As Arjuna surveyed the Kaurava forces arrayed on the battlefield of Kurukshetra he was suddenly gripped by nervousness, anxiety, fear, grief and misplaced pity. He started doubting the very purpose of the war and became apprehensive about its result. Totally confused about his identity and duties he finally surrendered to Bhagavan and sought His guidance. He asked to know what was good (shreyas) for him.
Arjuna's state of mind was not peculiar to Arjuna alone. This is a universal problem. Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda called it as the ‘Arjuna disease’. Even today many people suffer from the syndrome. The only remedy for it is knowledge from the highest standpoint – Self-knowledge which reveals our true, absolute identity. Once we have understood our absolute identity then we also understand our duties in this world.
Identity and duty go together. Our duty in life is determined by our identity – who we are. A teacher’s duty is to teach and student’s duty is to study. When we are confused about our identity we are confused about our duties also. Bhagavan gave Arjuna the knowledge of his spiritual identity, the absolute identity and also indicated his duties and gave directions on how to perform them. Bhagavan unequivocally stated that the performance of duties with the right attitude, purifies the mind and prepares it for higher knowledge about the true Self. Having realised once this true identity, the seeker abides in the Knowledge and is never confused or deluded again.
The path of karma-yoga is the path of action, which leads to perfection. ‘The road to perfection is always under construction.' It is a continuous process. Arjuna misunderstood the teaching. He thought that Bhagavan was speaking of two alternative paths - the path of action - karma yoga or the path of knowledge - jnana yoga. And that the latter was the superior of the two. Since Bhagavan had praised the path of knowledge he could not understand why He was being asked to follow the path of action and perform his duties which involved warfare and killing. Faced by a moral dilemma Arjuna said, ‘I surrendered to you but instead of removing my delusion you are adding to my confusion. Tell me that one thing which I should do by which I may attain shreyas.’
Shreyas, that which is good. This is to be understood at two levels - good at the individual level and good at the universal level - absolute good which is good for all irrespective of time, place, and circumstance.
Shreyas translates differently at various levels. For a diabetic sugar is not good but the same sugar is prescribed for another with low sugar levels. So sugar may be good or bad depending on the health of the person concerned. However, good health is good for all and desired by all. At the physical level, good health is shreyas for everybody. At the mental level shreyas is peace of mind. It is desired by all and good for all. Shreyas at the intellectual level is clarity of thought, which Arjuna lacked. In life we find that confusions are a very common occurrence – students are confused about the subjects they should opt for, the youth lack clarity about their career options, whether they should get married or not. At the spiritual level, happiness is desired and is good for all. When you are content with yourself and your happiness is independent of any external factor that is shreyas. Being at ease in every situation regardless of place, time, people, is called shreyas. Good health, peace of mind, clarity of thought, and happiness are shreyas at the universal level.