Sometimes we get mixed messages. There may be two contradictory and opposing pieces of data that come into our thought process, and finding the right conclusion can be a complex task.
These mixed signals can scramble the brain or bewilder the mind of even an intelligent person. When such confusing mixed signals appear before us, we might be left in a state of indecision and inaction.
For example any trader - particularly day trader of currencies, whether forex or cryptocurrency - may be familiar with the science of studying price charts. When attempting to place a trade or make an investment the trader looks at the long-term trend as well as the short-term trend of the asset that they wish to invest in.
We look at indicators to suggest to us the right timing to buy into the asset with the hope of gaining some profit over time. This is where complications can sometimes arise from contradictory signals or indicators.
A trader may be able to discern a long-term positive or bullish uptrend in the price fluctuations of the asset. However, they may simultaneously see a short-term negative, bearish or cautious indication based on the charts of the very same asset. Therefore there may be a contradiction between the long-term optimistic uptrend and the short-term cautionary downtrend of the same asset.
Attempting to decipher these mixed signals that compete for importance, can cause one to end up in a state of stagnation or indecision. Some traders are, of cause, short-term investors and others maybe in it for the long term and they may come to contradictory conclusions, based on indicators on the very same price chart for the same asset.
Such mixed signals may be really confusing. And the same thing can happen in any sector of life, where one receives conflicting signals or mixed messages, whether from people around us in our relationships, or from our environment, or even from our own mind.
This is the position in which we all find ourselves on the path of life. On the one hand we may wish for satisfaction of our basic needs and desires, as dictated to us by our instinct for survival. Yet on the other hand, we may receive advise from our conscience, which suggests that it may be even more appropriate to reconsider the pursuit of instant gratification for short-term pleasure, as dictated by the mind and senses.
These two conflicting signals emerge from the same brain. The reptilian part of the brain simply wants to eat, sleep, mate and defend, which is purely natural for survival. However, the more human prefrontal cortex may suggest that a more discerning approach to life will be conducive in the long run.
In this way short-term and long-term indicators or drives coming from the same mind and intelligence can end up creating a high degree of conflict, uncertainty and confusion within ourselves.
Just as the trader is sometimes stumped by mixed messages from the price charts and indicators, similarly all of us are at some point in our lives stifled by the mixed messages that we receive from our own mind and senses. We are not alone in this predicament and it is an age-old crisis which appears to all of us who walk the path of liberation while still in this material body.
We can find the very same dilemma in the ancient Sanskrit text and known as Bhagavad Gita, where the hero Arjuna found himself receiving mixed messages from his guide Krishna. This is because Krishna had instructed Arjuna by suggesting two pathways as options, leaving Arjuna uncertain as to which to follow for his ultimate best interest.
Should he act or should he renounce action? Those were the apparent mixed signals or messages received in his instructions from Krishna in the previous chapter. Or so it seemed to him from his point of view at the time.
Now in chapter three and throughout the rest of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna will go into more detail and explain just what he meant in the original first two chapters, which set the scene and introduced the Bhagavad Gita.
In the same way that Arjuna's dilemma was resolved simply by hearing Krishna's explanation, we can also makes sense of the mixed messages which we might receive, either from our own minds, or from the society around us, or ultimately in the very instructions and guidelines presented to us in the Bhagavad Gita. This ancient Sanskrit text is the perfect book of wisdom for decoding the techniques required which enable anyone of us to make a perfection of our lives.
Therefore it is in our greatest interest to explore further the insights that will be revealed in the coming texts and chapters of this most powerful piece of literature in the history of humankind.
Bhagavad Gita ch3:2
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे ।
तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥ २ ॥
vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena
buddhiṁ mohayasīva me
tad ekaṁ vada niścitya
yena śreyo ’ham āpnuyām
TRANSLATION
My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively what is most beneficial for me.
PURPORT
In the previous chapter, as a prelude to the Bhagavad-gītā, many different paths were explained, such as sāṅkhya-yoga, buddhi-yoga, control of the senses by intelligence, work without fruitive desire, and the position of the neophyte. This was all presented unsystematically. A more organized outline of the path would be necessary for action and understanding. Arjuna, therefore, wanted to clear up these apparently confusing matters so that any common man could accept them without misinterpretation. Although Kṛṣṇa had no intention of confusing Arjuna by any jugglery of words, Arjuna could not follow the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—either by inertia or active service. In other words, by his questions he is clearing the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for all students who seriously want to understand the mystery of the Bhagavad-gītā.
Ref: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta, original MacMillan 1972 edition
Images: pixabay edited by me
@ julescape, You have beautifully described with examples the dilemma that Arjun found in the path of selfless deeds and diverse knowledge of Shri Krishna. For the seekers who want to know the mystery of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna has opened the way to knowing the love of Shri Krishna. Thank you.
Namaste
Many thanks for your positive feedback. I'm happy to meet a fellow follower of the Gita.
Wishing you all the best.