A heavy blow has landed. Maybe someone close has gone, a job has gone, or a decision is waiting that will upset somebody whatever you choose. Food has no taste, sleep does not come, and the mind goes round and round the same point. A voice inside asks: what is wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with you. The greatest archer in the Gita went through the same. Arjuna's hands shook, his mouth dried up and he said he would not fight. Yet he stood up again, and the Gita shows how. Here we follow that road so that we can recognise our own.

What happened to Arjuna?

The body answered first. Arjuna says his limbs are giving way, his mouth is dry and he is trembling (Gita 1.28–29). Then he says he cannot even stand (Gita 1.30). In the end he says plainly, "I shall not fight," and goes silent (Gita 2.9).

The Gita does not scold him here. Nobody tells him he is weak. His state is taken as a fact, and the talk goes on from there. The full account is in Arjuna's Despondency.

What did Arjuna do next?

When he had argued with himself to exhaustion, he said one sentence:

Arjuna says that weakness has overcome him and his mind is confused about what is right. So he asks the Lord to tell him what is surely good. I am your student, he says, and I have come to you for refuge.

This is the real turning point. Arjuna admitted "I do not know" and asked. That is not defeat. The Gita itself advises going to one who knows, asking with humility and serving (Gita 4.34).

What happened after he learned?

Arjuna listened a great deal and asked a great deal. Later the Lord tells him to arise and be merely an instrument (Gita 11.33). It means: do your part of the work, and do not take the whole weight of the outcome on your head. Merely an Instrument gives the full account.

Doubt still came back. Arjuna himself said the mind is very restless (Gita 6.34), and the Lord replied that practice and detachment hold it again and again (Gita 6.35). So doubt returning is not a bad omen.

And at the end:

Arjuna says his delusion is gone, his memory has come back, he now stands without doubt and he will act. He said this after reflection, because the Lord had told him earlier to reflect fully and then do as he wished (Gita 18.63). This stage is told in Delusion Gone: I Will Act.

What this does not mean

It does not mean everyone must go through exactly this order. Steps can come and go.

It does not mean that shaking is weakness. Arjuna's honesty was where his recovery started.

And being an "instrument" does not mean you have no say. The choice is yours. What is not in your hands is the burden of the result (Gita 2.47).

An example

Take Raju, whose small shop was flooded. For the first day he sat silent and could touch nothing. For many days after, he kept counting what was lost and what he could have done to save it. Then he went to an old shopkeeper nearby and said, "I don't know what to do. Tell me honestly." After two or three talks he said, "Tomorrow I will clear the first shelf."

Raju did what Arjuna did: he was shaken first, then he asked, and then he took one small step.

Questions readers ask

Is it normal to fall apart before things become clear?

Yes. Arjuna did (Gita 1.28–29) and the Gita did not blame him. After falling apart, the way opens.

Why did Arjuna have to ask at all?

Arjuna first said what troubled him, and then asked as a student. A mind that is asking is the one that takes in what it is taught (Gita 2.7).

What if the doubts come back after I ask?

That is natural. The mind is restless and settles with practice (Gita 6.34, Gita 6.35). Ask again and listen again.

If I am only an instrument, do I have no say?

You do. The Lord said: reflect fully and then do as you wish (Gita 18.63). The work is yours; the burden of the fruit is not (Gita 2.47).

Going deeper

To see each step one by one, read the detailed reading. The whole journey is on the path Arjuna's Journey, and the stop before this is Delusion Gone: I Will Act.