Gita 1.43

Sadhak: "Guru ji, Arjuna seems to have constructed an airtight case. Family destruction leads to moral corruption leads to social chaos leads to civilizational collapse. How can Krishna argue against this?"

Guru: "By not arguing against it at all. Notice what Krishna will do: He will not debate Arjuna's sociology. He will not offer counter-statistics. He will shift the entire conversation to a different dimension—the nature of the Self, the meaning of action, the reality beyond appearances."

Sadhak: "But does that not leave Arjuna's concerns unaddressed?"

Guru: "The best way to address a confused question is sometimes to dissolve the confusion rather than answer within it. If someone asks, 'Should I steal or lie?' the answer is not to debate which is worse but to question the premise that these are the only options."

Sadhak: "What is Arjuna's confused premise?"

Guru: "That action and non-action are different. That by not fighting, he avoids responsibility. That preserving a corrupt system is better than transforming it through painful truth. Krishna will show that Arjuna cannot escape action—even standing still is a choice with consequences."

Sadhak: "I often feel paralyzed like Arjuna. I can see reasons not to act in any direction."

Guru: "That paralysis comes from trying to control outcomes. Arjuna is essentially saying, 'I can see the bad consequences of fighting, therefore I should not fight.' But can he see all consequences? Can anyone? The Gita's answer is that we act from duty and principle, not from calculated outcomes, because outcomes are beyond our control."

Sadhak: "But surely we should consider consequences?"

Guru: "Consider them, yes. Be determined by them, no. A parent must discipline a child even knowing it will cause temporary pain. A doctor must deliver difficult news. A friend must speak uncomfortable truth. If we only act when outcomes are guaranteed pleasant, we will act rarely and usually selfishly."

Sadhak: "Arjuna calls these traditions 'shashvata'—eternal. But how can social arrangements be eternal?"

Guru: "They cannot. This is part of his confusion. What is eternal is dharma itself—the principle of cosmic order and right action. Its particular expressions in society change across time and culture. The 'eternal' family traditions of Arjuna's time are not practiced today, yet dharma persists. He confuses the container for the contents."

Sadhak: "So traditions are important but not ultimate?"

Guru: "Exactly. They are vehicles for transmitting values, but when the vehicle becomes more important than what it carries, it becomes an obstacle. When protecting tradition means protecting injustice, the tradition has betrayed its purpose. This is why reform movements arise in every religion—not to destroy tradition but to recover its original intention."