2. Contradictions in Life

Just as it is said,"All roads lead to Rome", all paths given in the Gita lead us to the Inner Self. Some of the paths appear to be in contrast with each other. However, this is like a circle where a journey on either side would take us to the same destination. The Gita operates at various levels. Sometimes Krishna comes to the level of Arjuna and sometimes he comes as the Super-soul (Paramatma). This creates difficulties in comprehension at the initial stage as both these levels appear to be different. Scientists faced similar difficulties while understanding light, at the beginning of the last century. Initially, it was proved that light is a wave and later it was realized that it also behaves like a particle. Both theories appear to be opposing each other. But light, with which we are so familiar, is a combination of apparent contradictions. Similar is life. Once an elephant entered a village and a few blind men attempted to identify or understand it. Depending on which part of the elephant they touched, they imagined what an elephant might be like. The one who touched trunk said that the elephant is like a long and rough creature. The one who touched the tusk said that this animal is hard as a rock. Another who touched the stomach said that it is huge and soft. And so their deductions went. Different perceptions of one reality is the reason for all the differences we see in the world today. In reality, the elephant is none of these, but it is also all of these. Our state of mind is no different from these individuals, with people, things and relationships being that enigmatic elephant. Partial understanding leads us to misery. The Gita is essentially a journey from a partial understanding to a complete one. Like in the 80-20 principle, even a few steps into this understanding can bring joy to life.