Daily Readings from the Works of Swami Venkatesananda


Venkatesa Daily Readings Vol 1 - Unmasking The Truth

January 23, 2025

     What then is the difference between a coward and a wise man? A wise man and a coward may both withdraw from battle, but when the coward withdraws he always finds it necessary to rationalize or justify his actions. Whenever one is tempted to justify his actions, he is feeling inwardly guilty. If I don't feel guilty about what I am doing, I don't justify it, I just do it. When you go home later and fall asleep, you don't feel guilty. But if you start snoring here you feel guilty and say, “You know I worked so hard today and I was so tired.” Who is interested in all that? Only you, because you want to cover your guilt with justification.

     So that even Arjuna, discoursing on the highest moral principles is speaking out of place. The very fact that justification was called for by his mind, shows that there was still confusion in him. If there is no confusion, there is no explanation or rationalization. Justification comes in as a cover up, and Krishna's response merely endeavors to unmask this cover. It is not as though the Bhagavad Gita sanctions violence as natural to human society; it merely seeks to unmask the thought process and show that deep within is the truth. If you peel off your feelings, your thought processes, your rationalizations, your philosophies and your opinions, there shines the truth.

 

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