We Keep Fixing What’s Not Broken—The Gita on Why Healing Isn’t About Repair
Nidhi | Mar 27, 2025, 23:15 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
We often believe healing is about fixing what’s broken, but what if we were never broken to begin with? The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that healing isn’t about repair—it’s about realizing our wholeness beyond suffering. This article explores the Gita’s wisdom on detachment, emotional resilience, and inner peace, challenging modern self-help narratives and guiding us toward true spiritual healing.
There’s a deep-rooted belief in us that healing means fixing something that’s broken. If we feel pain, we assume we are damaged. If we grieve, we think we need repair. But what if we are not broken at all? What if healing is not about repairing, but about realizing?
Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, never tells Arjuna that he is broken. Instead, he reminds him that his suffering is caused by illusion—by seeing himself as something he is not. Our modern-day struggles are no different. We spend years trying to ‘fix’ our emotions, our past, and our traumas, but perhaps we need to shift our perspective. Healing isn’t about undoing pain—it’s about understanding it.
"मात्रा-स्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेया सुख-दुखेषुस्निक्षम्"
("Happiness and sorrow come and go like seasons; endure them patiently.")
—Bhagavad Gita 2.14
When we experience suffering, we internalize it. We say, I am heartbroken, I am lost, I am unworthy. But Krishna reminds us that emotions are temporary. They pass through us, but they are not us. Healing does not mean erasing suffering but recognizing that we are not defined by it.
Think about the sky—it remains vast and untouched even when storm clouds pass through. Similarly, our true self remains unaffected, no matter how turbulent our emotions feel.
यम हि सर्वाणि भूतेषु न विद्यते न कांक्षते
("One who is unaffected by past attachments and desires is truly free.")
—Bhagavad Gita 2.38
Many of us believe healing means forgetting or undoing what has hurt us. We want to erase the memories of heartbreak, rejection, or failure. But the Gita teaches us that every experience—good or bad—has shaped us. Instead of running from the past, we should honor it.
Arjuna wanted to escape his duty as a warrior, but Krishna reminded him that his past had led him to this very moment. Our past does not define us, but it prepares us. Healing means embracing our story, not deleting it.
त्वम विद्यत्वा न मोहनीर्षि
("True wisdom is seeing beyond illusions.")
—Bhagavad Gita 18.66
We often wait for a day when we will wake up feeling completely healed, as if it is a final goal. But healing is not a destination—it is a shift in how we perceive life.
Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna that he will never feel fear again. He tells him to act despite fear. Healing doesn’t mean never feeling pain—it means knowing that pain does not control you.
यदा यन माम प्रपद्यन्ते न करोमि
("Abandon all doubts and surrender unto me; I shall liberate you.")
—Bhagavad Gita 18.66
Many of us resist healing because we don’t trust the process. We feel the need to control our pain, to find answers, to force solutions. But Krishna teaches us that true healing comes when we surrender—not by giving up, but by trusting that life has its own wisdom.
Imagine a river flowing effortlessly. When we stop resisting the current and trust where it leads, we move with ease. Healing happens when we surrender to life’s natural rhythm, understanding that everything—joy, pain, loss, and love—is part of the journey.
न त्वं विद्यत्वा जानन्ति गतासि
("The one who realizes the self is complete within themselves.")
—Bhagavad Gita 5.18
We chase healing as if it will make us whole. But Krishna reminds us—we are already whole. The mind convinces us that we are lacking, but that is an illusion.
Healing isn’t about becoming something more; it’s about realizing we were never broken. When we stop looking for external validation and recognize our inner completeness, we free ourselves from unnecessary suffering.
We don’t need to fix what was never broken. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that healing is not about changing the past or suppressing pain. It is about shifting how we see ourselves and the world.
Next time you feel lost, ask yourself: Am I truly broken, or am I simply believing an illusion? The moment you stop seeing healing as fixing and start seeing it as understanding, you’ll realize—you were whole all along.
Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, never tells Arjuna that he is broken. Instead, he reminds him that his suffering is caused by illusion—by seeing himself as something he is not. Our modern-day struggles are no different. We spend years trying to ‘fix’ our emotions, our past, and our traumas, but perhaps we need to shift our perspective. Healing isn’t about undoing pain—it’s about understanding it.
1. You Are Not Your Pain, You Are the One Observing It
("Happiness and sorrow come and go like seasons; endure them patiently.")
—Bhagavad Gita 2.14
Pain
( Image credit : Pexels )
When we experience suffering, we internalize it. We say, I am heartbroken, I am lost, I am unworthy. But Krishna reminds us that emotions are temporary. They pass through us, but they are not us. Healing does not mean erasing suffering but recognizing that we are not defined by it.
Think about the sky—it remains vast and untouched even when storm clouds pass through. Similarly, our true self remains unaffected, no matter how turbulent our emotions feel.
2. Stop Trying to Erase the Past—It Made You Who You Are
("One who is unaffected by past attachments and desires is truly free.")
—Bhagavad Gita 2.38
Don't Overthink
( Image credit : Pexels )
Many of us believe healing means forgetting or undoing what has hurt us. We want to erase the memories of heartbreak, rejection, or failure. But the Gita teaches us that every experience—good or bad—has shaped us. Instead of running from the past, we should honor it.
Arjuna wanted to escape his duty as a warrior, but Krishna reminded him that his past had led him to this very moment. Our past does not define us, but it prepares us. Healing means embracing our story, not deleting it.
3. Healing is Not a Destination, It’s a Way of Seeing
("True wisdom is seeing beyond illusions.")
—Bhagavad Gita 18.66
Path
( Image credit : Pexels )
We often wait for a day when we will wake up feeling completely healed, as if it is a final goal. But healing is not a destination—it is a shift in how we perceive life.
Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna that he will never feel fear again. He tells him to act despite fear. Healing doesn’t mean never feeling pain—it means knowing that pain does not control you.
4. Surrender Doesn’t Mean Giving Up—It Means Trusting the Flow
("Abandon all doubts and surrender unto me; I shall liberate you.")
—Bhagavad Gita 18.66
Many of us resist healing because we don’t trust the process. We feel the need to control our pain, to find answers, to force solutions. But Krishna teaches us that true healing comes when we surrender—not by giving up, but by trusting that life has its own wisdom.
Imagine a river flowing effortlessly. When we stop resisting the current and trust where it leads, we move with ease. Healing happens when we surrender to life’s natural rhythm, understanding that everything—joy, pain, loss, and love—is part of the journey.
5. You Are Already Whole—Stop Searching for Completion
("The one who realizes the self is complete within themselves.")
—Bhagavad Gita 5.18
Self
We chase healing as if it will make us whole. But Krishna reminds us—we are already whole. The mind convinces us that we are lacking, but that is an illusion.
Healing isn’t about becoming something more; it’s about realizing we were never broken. When we stop looking for external validation and recognize our inner completeness, we free ourselves from unnecessary suffering.
Healing is Not About Repair—It’s About Realization
Next time you feel lost, ask yourself: Am I truly broken, or am I simply believing an illusion? The moment you stop seeing healing as fixing and start seeing it as understanding, you’ll realize—you were whole all along.