your body and your mind, you can directly experience
your essential spiritual core.
Yoga encourages you to expand your sense of self so
you can solve the challenges that arise in your life. Each of
us is a heroic character on the battlefield of life. The
perennial story of life is depicted in the Indian classic, the
Bhagavad Gita, in which the forces of good and the forces
of evil find residence in two clans of the same family. The
Pandava clan, led by Arjuna, represents right action in
accordance with natural law. The Kauravas, headed by
Duryodhana, represent action performed with limited
awareness resulting in outcomes that cause suffering to
those affected by the choices made. The Bhagavad Gita
begins with these two opposing forces on the battlefield of
life preparing for massive conflict.
Both Arjuna and Duryodhana ask Lord Krishna, rep-
resenting the state of expanded consciousness, for sup-
port. Krishna offers one leader the use of his army while
the other gets him as his personal charioteer. Duryo-
dhana gets to choose first and takes the army, believing
that the power of might will provide him the greatest
benefit. The power of expanded awareness in the form of
Krishna goes to Arjuna.
Krishna takes Arjuna above the battlefield, where
Arjuna confesses his confusion about what to do. On the
one hand, he believes it is his duty to fight his relatives who
have created havoc in the world. On the other hand, he
feels tremendous compassion for the uncles and cousins
who have played important roles in his life. Arjuna is par-
alyzed by his inner battle. The tremendous value of yoga is
the depiction of this classic conflict between heart and
mind that each of us faces during our lives.196 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yogabafter.qxd 4/14/04 12:45 PM Page 196