Dhṛtaraṣṭra, father of the Kaurava brothers, was blind from birth. It is he to whom the Bhagavad-gītā is narrated by his secretary, Sañjaya. Sañjaya, quite the opposite of Dhṛtaraṣṭra, has been blessed with special powers of yoga vision by sage Vyāsa. Therefore, although he is not present on the battlefield, he can see all that happens there.

Just prior to the beginning of the great battle, Sañjaya describes the battlefield arrangements to Dhṛtaraṣṭra. As the warriors on the two opposing sides stand facing each other from a distance, anticipating a signal for the battle to begin, Arjuna requests Krishna to bring his chariot between the two armies, so that he may survey the Kauravas and their supporters, all “desirous to fight” (1.21). But then, when he sees his teachers and uncles with their sons and friends all standing on the threshhold of death, Arjuna withers in distressed confusion, his mind reeling at the terrible prospect of death and destruction facing him.

In this state, Arjuna asks Krishna existential questions: “What purpose is gained by winning the pleasures of a kingdom, when all those with whom we would enjoy it will be killed? Even if they kill me, I have no desire to kill them” (1.32-34).

Arjuna goes on to present several reasons why he should not fight in the battle. These arguments—mainly about the devastating social consequences of so many men being killed, leaving behind unprotected women—serve to convince us that Arjuna is a thoughtful, socially conscious, and noble person. By the end of the chapter, we might feel that Arjuna is justified (especially from a consequentialist moral perspective) in withdrawing from the battlefield before the battle begins.

Arjuna may be justified in withdrawing from the battlefield, but he is also deeply dejected. Unlike Duryodana and his armies, who see only friends and enemies in relation to themselves, Arjuna suffers from having a broader vision: he sees everyone present on the battlefield as members of the same family. And this leads him to deep questioning. To contemplate and recognize within oneself the sense of existential disorder—the disturbed, or “diseased,” condition of existence—is the initial yoga practice the Gītā offers. The beginning step in serious yoga practice is to recognize in one’s own life a parallel to the predicament in which Arjuna finds himself. This recognition of the urgent need for higher vision qualifies one for acquiring the education in yoga that Arjuna shall receive in the remaining seventeen chapters.