Gita 2.5
Sankhya Yoga
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके | हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ||५||
gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṃ bhaikṣyam apīha loke | hatvārtha-kāmāṃs tu gurūn ihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān ||5||
In essence: Better the beggar's bowl with a clean conscience than a king's feast stained with the blood of those who loved you.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Let me give it all up, Krishna. The kingdom, the throne, everything. I'll become a beggar. At least I'll be able to live with myself."
Guru: "And what of those who depend on you? The soldiers who followed you here, the citizens who await justice?"
Sadhak: "They can find another leader. Someone without my... attachments. Someone who can do what needs to be done."
Guru: "If another kills your teachers, and you benefit from that killing, is your conscience truly clean?"
Sadhak: "That's... I hadn't thought of that. But at least my hands would be clean!"
Guru: "Would they? If you walk away and others suffer, whose karma is it? The one who acts, or the one who could have acted and chose not to?"
Sadhak: "You're trapping me in logic. However I turn, there's guilt."
Guru: "Yes. This is what it means to be human—to face choices where every path carries a cost. The question is not how to escape guilt, but how to act from the deepest truth when guilt is unavoidable."
Sadhak: "But a beggar's life is pure. Simple. No blood on anything."
Guru: "Is it? What of the blood others shed because you were not there to protect them? Purity bought through abandonment is not purity—it is merely a different form of stain."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Examine a situation where you're tempted to escape responsibility by 'renouncing' something. Ask honestly: 'Am I walking away from genuine wisdom, or running from discomfort?' The beggar's bowl offered as escape is no more pure than the throne held in duty.
When facing a decision with no clean options, notice the mind's desire to find a path where you remain 'the good person.' Consider that true goodness sometimes requires accepting that you'll look bad, feel bad, or be misunderstood—while still doing what's necessary.
Contemplate the phrase 'smeared with blood.' What actions or inactions in your past still stain your present enjoyments? Can you hold that truth with compassion, recognizing that being human means living with imperfect choices?