Contradictions in Life

November 15, 2025

K. Siva Prasad

Just as it is said, ‘All roads lead to Rome’, all paths given in the Gita lead us to the eternal state of our inner self.  Some of the paths seem to contradict each other. However, this is like a circle where a journey on either side would take us to the same destination.

The Gita operates onmultiple levels. Sometimes Krishna comes to the level of Arjuna and sometimes He comes as the Supersoul (Paramatma). This creates difficulties in comprehension at the initial stage as both levels appear to be different.

For example, at the beginning of the last centuryscientists faced difficulties while understanding light. Initially, it was proved that light is a wave, subsequently it was realized that it also behaves like a particle. Both theories appear to be opposing each other. But light, with which we are so familiar, is a combination of apparent contradictions. Similar is the life and this fact needs to be kept in mind while understanding the Gita.

Another example is of blind men and an elephant. Once an elephant entered a village and a group of blind men attempted to identify or understand it. Depending on which part of the elephant they touched, they imagined what an elephant might be like. The one who touched the trunk said that the elephant is like a long and rough creature. The one who touched the tusk said that this animal is as hard as a rock. Another who touched the stomach said that it is huge and soft. Thus, each one of them made their deductions unaware that their perceptions were just a fragment of the whole.

Different perceptions of one reality are the reason for all the differences we see in the world today.  Our state of mind is similar to theirs while perceiving the people and things around us. This partial understanding leads us to misery.

The Bhagavad Gita is a journey from a partial understanding to a complete one. Krishna assures that even a few stepsby us in this journey can bring big gains.