We get really emotionally overcharged by news of our country winning a match in the finals, our child's wedding ceremony, the hero in the movie marrying his girlfriend after a long struggle, or Sultan winning that final match even after breaking ribs. Our hearts fill with joy. The news about the death of somebody very close to us, or the failure of our child in the examination, the brutal killing of Bahubali in the movie, the loss of Milkha Singh in a crucial match, all make us cry. Why? Because we want "happiness" for our own people, and when they win after a long struggle, especially when we were not expecting that to happen, we feel a powerful burst of positive emotions.
Do we feel the same emotions when some American player wins a gold medal in the Olympics after years of hard work? Do we feel the same when a neighbour's child gets a gold medal at the university after a lot of hard work? Do we get the same emotion when there is the death of a distant relative's son? No. There are two conditions for that emotional high or low. First, we must feel very deeply connected to that person. Even in the movie, if the hero dies in the very first scene, we will not have the same feelings for the hero as we have after seeing him on the screen for 2-3 hours. Similarly, if the hero achieves something outstanding in the very first scene, we will not have much euphoria. We have that feeling only when we see him struggling on the screen. We see so many movies and scenes of murders on the screen, but when the hero of "Life is Beautiful" is being taken by Nazi Solders to be executed, and when the soldiers take him in front of his son, our hearts cry, and we get tears in our eyes.
Second, the division between the desirable and undesirable must be absolutely clear. There should not be two views about the same. When it comes to choosing between life and death, there is no doubt that we will always choose life over death. That is the reason why euthanasia is such an emotional decision. Despite knowing that a family member or a closely related person has no chance of survival, it is so difficult to make a decision to withdraw the life support system. Society as a whole places a lot of importance on winning. In the competitive world, we tell our children to compete and always come first. Wherever this line is blurred, we will not be able to experience such an intense emotion; rather, we will have mixed emotions. What if somebody's son is gay and he decides to marry another man? Would the father have the same euphoria? Not at all. While the happiness of the child may enthuse the father, fear of social rejection will be like a showfall on that fire.
Thus, euphoria is the result of very strong identification with something or somebody and also having a linear view of reality. A very strong "mental meaning" of good and bad, right and wrong. Both strong identification with something or somebody and having a linear view of reality are a result of ignorance of the larger. Bharat may be very forceful in his request to take Ram back to Ayodhya with him. But Ram is aware of the wider reality and knows that his purpose of life is not limited to living comfortably in Ayodhya. Mata Yashoda and his friends in Brij may have very strong emotions against Krishna going to Mathura, but Krishna knows that his purpose of life is to show the right direction to the whole of the world, and that can't happen unless he gives the message of Bhagwad Geeta to Arjuna at the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Emotions are very powerful. But at the same time, they may be blinded by limitations of our awareness. What if Krishna listened to the emotional appeal of his friends at Brij to stay back? What if Rama listened to the emotional appeal of Bharata to go back to Ayodhya? Emotions are very powerful. We just need to watch for their origin. Is it the "ego" or limited awareness of our existence, or is it the awareness of the whole? "Ego" is always limited, even if it is approved by the whole of society. One may spend every single pie of his earnings for the well-being of his family members; there is no harm in doing so because taking care of the family is one of the foremost duties of a family person. The question remains: to what extent would he go to do this? What if the interest of the family is in conflict with the interest of society? Can he choose the interest of society over the interest of the family? That's what Krishna is trying to tell Arjuna. Krishna is asking Arjuna not to be fooled by emotions that result from limited awareness of reality, and that's why he gives Divyadrishti to Arjuna to see reality. Even Arjuna is unable to live with that awareness for long and asks Krishna to take away that Divyadrishti. We are used to being on the land, and dividing the land into pieces. Can we dare to leave the earth and walk in space, where there is no land to hold onto? No beliefs, no fixed viewpoints, no pre-defined good and bad, no fixed right and wrong; and where everything is decided by looking at the totality of things, with truth and awareness being the sole guide.
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