You Are Not What You Feel—The Gita’s Reminder on Emotional Distance

"श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।"
("It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of someone else's life with perfection." – Bhagavad Gita 3.35)

Have you ever felt consumed by an emotion so deeply that it felt like you became it? Like grief that makes the world colorless, anger that turns your vision red, or anxiety that makes your heart race as if it’s running ahead of you?

But pause for a moment and ask yourself—Are you truly your emotions? Or are you something far greater, something that simply witnesses these emotions come and go?

This is the essence of Krishna’s wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita. He doesn’t tell Arjuna to stop feeling, nor does he invalidate his pain. Instead, he reminds him of a higher truth—You are not what you feel. You are the observer of those feelings.
"मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः।"
("Happiness and sorrow, like heat and cold, come and go; endure them patiently." – Bhagavad Gita 2.14)

Think of emotions like the weather. One day, the sky is clear and blue—joyful, free. The next, dark clouds roll in—anger, sadness, fear. But no matter how intense the storm, the sky itself remains unchanged, untouched.

That is what you truly are. The sky. The emotions? They are just passing clouds. Why attach yourself to something that refuses to stay?
Your mind has a way of exaggerating emotions, spinning them into stories. One moment of rejection turns into “I will never be loved.” One failure at work becomes “I am worthless.” But are these thoughts reality, or are they just temporary illusions?

Krishna reminds Arjuna that the mind is both a powerful tool and a cunning deceiver. If left unchecked, it magnifies suffering. But if you train yourself to observe your thoughts instead of drowning in them, you gain power over them.

Next time your mind tells you "this feeling will last forever," pause and ask yourself:
"Has any emotion ever lasted forever?"
"यम हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ।"
("The wise are not disturbed by happiness or sorrow; they remain steady in all circumstances." – Bhagavad Gita 2.15)

Detachment doesn’t mean you stop feeling. It means you stop clinging to emotions as if they define you.

Imagine holding a handful of sand. If you grip it too tightly, it slips through your fingers. But if you hold it gently, it stays.

Your emotions are the same way. Cling too tightly to happiness, and fear of losing it will haunt you. Cling too tightly to pain, and it will consume you. But if you learn to witness emotions instead of possessing them, you will find peace.

We live in a world that glorifies reaction—instant opinions, instant outrage, instant emotions. But Krishna’s wisdom invites us to pause. To watch, rather than react.

The next time anger rises, don’t suppress it. Don’t act on it. Just observe.

Ask yourself: Who is the one noticing this anger?

That very act of stepping back creates space between you and the emotion. And in that space, you realize—you are not the anger. You are the one who sees the anger.

"सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज।"
("Abandon all anxieties and surrender to me; I shall deliver you from all suffering." – Bhagavad Gita 18.66)

We spend our lives resisting what is, clinging to what was, and fearing what will be. We try to control emotions instead of accepting them.

But what if you let go?

Surrendering doesn’t mean giving up. It means trusting the flow of life. It means understanding that everything—joy, sorrow, love, loss—is happening for a reason.

The storm will pass. The sun will rise again. And you—the one who is watching, the one who is eternal—will still be here, untouched.
A lotus grows in muddy waters, but it remains untouched by the dirt. Life will always have chaos, but you don’t have to absorb it.

The Gita’s ultimate wisdom?

You are not your emotions.
You are the stillness beyond them.

So the next time emotions try to drown you, ask yourself: Am I the storm, or am I the infinite sky beyond it?