Not Everything You Feel Deserves to Be Believed — Krishna Said It First

“अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे। गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः॥”
“You grieve for what is not worthy of grief, and yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise do not mourn the living or the dead.”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.11

We often mistake the intensity of a feeling for the truth of it. If it hurts, we think it must be real. If it feels right, we assume it must be correct. But the Bhagavad Gita — a text that begins in emotional crisis — teaches otherwise. Krishna doesn’t comfort Arjuna by validating his emotions. Instead, he offers a direct yet compassionate challenge: what you feel is not always wise. And what’s wise doesn’t always feel good. This is not a rejection of emotion, but a radical reordering of its place. The Gita begins with a breakdown and ends with clarity — not by removing feeling, but by restoring discernment. Let’s explore the core teachings where Krishna gently but firmly reminds us that not everything we feel deserves to be believed. The first lesson Krishna teaches is that sorrow does not equal knowledge. Arjuna is convinced his emotional breakdown is the voice of morality — that refusing to fight is the ethical choice. But Krishna sees it differently. He calls Arjuna’s grief misplaced and rooted in ignorance.

“अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे।
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः॥”
“You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, and yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise do not mourn the living or the dead.”
(Bhagavad Gita 2.11)

What Krishna challenges here is not compassion, but confusion. Arjuna’s feelings may be real, but they are not based in higher understanding. The Gita shows us that emotions often imitate insight, but wisdom is what remains after emotions are examined, not obeyed. The Gita explains that all thoughts and emotions are influenced by the three gunas — sattva (clarity), rajas (restlessness), and tamas (inertia). These qualities belong to prakriti, or material nature — not to the eternal self. So what we feel is often just a reflection of the current dominance of these energies within us.

“त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन।”
“The Vedas deal with the three gunas. O Arjuna, become free from the gunas.”
(Bhagavad Gita 2.45)

This means our emotional state is not always spiritual — it may just be biological, mental, or karmic. Tamas may make us feel hopeless. Rajas may make us feel impulsively heroic. But only sattva brings clarity. The Gita does not glorify emotion — it teaches us to trace it back to its source, and act from understanding, not agitation. A major reason Arjuna refuses to fight is his attachment — to relationships, to identity, and to imagined consequences. He’s unable to see clearly because he’s emotionally entangled. He says, “How can I kill Bhishma and Drona?” But Krishna reminds him that his vision is clouded not by love, but by personal loss disguised as virtue.

“हेतुं न पश्यामि”
“I do not see any reason to fight.”
(Bhagavad Gita 1.31)

Krishna dismantles this logic by pointing out that the soul cannot be killed, and that his duty lies not in clinging to relationships, but in rising beyond them. Emotion makes Arjuna misread his dharma. This is true for all of us — when we are attached, our emotions distort our sense of responsibility. The Gita teaches that real detachment doesn't mean coldness — it means seeing clearly, without the fog of emotional dependency. Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna to suppress his emotions. He tells him to step back and observe them without becoming them. This is the beginning of self-mastery. When you become the witness — the sakshi — your emotions lose the power to control your decisions.

“इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः॥”
“The senses are higher than the body, the mind higher than the senses, the intellect higher than the mind. But beyond all is the Self.”
(Bhagavad Gita 3.42)

This hierarchy is crucial. The senses feel, the mind reacts, but the buddhi — the intellect — must decide. And above even that, is the Self, which simply watches. True mastery is not emotional numbness — it is emotional awareness without being enslaved by it. The Gita points to a life where emotion may exist, but wisdom rules. The person who remains steady in pleasure and pain, success and failure — that person is a yogi. Krishna calls this state of mind samatvam, or equanimity. It is not indifference. It is balance. Emotional highs and lows are natural, but they should not control your actions or identity.

“समत्वं योग उच्यते”
“Evenness of mind is called yoga.”
(Bhagavad Gita 2.48)

This is one of the most revolutionary lines in spiritual literature. Not feeling more, not reacting faster — but remaining balanced is the mark of spiritual maturity. The world will pull you in every direction. But the one anchored in equanimity stays free. And freedom is not the absence of emotion — it’s independence from its command.The Bhagavad Gita doesn’t teach us to become emotionless. It teaches us to become emotionally intelligent in the truest sense — to feel, to reflect, and then to choose. Arjuna’s emotions were valid, but they were not reliable. Krishna didn't dismiss his feelings — he invited him to look deeper. Because the soul is not reactive. It is still. Emotions may come from memory, fear, conditioning, or karma. The only way to know their worth is to observe them through clarity.

When your mind is overwhelmed, ask yourself — is this coming from dharma or desire? From sattva or from attachment? The Gita reminds us that peace does not come by following every feeling. It comes by following truth — even when your emotions resist it.

Because not everything you feel deserves to be believed.
And Krishna said it first.


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