or kill the people he loves.

Situations where there is no moral high ground in any direction, force us to reconsider what we value most. In this headspace its normal to question “mortality” and its place in the universe, in attempt to approach the problem from a “big picture” perspective.

What do your actions in this moment mean right now? Are you living your life like a brief candle that goes out, or a radiant torch that you mean to pass on brighter than you recieved it by those before you. In what context are you living your life, and how will your actions today reflect on that grander vision?

Only after Arjuna finds his answers, does he have the strength to make a decision.