Guru

Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 1

The battlefield of Kurukshetra is also the battlefield of the soul—where our inner conflicts between right and wrong must ultimately be resolved.

Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 1

Fear disguises itself as strategy—when we feel threatened, we seek validation from those we respect, revealing our inner insecurity.

Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 1

When we teach others, we arm them—sometimes against ourselves; the master's gift becomes the student's weapon.

Mahabharata, Shanti Parva

Karna deceived his guru Parashurama and accidentally killed a Brahmana cow, receiving curses that would cause his death in battle against Arjuna.

Mahabharata, Folk tradition

Barbarik could end the war in one minute but his vow to support the weaker side would cause endless oscillation. Krishna asked for his head as sacrifice.

Arjuna & Uttara (Prince of Virata)

Courage is not the absence of fear but action in spite of it. The first step from pretense to reality is admitting you were pretending. Everyone starts terrified; what matters is what you do next.

Yudhishthira & Krishna / Drona

Even the righteous are sometimes forced to choose between purity and preservation. Technical truths that deceive are still deceptions. Some victories cost us pieces of ourselves we can never recover.