What the scriptures say about confusion

What do the scriptures say about confusion?

The texts call it moha (मोह). Judgement is clouded so that right and wrong, mine and not mine, blur. The Gita ends when this lifts, as the Gita says in verse 18.73. They set the wish to understand, surrender and discernment against it.

70 verses
24 stories
Weighs on the mind

Read the verses Find it on the map

Krishna

यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति । तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ॥

yadā te mohakalilaṃ buddhirvyatitariṣyati | tadā gantāsi nirvedaṃ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca ||

When your understanding crosses the mire of delusion, you will grow indifferent to all that you have heard and all that is yet to be heard.

Bhagavad Gita 2.52

Confusion in the texts' own words

Someone in the verse is in it, or the text names it outright. Many readers find their own day here.

Arjuna
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावःपृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसंमूढचेताः । यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मेशिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ॥
kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥpṛcchāmi tvāṃ dharmasaṃmūḍhacetāḥ | yacchreyaḥ syānniścitaṃ brūhi tanmeśiṣyaste’haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam ||
My nature is stricken by weakness and my mind is confused about what is right. I ask you: tell me for certain what is best for me. I am your student; I have come to you, teach me.
Bhagavad Gita 2.7
Shows the mind confused about dharma. our reading
Bhartrihari
अजानन्दाहात्म्यं पततु शलभस्तीव्रदहने स मीनोऽप्यज्ञानाद्वडिशयुतमश्नातु पिशितम् । विजानन्तोऽप्येते वयमिह विपज्जालजटिलान् न मुञ्चामः कामानहह गहनो मोहमहिमा ॥
ajānandāhātmyaṃ patatu śalabhastīvradahane sa mīno’pyajñānādvaḍiśayutamaśnātu piśitam | vijānanto’pyete vayamiha vipajjālajaṭilān na muñcāmaḥ kāmānahaha gahano mohamahimā ||
Let the moth fall into the blazing flame not knowing that it burns; let the fish swallow the bait not knowing the hook. But we, knowing full well, still do not let go of desires tangled in a net of dangers. Ah, how deep is the power of delusion!
Bhartrihari · Vairagya Shatakam
Knowing it harms and doing it anyway. our reading
Uddalaka Aruni
यथा सोम्य पुरुषं गन्धारेभ्योऽभिनद्धाक्षमानीय तं ततोऽतिजने विसृजेत्स यथा तत्र प्राङ्वोदङ्वाधराङ्वा प्रत्यङ्वा प्रध्मायीताभिनद्धाक्ष आनीतोऽभिनद्धाक्षो विसृष्टः ॥ तस्य यथाभिनहनं प्रमुच्य प्रब्रूयादेतां दिशं गन्धारा एतां दिशं व्रजेति स ग्रामाद्ग्रामं पृच्छन्पण्डितो मेधावी गन्धारानेवोपसम्पद्येतैवमेवेहाचार्यवान्पुरुषो वेद तस्य तावदेव चिरं यावन्न विमोक्ष्येऽथ सम्पत्स्य इति ॥
yathā somya puruṣaṃ gandhārebhyo’bhinaddhākṣamānīya taṃ tato’tijane visṛjetsa yathā tatra prāṅvodaṅvādharāṅvā pratyaṅvā pradhmāyītābhinaddhākṣa ānīto’bhinaddhākṣo visṛṣṭaḥ || tasya yathābhinahanaṃ pramucya prabrūyādetāṃ diśaṃ gandhārā etāṃ diśaṃ vrajeti sa grāmādgrāmaṃ pṛcchanpaṇḍito medhāvī gandhārānevopasampadyetaivamevehācāryavānpuruṣo veda tasya tāvadeva ciraṃ yāvanna vimokṣye’tha sampatsya iti ||
As a man brought blindfolded from Gandhara and left in a deserted place might wander east or north or south, crying, 'I was brought here blindfolded and left blindfolded,' and someone removes his blindfold and says, 'Gandhara is that way, go that way,' and asking from village to village, informed and sensible, he reaches Gandhara; so a person who has a teacher comes to know.
Chhandogya Upanishad 6.14.1-2
Brought here blindfolded and left, turning every way and calling out. our reading
Arjuna
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति । वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati | vepathuśca śarīre me romaharṣaśca jāyate ||
My limbs give way, my mouth is parched, my body trembles and my hair stands on end.
Bhagavad Gita 1.29-30
Shows the mind whirling from inside. our reading
Arjuna
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे । तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥
vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena buddhiṃ mohayasīva me | tadekaṃ vada niścitya yena śreyo’hamāpnuyām ||
With these seemingly mixed words you confuse my mind. Tell me decisively that one thing by which I may reach the highest good.
Bhagavad Gita 3.2
Shows you confusing understanding. our reading
Lakshman
अहं प्रपन्नोऽस्मि पदाम्बुजं प्रभो भवापवर्गं तव योगिभावितम् । यथाञ्जसाज्ञानमपारवारिधिं सुखं तरिष्यामि तथानुशाधि माम् ॥
ahaṃ prapanno’smi padāmbujaṃ prabho bhavāpavargaṃ tava yogibhāvitam | yathāñjasājñānamapāravāridhiṃ sukhaṃ tariṣyāmi tathānuśādhi mām ||
I take refuge at your lotus feet, Lord, which free one from the world and which yogis meditate on. Teach me so that I may easily and happily cross this endless ocean of ignorance.
Ram Gita (Adhyatma Ramayana, Uttara 5), verse 5
Shows the ocean of ignorance he feels himself in. our reading
Parvati
जासु भवनु सुरतरु तर होई। सहि कि दरिद्र जनित दुखु सोई॥ ससिभूषन अस हृदयँ बिचारी। हरहु नाथ मम मति भ्रम भारी ॥
jāsu bhavanu surataru tar hoī| sahi ki daridra janit dukhu soī|| sasibhūṣan as hṛdayaṁ bicārī| harahu nāth mam mati bhram bhārī ||
'Can one whose home is beneath the wishing tree suffer the pain of poverty? Thinking this over in your heart, Moon-crowned Lord, take away the heavy confusion of my mind.'
Ramcharitmanas, Bal Kand 102 (chaupai 2)
Depicts a heavy confusion she cannot clear alone. our reading
Angiras
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनिशया शोचति मुह्यमानः । जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमीशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno’niśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ | juṣṭaṃ yadā paśyatyanyamīśamasya mahimānamiti vītaśokaḥ ||
On the same tree a person sits sunk, grieving, bewildered by his own helplessness. When he sees the other, the content lord, and his greatness, his sorrow leaves him.
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.2
Bewildered. our reading
Krishna
यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति । तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ॥
yadā te mohakalilaṃ buddhirvyatitariṣyati | tadā gantāsi nirvedaṃ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca ||
When your understanding crosses the mire of delusion, you will grow indifferent to all that you have heard and all that is yet to be heard.
Bhagavad Gita 2.52

What feeds it, step by step

Sequences the texts state outright, in their own order.

Arjuna's collapse

Bhagavad Gita 1.28-30; 1.47; 2.6-8

Seeing his own people, Arjuna is overcome and his limbs fail. He drops the bow and sits down in grief. He cannot tell which course is better. Confused about what is right, he asks to be taught.

Arjuna
अर्जुन उवाच कृपया परयाऽऽविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् । दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥
arjuna uvāca kṛpayā parayā’’viṣṭo viṣīdannidamabravīt | dṛṣṭvemaṃ svajanaṃ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṃ samupasthitam ||
Arjuna said: Krishna, when I see my own people standing here, eager to fight, I am overcome with pity and sorrow.
Bhagavad Gita 1.28
Arjuna
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति । वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati | vepathuśca śarīre me romaharṣaśca jāyate ||
My limbs give way, my mouth is parched, my body trembles and my hair stands on end.
Bhagavad Gita 1.29-30
Sanjaya
सञ्जय उवाच एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः संख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् । विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥
sañjaya uvāca evamuktvā’rjunaḥ saṃkhye rathopastha upāviśat | visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Having spoken this on the battlefield, Arjuna sank down on the seat of the chariot, letting fall his bow and arrows, his mind overwhelmed by grief.
Bhagavad Gita 1.47

What drives us against our will

Bhagavad Gita 3.36-39

passion or activity
Craving
Anger
Confusion

Arjuna asks what pushes a person to do wrong against their own wish. Krishna says it is desire and anger born of rajas, and this covers knowing as smoke covers fire and dust covers a mirror.

Arjuna
अर्जुन उवाच अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः । अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
arjuna uvāca atha kena prayukto’yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣaḥ | anicchannapi vārṣṇeya balādiva niyojitaḥ ||
Arjuna said: Then what drives a person to do wrong, Krishna, even against his will, as if pushed by force?
Bhagavad Gita 3.36
Krishna
श्री भगवानुवाच काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः । महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥
śrī bhagavānuvāca kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajoguṇasamudbhavaḥ | mahāśano mahāpāpmā viddhyenamiha vairiṇam ||
The Blessed Lord said: It is desire, it is anger, born of the quality of passion; all-devouring and greatly harmful. Know this to be the enemy here.
Bhagavad Gita 3.37
Krishna
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽऽदर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahniryathā’’darśo malena ca | yatholbenāvṛto garbhastathā tenedamāvṛtam ||
As fire is covered by smoke, a mirror by dust, and an embryo by the womb, so is this wisdom covered by desire.
Bhagavad Gita 3.38

What each guna yields

Bhagavad Gita 14.17; Bhagavad Gita 14.8; Bhagavad Gita 14.12-13

purity
knowledge
passion or activity
Greed
darkness
Carelessness
Laziness
Confusion

Sattva produces knowledge. Rajas produces greed. Tamas produces heedlessness, delusion and ignorance. Tamas binds through heedlessness, laziness and sleep. When rajas rules there is greed, restless activity and craving.

Krishna
तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् । प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत ॥
tamastvajñānajaṃ viddhi mohanaṃ sarvadehinām | pramādālasyanidrābhistannibadhnāti bhārata ||
Know tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings. It binds through heedlessness, laziness and sleep, Bharata.
Bhagavad Gita 14.8
Krishna
लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा । रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ॥
lobhaḥ pravṛttirārambhaḥ karmaṇāmaśamaḥ spṛhā | rajasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha ||
Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness and craving: these arise when rajas increases, best of the Bharatas.
Bhagavad Gita 14.12
Krishna
अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च । तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ॥
aprakāśo’pravṛttiśca pramādo moha eva ca | tamasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||
Darkness, inertia, heedlessness and delusion: these arise when tamas increases, joy of the Kurus.
Bhagavad Gita 14.13

The ladder of fall

Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63

dwelling on objects
Attachment
Craving
Anger
Confusion
loss of memory
ruin of judgement
loss of memory

Dwelling on an object breeds attachment. Attachment breeds desire. Desire breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion. Delusion causes loss of memory. Loss of memory ruins judgement. With judgement gone, one is lost.

Krishna
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते । सङ्गात् संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
dhyāyato viṣayānpuṃsaḥ saṅgasteṣūpajāyate | saṅgāt saṃjāyate kāmaḥ kāmātkrodho’bhijāyate ||
When a person dwells on objects, attachment to them is born. From attachment comes desire, and from desire, anger.
Bhagavad Gita 2.62
Krishna
क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः । स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
krodhādbhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohātsmṛtivibhramaḥ | smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśātpraṇaśyati ||
From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, the ruin of understanding; and with understanding ruined, a person is lost.
Bhagavad Gita 2.63

What heals it

What the texts set against it, and the verses that give footing.

Discernmentviveka
Discernment tells the good from the pleasant to cure confusion. stated in the text
Katha 1.2.2; Gita 18.30
Good companysatsanga
Good company brings discernment and removes doubt and delusion over time. stated in the text
Manas Bal 3, Uttar 61
The wish to understandjijñāsā
The wish to understand answers confusion by having Arjuna ask those who have seen. stated in the text
Gita 2.7; 4.34
Surrenderśaraṇāgati
The Manas gives devotion as the herb for the root illness. stated in the text
Manas Uttar 121-122; Gita 7.14

Arjuna
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावःपृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसंमूढचेताः । यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मेशिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ॥
kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥpṛcchāmi tvāṃ dharmasaṃmūḍhacetāḥ | yacchreyaḥ syānniścitaṃ brūhi tanmeśiṣyaste’haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam ||
My nature is stricken by weakness and my mind is confused about what is right. I ask you: tell me for certain what is best for me. I am your student; I have come to you, teach me.
Bhagavad Gita 2.7
Krishna
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥
tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā | upadekṣyanti te jñānaṃ jñāninastattvadarśinaḥ ||
Learn it by bowing down, by questioning, and by service. Those who are wise and have seen the truth will teach you that knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita 4.34
Tulsidas
बिनु सतसंग बिबेक न होई। राम कृपा बिनु सुलभ न सोई॥ सतसंगत मुद मंगल मूला। सोई फल सिधि सब साधन फूला ॥
binu satasaṃg bibek na hoī| rām kṛpā binu sulabh na soī|| satasaṃgat mud maṃgal mūlā| soī phal sidhi sab sādhan phūlā ||
Without good company there is no clear judgement, and by Ram's grace alone such company comes easily. Good company is the root of joy and well-being; finding it is the fruit, and every other practice is only the flower.
Ramcharitmanas · Bal Kand
Names confusion partly a matter of whose company one keeps. our reading
Kakbhushundi
मोह सकल ब्याधिन्ह कर मूला। तिन्ह ते पुनि उपजहिं बहु सूला॥ काम बात कफ लोभ अपारा। क्रोध पित्त नित छाती जारा ॥
moh sakal byādhinha kar mūlā| tinha te puni upajahiṃ bahu sūlā|| kām bāt kaph lobh apārā| krodh pitta nit chātī jārā ||
Delusion is the root of all diseases, and from it spring many pains. Desire is the wind, greed the endless phlegm, and anger the bile that keeps the chest burning.
Ramcharitmanas · Uttar Kand
Gives the many pains one root. our reading
Shiva
मिलेहु गरुड़ मारग महँ मोही। कवन भाँति समुझावौं तोही॥ तबहिं होइ सब संसय भंगा। जब बहु काल करिअ सतसंगा ॥
milehu garuṛ mārag mahaṁ mohī| kavan bhāṁti samujhāvauṃ tohī|| tabahiṃ hoi sab saṃsay bhaṃgā| jab bahu kāl karia satasaṃgā ||
You met me on the road; how can I explain it to you in passing? All doubts end only when one spends a long time in good company.
Ramcharitmanas · Uttar Kand
Yama
श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतस्तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीर:। श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद् वृणीते ॥
śreyaśca preyaśca manuṣyametastau samparītya vivinakti dhīra:| śreyo hi dhīro’bhi preyaso vṛṇīte preyo mando yogakṣemād vṛṇīte ||
The good and the pleasant both come to a person. The wise one examines them and tells them apart. The wise chooses the good over the pleasant; the dull chooses the pleasant, for getting and keeping.
Katha Upanishad 1.2.2
Vidura
नाप्राप्यमभिवाञ्छन्ति नष्टं नेच्छन्ति शोचितुम् / आपत्सु च न मुह्यन्ति नराः पण्डितबुद्धयः
nāprāpyamabhivāñchanti naṣṭaṃ necchanti śocitum / āpatsu ca na muhyanti narāḥ paṇḍitabuddhayaḥ
The wise do not long for what cannot be had, do not choose to keep grieving over what is lost, and do not lose their heads in misfortune.
Mahabharata · Udyoga Parva · Vidura Niti
Shows clear head in calamity. our reading
Uddalaka Aruni
यथा सोम्य पुरुषं गन्धारेभ्योऽभिनद्धाक्षमानीय तं ततोऽतिजने विसृजेत्स यथा तत्र प्राङ्वोदङ्वाधराङ्वा प्रत्यङ्वा प्रध्मायीताभिनद्धाक्ष आनीतोऽभिनद्धाक्षो विसृष्टः ॥ तस्य यथाभिनहनं प्रमुच्य प्रब्रूयादेतां दिशं गन्धारा एतां दिशं व्रजेति स ग्रामाद्ग्रामं पृच्छन्पण्डितो मेधावी गन्धारानेवोपसम्पद्येतैवमेवेहाचार्यवान्पुरुषो वेद तस्य तावदेव चिरं यावन्न विमोक्ष्येऽथ सम्पत्स्य इति ॥
yathā somya puruṣaṃ gandhārebhyo’bhinaddhākṣamānīya taṃ tato’tijane visṛjetsa yathā tatra prāṅvodaṅvādharāṅvā pratyaṅvā pradhmāyītābhinaddhākṣa ānīto’bhinaddhākṣo visṛṣṭaḥ || tasya yathābhinahanaṃ pramucya prabrūyādetāṃ diśaṃ gandhārā etāṃ diśaṃ vrajeti sa grāmādgrāmaṃ pṛcchanpaṇḍito medhāvī gandhārānevopasampadyetaivamevehācāryavānpuruṣo veda tasya tāvadeva ciraṃ yāvanna vimokṣye’tha sampatsya iti ||
As a man brought blindfolded from Gandhara and left in a deserted place might wander east or north or south, crying, 'I was brought here blindfolded and left blindfolded,' and someone removes his blindfold and says, 'Gandhara is that way, go that way,' and asking from village to village, informed and sensible, he reaches Gandhara; so a person who has a teacher comes to know.
Chhandogya Upanishad 6.14.1-2
Shows being lost as a blindfold that can be untied and the way home asked for. our reading

Practices that grow discernment and surrender

Verses that give something to do, today or in the hard moment.

Krishna
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति । तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥
patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati | tadahaṃ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
Whoever offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love from the pure-hearted I accept.
Bhagavad Gita 9.26
Shows devotion as what makes the gift. our reading
Bhartrihari
गुणवदगुणवद्वा कुर्वता कार्यजातं परिणतिरवधार्या यत्नतः पण्डितेन । अतिरभसकृतानां कर्मणामाविपत्ते- र्भवति हृदयदाही शल्यतुल्यो विपाकः ॥
guṇavadaguṇavadvā kurvatā kāryajātaṃ pariṇatiravadhāryā yatnataḥ paṇḍitena | atirabhasakṛtānāṃ karmaṇāmāvipatte- rbhavati hṛdayadāhī śalyatulyo vipākaḥ ||
Whether a task is good or bad, a wise person should first carefully weigh its outcome. The result of deeds done in great haste burns the heart like a thorn until one's dying day.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Bhartrihari
जाड्यं धियो हरति सिञ्चति वाचि सत्यं मानोन्नतिं दिशति पापमपाकरोति । चेतः प्रसादयति दिक्षु तनोति कीर्तिं सत्सङ्गतिः कथय किं न करोति पुंसाम् ॥
jāḍyaṃ dhiyo harati siñcati vāci satyaṃ mānonnatiṃ diśati pāpamapākaroti | cetaḥ prasādayati dikṣu tanoti kīrtiṃ satsaṅgatiḥ kathaya kiṃ na karoti puṃsām ||
Good company takes dullness from the mind, sprinkles truth into speech, raises one's dignity, removes wrongdoing, clears the heart and spreads one's good name in every direction. Tell me, what does good company not do for a person?
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Shows removal of dullness of mind. our reading
Bhartrihari
रे रे चातक सावधानमनसा मित्र क्षणं श्रूयताम् अम्भोदा बहवो वसन्ति गगने सर्वेऽपि नैकादृशाः । केचिद्वृष्टिभिरार्द्रयन्ति धरणीं गर्जन्ति केचिद्वृथा यं यं पश्यसि तस्य तस्य पुरतो मा ब्रूहि दीनं वचः ॥
re re cātaka sāvadhānamanasā mitra kṣaṇaṃ śrūyatām ambhodā bahavo vasanti gagane sarve’pi naikādṛśāḥ | kecidvṛṣṭibhirārdrayanti dharaṇīṃ garjanti kecidvṛthā yaṃ yaṃ paśyasi tasya tasya purato mā brūhi dīnaṃ vacaḥ ||
Friend chataka, listen carefully for a moment. Many clouds live in the sky, but not all are alike. Some drench the earth with rain; some only thunder for nothing. Do not speak pleading words before every cloud you see.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Names tell the giver from the thunderer. our reading
The seers
भर्गो विश्वसमर्चितं यदिह ते ह्यास्ते दयासागर ! तन्नो बुद्धिमहर्निशं गणपते ! शक्तचा स्वया सत्वरम । संरक्ष्यासत एव कर्मनिवहात् सत्कर्मणि प्रेरयेत् सियाऽलङ्कृतवामपार्श्व ! भगवस्त्वां सन्नमामो वयमा ॥
bhargo viśvasamarcitaṃ yadiha te hyāste dayāsāgara ! tanno buddhimaharniśaṃ gaṇapate ! śaktacā svayā satvarama | saṃrakṣyāsata eva karmanivahāt satkarmaṇi prerayet siyā’laṅkṛtavāmapārśva ! bhagavastvāṃ sannamāmo vayamā ||
Ocean of compassion, Ganapati: may your radiance, which the whole world worships, by its own power quickly guard our minds, day and night, from wrong action, and urge them to good action. Blessed one, with Siddhi at your left side, we bow to you.
Dheesh Gita 7.27
Shows namamah, we bow. our reading
Gautama (retold by Bhishma)
चिरेण मित्रं बध्नीयाच्चिरेण च कृतं त्यजेत् / चिरेण हि कृतं मित्रं चिरं धारणमर्हति
cireṇa mitraṃ badhnīyāccireṇa ca kṛtaṃ tyajet / cireṇa hi kṛtaṃ mitraṃ ciraṃ dhāraṇamarhati
Make a friend slowly, and give one up slowly. A friendship made slowly is one that lasts long.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma: Mokshadharma
Take time before binding or breaking a bond. our reading
Narada
प्रज्ञया मानसं दुःखं हन्याच्छारीरमौषधैः / एतद्विज्ञानमसामर्थ्यं न बालैः समतामियात्
prajñayā mānasaṃ duḥkhaṃ hanyācchārīramauṣadhaiḥ / etadvijñānamasāmarthyaṃ na bālaiḥ samatāmiyāt
Heal the pain of the mind with wisdom and the pain of the body with medicine. That is what knowledge can do; don't behave like a child about it.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma: Mokshadharma
Bhishma
प्राणकान्तारपाथेयं संसारोच्छेदभेषजम् / दुःखशोकपरित्राणं हरिरित्यक्षरद्वयम्॥]
prāṇakāntārapātheyaṃ saṃsārocchedabheṣajam / duḥkhaśokaparitrāṇaṃ harirityakṣaradvayam||]
Provisions for the wilderness of life, medicine that cuts the bonds of the world, rescue from sorrow and grief: the two syllables 'Ha-ri'.
Mahabharata, Shanti 46.127
Shows remembering the name. our reading

People who lived it

Someone in the scriptures went through this, and the story shows what turned.

From the Gita
The glory of the Gita
Krishna asks if Arjuna's confusion is gone; Arjuna says yes and that he will act. Sanjaya rejoices and declares that where Krishna and Arjuna stand, victory follows.
Clarity, once found, turns into action.
From the Other Gitas
Janaka asks the boy-sage how to be free
King Janaka, ruler of Mithila, asks the young sage Ashtavakra three questions: how to gain wisdom, freedom and dispassion. Ashtavakra answers at once: you are not the body or your roles but the awareness that watches them, and freedom is available now.
You are more than your roles and worries; freedom starts with how you see yourself.
From the Upanishads
Two birds on one tree
Two birds sit on one tree: one eats the fruit and grieves, the other simply watches. When the anxious bird sees the calm one beside it, its sorrow falls away. The section goes on to praise truth, effort and freedom from craving.
There is a calm witness in you that the anxious part can turn to.
From the Other Gitas
Janaka's astonished awakening
Hearing the first teaching, Janaka bursts into wonder: he sees he has been fooled by confusion for years. He describes owning nothing and everything, and losing his fear.
Seeing clearly can feel like waking up: nothing changed outside, everything changed inside.

Is this where you are?

Write a line about today. Your words find their place on the map, with a verse for each.

Nearby on the map

See confusion on the whole map

Questions people ask

What is the Sanskrit word for confusion?

Moha (मोह). Cannot see clearly, confusion, fog.

Which Bhagavad Gita verse speaks about confusion?

Bhagavad Gita 2.52: When your understanding crosses the mire of delusion, you will grow indifferent to all that you have heard and all that is yet to be heard.

How do the scriptures say to overcome confusion?

They set the wish to understand, surrender and discernment against it. Discernment tells the good from the pleasant to cure confusion. (Katha 1.2.2; Gita 18.30) Good company brings discernment and removes doubt and delusion over time. (Manas Bal 3, Uttar 61)

Verses, translations and stories come from the Wisdom library, read with the traditional commentaries. A line marked stated in the text is a link the verse or a named commentator makes; our reading is Wisdom's own reading of the verse.