Gita 1.25
Arjuna Vishada Yoga
भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् । उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति ॥२५॥
bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ sarveṣāṁ ca mahī-kṣitām uvāca pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti
In essence: See—the single word that will shatter a warrior. Krishna doesn't explain, interpret, or warn. He simply invites Arjuna to look, knowing that clear seeing is the beginning of all transformation.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Guruji, Krishna's instruction is so simple—just 'see.' Why does this lead to such a crisis for Arjuna?"
Guru: "Because seeing is the most dangerous act. As long as we don't see clearly, we can act from habit, conditioning, ideology. Real seeing dissolves these protections."
Sadhak: "But Arjuna is a warrior. He's seen battlefields before."
Guru: "He's seen enemies before. Strangers. Men whose faces were abstract. Now he sees family. There's a difference between 'killing warriors' and 'killing grandfather.' The abstraction has collapsed."
Sadhak: "Krishna calls them 'Kurus'—but Arjuna is also a Kuru, isn't he?"
Guru: "Exactly. 'Behold these Kurus' includes Arjuna himself. He's about to realize that this battle is not between different families but within one family, within the human family, ultimately within himself. The external war mirrors an internal one."
Sadhak: "Why mention Bhishma and Drona specifically? There are many warriors there."
Guru: "Because they represent love and wisdom—the grandfather who protected the Pandavas as children, the teacher who made them warriors. If Arjuna can see them as enemies, what does that make him? The question is unbearable."
Sadhak: "Sometimes I avoid looking clearly at situations because I sense it will complicate things."
Guru: "That's wise survival instinct—but it's not the spiritual path. The spiritual path requires exactly what you're avoiding: clear seeing, regardless of consequence. Arjuna's greatness is that he doesn't look away. He could have. He could have said 'Drive forward' and fought in blindness. Instead, he looks, and he breaks."
Sadhak: "Is breaking necessary?"
Guru: "For reconstruction, yes. The Arjuna who fights at the end of the Gita is not the same Arjuna who entered the battlefield. The old Arjuna—the one who could fight without seeing—had to die. Breaking is the death of the old self."
Sadhak: "That's frightening."
Guru: "It's supposed to be. But notice: Krishna is there. He doesn't abandon Arjuna in the shattering. The divine presence accompanies us through the breaking. We don't face it alone."
Sadhak: "So 'see' is an invitation to transformation through suffering?"
Guru: "It's an invitation to consciousness. Suffering is what happens when consciousness encounters reality. You can avoid the suffering by staying unconscious—many do. But then you also avoid the wisdom that only comes through the other side of that suffering."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Before you engage with any challenging situation today, give yourself the instruction: 'Pashya—see.' Not 'plan' or 'strategize' or 'win.' Just see. Look at what's actually in front of you, not what you think is there, hope is there, or fear is there. Clear seeing is the foundation of wise action.
Notice today when you avoid seeing clearly because you sense it will complicate your comfortable narratives. We all maintain strategic blindness about certain relationships, situations, or truths. Choose one area where you've been avoiding clear sight, and simply look. You don't have to act on what you see—just see it.
Reflect on the 'Kurus' in your life—the people you're in conflict with who are also, in some sense, family. Not enemies from outside but people connected to you by blood, history, community, or shared humanity. How does this recognition change your sense of the conflict? Like Arjuna, you may find that seeing them clearly is more painful than seeing them as strangers.