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Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 1: What We Forget When We Think We’re Broken

Nidhi | Jul 16, 2025, 05:00 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )

Highlight of the story: When life feels heavy and we feel like we’re falling apart, we often forget we’re part of something much bigger than our own struggles. This article looks at Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 1, where Krishna reminds Arjuna that true wisdom is never lost — it lives on through an unbroken chain, teacher to student, generation to generation. Understanding this verse helps us see that even when we think we’re broken, we’re held by a wisdom older than fear and stronger than doubt.

When life feels too heavy to bear, many people feel alone, fragile, or as if something inside them is broken beyond repair. In these moments, we forget that we stand in the middle of an ancient and unbroken chain of knowledge. We forget that long before we carried our burdens, others carried theirs too. Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 1 is Krishna’s simple but powerful reminder that this wisdom was never meant for just one time or place. It has been carried like a flame, passed carefully from teacher to student for ages. If you feel broken, this verse is an invitation to remember that you are never truly alone in your struggle. There is a wisdom older than your fears that is always waiting to hold you up when you cannot hold yourself.

What Does This Verse Teach Us When We Feel Broken?

1. Knowledge of Yoga Is Imperishable

Yog
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Krishna begins by saying he taught this “imperishable yoga.” The word “avyayam” means that this wisdom does not wear out with time. Human ideas come and go. Our opinions and moods change every day. But this knowledge, which connects us back to the Self, does not age. When we think we are broken, we usually believe we have to invent our own answers. This verse reminds us that real knowledge already exists and waits for us to remember it.

2. The First Student Was the Sun

Krishna says he taught this truth first to the Sun God, Vivasvan. The Sun is the source of light and life on earth. It never stops shining, even when clouds cover it. This is a symbol for true knowledge: even when our minds are clouded by doubt or pain, the truth remains. It is steady and bright, ready to clear away confusion. When you feel lost, this is what you forget, that the light is never destroyed.

3. Wisdom Is Preserved by Passing It On

Pandav
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From the Sun, the wisdom went to Manu, and from Manu to Ikshvaku. This shows the importance of an unbroken chain of transmission. The word for this is “parampara.” Each generation must guard, learn and pass on what is true. When people stop caring about this chain, confusion spreads. This is why spiritual knowledge cannot be owned or hoarded. It must keep moving from heart to heart, mind to mind. When you feel alone, you forget that you stand on the shoulders of so many who came before you.

4. Confusion Comes When the Chain Breaks

Gita
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In the next verses, Krishna says that when the parampara is lost, people fall into doubt. They forget who they are and how to live. This is the real root of our sense of being “broken.” We do not break because the truth has failed us. We break because we forget it. The good news is that forgetting is not the same as losing. The chain can be restored in any age when someone remembers. This is what Krishna does for Arjuna, who feels completely defeated. It is also what the Gita still does for us today.

5. The Teaching Is Always Fresh

The Gita is never just an old book. It is called “nitya-nava” — always fresh. No matter when you read it, it has something new to reveal. Even if you feel too tired or small, reading this verse is like reopening a door to clarity. Each time you return to it, you strengthen the chain within yourself. You remind your own mind that there is a path and it has been walked for thousands of years.

6. Why We Forget

Human Nature
( Image credit : Freepik )
Human minds are restless. We are easily distracted by daily worries, pleasures, and fears. Spiritual knowledge is subtle and easily covered up by noise and desires. When you think you are broken, it is rarely because something inside you is truly ruined. Most of the time, the connection to what is timeless has simply been buried under fear, doubt, or neglect. This is why the Gita repeats the importance of regular reflection, self-inquiry and sincere study. It is not about memorizing words. It is about remembering what is already true.

7. True Teachers and Students Protect the Chain

This verse shows that knowledge must be shared in a spirit of respect and trust. Vivasvan trusted Krishna, Manu trusted Vivasvan, and so on. Each link protects the next. When you feel cut off, remember that you are also part of this living chain. You too are a keeper of wisdom, not just a seeker of it. Even reading this verse today is an act of protecting that chain for whoever comes after you.

8. Strength Comes from What Is Unseen

Arjuna
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
When you feel weak, your mind shows you all your failures, doubts and fears. The visible problems become so big that you forget the invisible support. But the Gita reminds you that real strength is not in what can be seen or measured. It is in the link that ties you to the sun of truth. Clouds may come and go. The light remains. When you remember this, you see that what is “broken” is only the surface. The deeper part is untouched.

9. This Is a Duty, Not Just a Comfort

Krishna did not share this teaching to make Arjuna feel better for a moment. He shared it to restore Dharma and keep it alive in a world that forgets too easily. When you feel broken, it is human to seek comfort. But the Gita also reminds us that it is our responsibility to guard and live by this knowledge. By doing this, we keep the link unbroken for others. Even when you feel small, you have something big to protect.

What This Verse Leaves Us With

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 1 is easy to overlook. It reads like a simple statement about history. But hidden inside it is the entire promise of the Gita: that truth does not die, even when we feel defeated. That light does not go out, even when our minds feel dark. And that we are never as alone as we think we are. When you believe you are broken, this verse asks you to pause and remember the chain that holds you steady behind the noise of your worries. The same sun that first received this teaching still shines today. The same wisdom still lives within you, waiting to be remembered. The same path is open. All that is needed is your willingness to remember what you really belong to.

That is what we forget when we think we’re broken. And that is what this ancient line reminds us to hold close.

Om Tat Sat

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