XVI. Banish Ignorance and Sorrow will leave you Forever

To gain wisdom, you need to undertake the practice of inner inquiry. In this practice you dissociate yourself completely from your mind and your thoughts. It is identification with the mind and its impurities that causes bondage. In this connection, Krishna told Arjuna, "Timidity, grief, sorrow... all these weaknesses and fears that you are experiencing are associated with the mind. What is the reason for this sorry state you find yourself in? It is the impurities in your mind, Arjuna. You have identified yourself with this impure mind, and as a result you are suffering."

Embodiments of Love,

The first thing Krishna did when he started speaking was to diagnose Arjuna's malady. Arjuna was suffering from ignorance. He was ignorant of his own true nature and the true nature of everyone else. Because of this ignorance, Arjuna came under the spell of delusion and duality. He had fallen prey to the impurities in his mind. He felt the anxiety of separation. As a result he became despondent. He was overcome with grief and sorrow. The cure for this disease of ignorance is wisdom. Therefore, Krishna started his teachings by expounding on the path of wisdom.