Gita 3.36
Karma Yoga
अर्जुन उवाच | अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुष: | अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजित: ||३६||
arjuna uvāca | atha kena prayukto 'yaṁ pāpaṁ carati pūruṣaḥ | anicchann api vārṣṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ ||36||
In essence: Why do I do what I don't want to do—as if dragged by a force beyond my will?
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "I know exactly what Arjuna means. I understand what's right, I intend to do it, and then I do the opposite. What's wrong with me?"
Guru: "Nothing is 'wrong' with you that isn't wrong with everyone. Arjuna asks this question not from personal failure but from accurate observation of human nature. The gap between knowing and doing isn't your personal defect—it's the human condition."
Sadhak: "But shouldn't understanding be enough? If I truly understood that something harms me, wouldn't I stop automatically?"
Guru: "What makes you think understanding reaches the place where compulsion lives? Compulsion is pre-rational, seated deeper than thought. You can understand fire burns, but if someone pushes you toward it, understanding doesn't stop the fall. Something is pushing you, independent of understanding. Arjuna wants to know: what is that push?"
Sadhak: "Is it just habit? Years of conditioning creating patterns that override intention?"
Guru: "Habit is part of it, but Arjuna says 'balāt iva'—as if by force. Habits feel automatic; compulsion feels coercive. There's a difference between forgetting to do what you intended and actively doing what you're trying not to do. The latter suggests a force that opposes the will, not merely bypasses it."
Sadhak: "So there's something inside me working against me?"
Guru: "There's something inside you that doesn't care about your long-term well-being, only about immediate gratification or discharge. Call it instinct, ego, shadow—many names for a force that pursues its agenda regardless of your conscious intentions. Understanding this force is the first step to freedom from it."
Sadhak: "It sounds almost like possession—like I'm not fully in control of myself."
Guru: "Arjuna uses similar language. 'Niyojitaḥ'—commanded, deployed, as a soldier is deployed by a general. You think you're the general, but often you're the soldier, following orders from a commander you don't even see. The question is: who is the general? What is giving the orders you unwillingly obey?"
Sadhak: "Is this force evil? Should I view it as an enemy?"
Guru: "Krishna will call it an enemy shortly, but understand: it's not separate from you. It's not a demon possession—it's a dimension of your own psyche. Calling it enemy doesn't mean warfare; it means recognition. You can't fight what you can't see. First identify the force; then you can address it. Enemy here means 'that which opposes your highest good.'"
Sadhak: "Why would part of me oppose my own good?"
Guru: "Because that part has a different definition of 'good.' For desire, good means pleasure now. For anger, good means discharge now. These parts don't think long-term because they evolved for survival, not for enlightenment. They're not malicious; they're simply narrow. Your task isn't to destroy them but to expand their vision—or at least stop obeying blindly."
Sadhak: "Is there hope? Can this force be mastered?"
Guru: "Arjuna asks the question because he senses there must be an answer. If compulsion were absolute, the question would be meaningless. The fact that you can ask 'why do I do what I don't want' means there's a 'you' that doesn't want it—a witness who sees the compulsion but isn't identical to it. That witness is your freedom. Strengthen that, and compulsion weakens."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Set an intention to investigate compulsion today rather than just suffering it. When you find yourself doing something against your better judgment—whether checking your phone compulsively, eating when not hungry, saying something harsh, or avoiding necessary tasks—pause immediately after and ask Arjuna's question: 'What force impelled that? What was the inner push I obeyed?' Don't answer immediately; let the question sit. You're developing the capacity to observe the mechanism rather than just being subjected to it.
Catch yourself in the moment of compulsion. This is harder than retrospection but more powerful. Right as you feel the pull toward unwanted action, try to name it: 'This is desire speaking' or 'This is aversion pushing me.' You don't have to resist—just recognize. The recognition creates a micro-gap between impulse and action. Sometimes that gap is enough; sometimes you'll act compulsively anyway. Either way, you've begun to see. Track how many times you can catch the force mid-operation. Even one moment of recognition is progress.
Review where compulsion won today. Without self-criticism, examine: what was the force? What did it promise? What did it actually deliver? Often you'll find the force promised relief, pleasure, or escape, but delivered only temporary satisfaction followed by regret or emptiness. Notice this gap between promise and delivery. The force maintains power partly because you believe its promises. Seeing repeatedly that it doesn't deliver what it promises weakens its credibility. This is practical disillusionment—losing illusions about what compulsion actually offers.