This piece deals with a subject that, in my opinion, is very important for one on the spiritual journey, self-discipline. Without this most important virtue, a traveler on the spiritual path will undoubtedly get nowhere and eventually find himself lost.

In this age of email, TV dinners, and instant gratification, we have become too used to instant gratification and are beginning to lose the quality of self-discipline. However, if even in no other area of life, this one fact still holds true : spiritual development requires discipline.

We see this truth demonstrated throughout the Gitopanishad in the actions taken by Arjuna in relation to the battle he is supposed to lead. However, the Gita is not about any physical war, but the war between the self and the Self. The beginning of this battle is illustrated in the first chapter of the Gita when Arjuna realizes that he is not fighting against some faceless evil force, but that both sides are composed of family members, friends, and teachers.


Dejected, filled with strange pity,
He said this:
“Krishna, I see my kinsmen
gathered here, wanting war.

My limbs sink,
my mouth is parched,
my body trembles,
the hair bristles on my flesh.

The magic bow slips
From my hand, my skin burns,
I cannot stand still,
my mind reels.

I see omens of chaos.
Krishna; I see no good
in killing my kinsmen
in battle.

Krishna, I seek no victory,
or kingship or pleasures.
What use to us are kingship,
delights, or life itself?

We sought kingship, delights,
and pleasures for the sake of those
assembled to abandon their lives
and fortunes in battle.”


Arjuna continues on referring to the dishonor he would bring to himself and his family were he to allow the slaughter that is the impending battle to occur. This mirrors a person’s inability to come to terms with the idea that they are just a small part of something much larger when they first step on to the spiritual path. Most people are afraid that if they were to lose their self, they would cease to exist, being unaware of their true nature as the Self. However, Arjuna demonstrates the quality of self-discipline when, after being rebuked by Krishna, he is able to regain his composure in an extensive conversation between Arjuna, representing man, and Krishna, representative of God begins.

This discourse, representative of the spiritual growth of the soul, reaches its climax in the eleventh chapter when Krishna reveals his true nature as infinite God to Arjuna. In the eleventh chapter of the Gitopanishad, God is appropriately described using military metaphors. However, more important than the Gita’s description of God is what Krishna tells Arjuna after returning to human form.


To grace you, Arjuna,
I revealed
through self-discipline
my higher form,
which no one but you
has ever beheld –
brilliant, total,
boundless, primal.

Not through sacred lore
or sacrificial ritual
or study or charity,
not by rites
or by terrible penances
can I be seen in this form
in the world of men
by anyone but you, Great Hero.


What Krishna is saying here is possibly one of the most important parts of the Gita. Krishna says that he can be seen “not through sacred lore/or sacrificial ritual/or study or charity,/not by rites/or by terrible penances.” This undoubtedly confuses people because he is not saying these methods cannot be used, period. Krishna is trying to communicate to Arjuna the idea that the spiritual path is not easy. The methods Krishna mentions can be used, with the understanding that they are simply tools and symbols to help in one’s spiritual growth, but without self-discipline, or the ability to keep ones self motivated and focused on the ultimate goal, the spiritual quest is doomed to failure. What this means practically is that when one studies spiritual literature, for example, it is best to focus on what is practical, and not get bogged down trying to learn every detail of every form of meditation.

In this modern age, the quality of self-discipline is seemingly in its death throws, which may explain why many people find it so difficult to make any progress on the spiritual path where self-discipline is so important. People, these days, are still searching for God, but lacking discipline, routinely get bogged down by the question of whether God really exists. The few who are able to make it past this question, having reached the conclusion that God does, in fact, exist, only get bogged down again when they are exposed to the almost infinite amount of information and infinite different ways to connect with God. Instead of simply finding the one form that works for them, they seem to want to learn about all the different religions’ spiritual systems and beliefs present in the world. This can cause problems, as it is possible, even unintentionally, for such a person to end up mixing everything they’ve learned together, ending up with not one well-defined spiritual system, but the equivalent of a map showing a path through the woods that simply loops around and back on itself without going anywhere.