Gita 1.12

Sadhak: "Guruji, Bhishma seems to genuinely care about Duryodhana here. He roars to give him joy. Isn't that compassionate?"

Guru: "Is enabling someone's worst choices compassion? Duryodhana needed truth, not comfort. A doctor who gives candy to a diabetic child to stop his crying is not compassionate—he's complicit."

Sadhak: "But Bhishma was bound by his vow to serve whoever sat on Hastinapura's throne. He had no choice."

Guru: "Did he not? Was there no moment in decades when he could have stepped back, even at cost to himself? His vow was made in a different context. Does a promise made in dharma bind you when following it means supporting adharma?"

Sadhak: "That's a hard question. We're taught to keep our word."

Guru: "We're taught to keep our word to truth first. Bhishma's tragedy is that he made his word more important than what his word was meant to serve. The map became more important than the territory."

Sadhak: "Why does the verse call him 'pratapavan'—valiant? Isn't Vyasa being ironic?"

Guru: "Perhaps. Or perhaps Vyasa is showing that valour without wisdom is dangerous. Bhishma was certainly brave. But bravery in service of what? A man can be fearless while walking in the wrong direction."

Sadhak: "The lion's roar is supposed to be sacred. Why use it here?"

Guru: "Exactly the point. Sacred symbols can be misused. When spiritual language serves ego, when religious authority backs injustice—that is the lion's roar for adharma. The Gita shows this corruption so we can recognize it."

Sadhak: "How do I avoid becoming like Bhishma? Trapped by old commitments, serving what I know is wrong?"

Guru: "Regular examination. Ask yourself: 'If I were free of all past promises, would I choose this path today?' If no, then your vows have become chains, not wings. Bhishma never asked this question. Or perhaps he asked and couldn't bear the answer."

Sadhak: "It's hard. Sometimes our identity is built on those old commitments."

Guru: "That is why the Gita begins here—on a battlefield where identity will be shattered and rebuilt. Before Krishna teaches, we must see clearly what happens when even the greatest fail to question their assumptions."