August Gītā: 7.27

Ichchhā-dveṣha-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bhārata
sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ
sarge yānti parantapa

‘O descendant of Bharat, the dualities of desire and aversion arise from illusion. O conqueror of enemies, all living beings in the material realm are deluded by these.’
Bhagavad Gītā 7.27

One of the Gita’s greatest strengths is its lack of condemnation of the human condition. Illusion is not a curse. It’s a diagnosis. Krishna is addressing Arjuna, but Arjuna is also us. Arjuna is given many names throughout the song. In this verse he has two. They are both symbolic. The first, “Son of Bharat”,  reminds us that we are all descendants of others. We are all born with the same inheritance: The world we think is as we see it. If desire and aversion were the extreme states they appear to be in print they’d be so much easier to identify. But they are literally survival instincts in disguise. We are born hard-wired to discriminate. 

Once upon a time, back in the forest, things were simpler. “This fruit is good, but that mushroom will kill me”. Nowadays the same toolkit can put us in a tailspin. Most of the time we don’t know it’s happening. Throwing back the sheets on a sunny morning and literally skipping off to practice, then hitting the snooze button ten times in the bleak midwinter. One minute reaching for something - love, certainty, praise - the next avoiding awkward moments, solitude or the dull ache of not-enough.

In the second part of the verse Arjuna is “Conquerer of enemies”. So now Krishna is talking to our inner warrior. Krishna doesn’t say some people are deluded. He says all beings. Everyone’s in survival mode at least some of the time. Even the clever ones, the holy ones and the ones who practise yoga.

And that’s good. Because if delusion is the default, then conquering it isn’t about being special. It’s about all of us lost little humans allowing ourselves to be present for just long enough to see the tailspin for what it is. On the mat, or during another mindful activity. Or merely taking the opportunity to sit still for a moment.