The Gita Knew: Betrayal Never Comes from Strangers
Riya Kumari | Jun 04, 2025, 15:53 IST
( Image credit : Freepik, Timeslife )
Here’s the thing the Bhagavad Gita clocked centuries before your therapist did: betrayal doesn’t come from strangers in trench coats and shady motives. It comes from the person sitting right beside you—cheering the loudest when you win, but secretly hoping you trip while walking up to accept your award. Krishna, the original ride-or-die with a peacock feather, didn’t give Arjuna a lesson in war tactics. He gave him a reality check: the battlefield is personal, babe.
You don’t expect the people you love to become the ones you flinch from. But that’s how betrayal works. It doesn't walk in wearing a warning. It shows up looking familiar, sounding safe. And that’s what makes it hurt like hell. We talk about heartbreak like it’s only romantic. But some of the deepest betrayals come from friends. Family. People you would’ve defended in rooms they talked badly about you in. And long before any of us had the words to explain it, the Bhagavad Gita already did. Arjuna didn’t break down on a battlefield because he was scared to fight. He broke down because he had to fight people he once loved. It wasn’t the war that crushed him. It was realizing who stood on the other side.
1. You’re Not Weak For Feeling Broken. You’re Just Human.
Arjuna’s knees gave out. His bow fell from his hands. He wasn’t ashamed to say, “I can’t do this.” Not because he was afraid of war. But because betrayal doesn’t just hurt you—it hollows you. You start questioning yourself. Did I imagine their love? Was I too much? Too blind? Too trusting? No, you weren’t.
You were just real in a world where some people only know how to perform love, not practice it. The Gita meets you in that exact moment. Not after healing. Right in the mess of it.
2. It Hurts More When They Knew Exactly Where to Aim.
Strangers can’t betray you. They don’t know where it hurts. They don’t know your soft spots, your insecurities, your story. But the people you love? They know the cracks in your heart—and that’s exactly where the knife slides in.
Krishna didn’t sugarcoat it. He didn’t say “forgive and forget.” He said “see things as they are.” That’s it. Just that.
See it clearly. No romanticizing. No excuses. No “but they meant well.” Because betrayal is a choice. And once you see that—it changes everything.
3. The Worst Part of Betrayal? It Changes Your Memory.
You look back and start questioning the good moments. Was that laugh real? Did they ever really care? Were they always this person? You start grieving someone who’s still alive. Because you’re not just mourning the relationship—You’re mourning who you thought they were.
The Gita doesn’t ask you to forget them. It just asks you to stop pretending they were something they weren’t. Sometimes, the most honest form of love is walking away—without bitterness, without revenge. Just truth.
4. You Can Love Them. And Still Never Let Them Hurt You Again.
This one’s hard. Because you still love them. You still think of them when your favorite song plays. Still catch yourself missing the version of them that made you feel seen. But here’s what the Gita teaches—You can love someone deeply, and still choose yourself. You don’t have to hate them.
You just don’t have to hand them the same access to your heart again. Love doesn’t mean re-entry. Love means letting go without losing yourself.
5. What They Did Was Their Karma. What You Do Next? That’s Yours.
You don’t get to control what people do to you. But you get to decide what you do with it. Do you let it harden you? Or do you let it teach you? Krishna didn’t tell Arjuna to forget everything and be happy. He told him to act with wisdom, not emotion.
Not because emotions are weak—but because when you lead only with pain, you forget your power. You can cry, scream, fall apart. But when you rise—make sure it’s as someone they don’t get to break twice.
CLOSING:
The people who break you aren’t always villains. Sometimes, they’re just broken too. But that doesn’t make their betrayal less real. It doesn’t make your pain less valid. What the Gita offers isn’t comfort—it’s clarity. It doesn’t promise you won’t get hurt again. It just teaches you how to stand in the middle of the wreckage, heart cracked open, and say: I still choose truth. I still choose myself. So if someone hurt you—deeply, unfairly, knowingly—Don’t rush to heal just to be okay. Sit with it. Learn from it. Let it change you—but on your terms.
And then walk forward, not as someone who got betrayed… But as someone who woke up because of it. Let this linger. Not because it’s heavy. But because it’s real. If it hurts right now, that’s okay. Even Arjuna cried before he stood up. So take your time. But when you rise—Know exactly who you are.
1. You’re Not Weak For Feeling Broken. You’re Just Human.
Trust
( Image credit : Pexels )
Arjuna’s knees gave out. His bow fell from his hands. He wasn’t ashamed to say, “I can’t do this.” Not because he was afraid of war. But because betrayal doesn’t just hurt you—it hollows you. You start questioning yourself. Did I imagine their love? Was I too much? Too blind? Too trusting? No, you weren’t.
You were just real in a world where some people only know how to perform love, not practice it. The Gita meets you in that exact moment. Not after healing. Right in the mess of it.
2. It Hurts More When They Knew Exactly Where to Aim.
Date
( Image credit : Pexels )
Strangers can’t betray you. They don’t know where it hurts. They don’t know your soft spots, your insecurities, your story. But the people you love? They know the cracks in your heart—and that’s exactly where the knife slides in.
Krishna didn’t sugarcoat it. He didn’t say “forgive and forget.” He said “see things as they are.” That’s it. Just that.
See it clearly. No romanticizing. No excuses. No “but they meant well.” Because betrayal is a choice. And once you see that—it changes everything.
3. The Worst Part of Betrayal? It Changes Your Memory.
Fight
( Image credit : Pexels )
You look back and start questioning the good moments. Was that laugh real? Did they ever really care? Were they always this person? You start grieving someone who’s still alive. Because you’re not just mourning the relationship—You’re mourning who you thought they were.
The Gita doesn’t ask you to forget them. It just asks you to stop pretending they were something they weren’t. Sometimes, the most honest form of love is walking away—without bitterness, without revenge. Just truth.
4. You Can Love Them. And Still Never Let Them Hurt You Again.
Walk away
( Image credit : Pexels )
This one’s hard. Because you still love them. You still think of them when your favorite song plays. Still catch yourself missing the version of them that made you feel seen. But here’s what the Gita teaches—You can love someone deeply, and still choose yourself. You don’t have to hate them.
You just don’t have to hand them the same access to your heart again. Love doesn’t mean re-entry. Love means letting go without losing yourself.
5. What They Did Was Their Karma. What You Do Next? That’s Yours.
Healing
( Image credit : Pexels )
You don’t get to control what people do to you. But you get to decide what you do with it. Do you let it harden you? Or do you let it teach you? Krishna didn’t tell Arjuna to forget everything and be happy. He told him to act with wisdom, not emotion.
Not because emotions are weak—but because when you lead only with pain, you forget your power. You can cry, scream, fall apart. But when you rise—make sure it’s as someone they don’t get to break twice.
CLOSING:
And then walk forward, not as someone who got betrayed… But as someone who woke up because of it. Let this linger. Not because it’s heavy. But because it’s real. If it hurts right now, that’s okay. Even Arjuna cried before he stood up. So take your time. But when you rise—Know exactly who you are.