The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

chapter two
╭ Self-Realization
AS ARJUNA’S spiritual teacher, Sri
Krishna’s task now is to rouse Arjuna from his despair and set
him on the way to Self-realization.
Arjuna is essentially a man of action, renowned for his
bravery, nobility, and skill in the arts of war – intelligent, but
not given to reflection. Yet in his present crisis, he finds that
the active life is not enough. He is forced to ask the perennial
questions about life and death: Does he have a soul? Does it
survive death? Is there a deeper reality than we perceive in the
world around us? If so, is it possible to know it directly, and
(for Arjuna is always practical) what effect does such knowing
have in everyday life?
In his answer, Krishna touches on almost all the main
themes and concepts of the Gita. Chapter 2 is thus a kind of
overview of the sixteen chapters to come.
Sri Krishna begins by reminding Arjuna of his immortal
nature: his real Self, the Atman, never dies, for it is never born;
it is eternal. Thus the Gita does not lead us from stage to stage
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