It's chaos all around, with the air heavy to breathe and dust and dirt all around, people driving on the roads, conspiracies across the organisations, self-interest driving people mad, and relationships being strained due to the selfish demands of people. The whole of the world seems like chariots madly moving around and crashing into each other as if there is no charioteer. Why don't we have the Saarathi on the chariots? Why has our intellect become so dull?
If our body is like a chariot, it is moved by our unconscious mind, like the horses carrying a chariot. Horses play a crucial role. The Saarathi can't replace the horses. Ultimately, we need horsepower to run the chariot, which can't be provided by the Saarathi. However, horses also can't replace the Saarathi. Saarathi gives directions to the chariot by using the whips. If a chariot is left to the horses, it will not be able to find the direction. If many such chariots are on the road, there will be chaos on the roads, and that's what is happening in society as of the current date.
The owner of the chariot, like the conscious mind, tells the Saarathi where to go. The Saarathi, based on his awareness of the route, takes the owner to the destination using the chariot and the horses. That's why our intelligence, like a good Saarathi, needs to find out the best methods to accomplish a task. The unconscious mind, like horses, and the chariot or body start walking the route shown by the Saarathi or intellect. The role of Saarathi is very crucial. That's why Krishna decided to become "Saarathi" of Arjuna when Arjuna fought the battle of Kurukshetra. Arjuna will tell Krishna where to take the chariot, but at the same time, whenever Arjuna is in a state of doubt or conflict, Krishna will not mind giving the Updesha of the Geeta to Arjuna.
Our intellect has such a crucial role in our lives. The conscious mind, the owner of the chariot, has limited experience of life and based on these limited experiences, it decides some targets and directs the Saarathi to take the chariot to a particular destination. The Saarathi uses the whips to give direction to the chariot. However, a good Saarahi will not just execute the command given by the owner. Rather, it will guide the owner about the larger purpose of life. When we read a wide variety of books, we enter into meaningful dialogues, talk to the people who have a larger frame of life and a wider perspective, and observe life without getting stuck on our beliefs and biases; our intellect grows stronger. That stronger intellect helps us to find the right path when we are in a conflict in the battlefield of our lives.
When Saarathi is busy whipping the horses at the command of the owner, it is very difficult for Saarathi to develop a wider understanding of the routes. When the intellect is busy whipping the unconscious mind to execute the command of the conscious mind, it hardly has any time to delve into a wider perspective. Intellect needs some time off the routine to delve into wider issues of life. That's why it is important to take some time off the routine, not to achieve something, but to listen to the music of the universe. To observe the things around without assigning any meaning to them. To read a book without desperation to find some meaning. To observe the lives of the people around without fixed beliefs. To talk to friends without judging them. To look at life afresh with a mind that is open to all the possibilities. Gravity existed before Newton discovered it. Apples were falling off the trees since the beginning of life on Earth, or maybe much before. In a moment of silent observation, the intellect of Newton could realise the truth behind the falling of the apple. There are so many undiscovered truths all around, ready to reveal themselves if we can just listen to them. Such an intellect can be a great Saarathi like Krishna, and if our chariot has such a Saarathi, we will never be confused in the battlefields of our lives.
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