7-verse reading plan
Bhagavad Gita on hard decisions: 7 verses for clarity
For the choice you keep going round in circles on. Read all seven before you decide.
- 7 verses
- All from the Gita
- About 14 min to read
- Sanskrit, English, audio
The whole Gita answers one undecided man. Arjuna admits he doesn't know what's right and asks for help. Seventeen chapters later, Krishna hands the choice back to him: reflect on all of it fully, then do as you choose (18.63). These verses follow that arc: admitting confusion, seeing why a divided mind can't move, knowing even the wise get confused, what clear judgement looks like, choosing, and acting with evenness. The last is Arjuna's own answer, from sitting down in 1.47 to standing ready in 18.73.
The seven verses
- Verse 1See itAdmit you don't knowGita 2.7
- Verse 2What's underneathWhy you keep going roundGita 2.41
- Verse 3SteadyEven the wise get confusedGita 4.16
- Verse 4SteadyWhat clear judgement looks likeGita 18.30
- Verse 5DoReflect fully. Then choose.Gita 18.63
- Verse 6DoAct, and stay evenGita 2.48
- Verse 7A storyArjuna sits down, and stands upGita 18.73
Admit you don't know
यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्िचतं ब्रूहि तन्मेशिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ॥
I'm confused about what's right. Tell me plainly what's best; I'm ready to learn.
Bhagavad Gita 2.7 · Arjuna
Full translation
My nature is overwhelmed by weakness, and my mind is confused about duty. I ask you: tell me with certainty what is best for me. I am your student; instruct me, for I have taken refuge in you.
कायरतारूपदोषसे तिरस्कृत स्वभाववाला और धर्मके विषयमें मोहित अन्तःकरणवाला मैं आपसे पूछता हूँ कि जो निश्चित कल्याण करनेवाली हो, वह मेरे लिये कहिये । मैं आपका शिष्य हूँ । आपके शरण हुए मुझे शिक्षा दीजिये ॥
What it means for you
Kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ: Arjuna says his nature is overcome, he's confused about what's right, and he asks plainly to be taught. Clarity in the Gita starts here, with someone honest enough to say 'I don't know'.
Try this
Write the decision as one question. Then write what you're afraid each answer will cost.
Why you keep going round
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥
A decided mind is single and focused. An undecided mind splits into endless branches.
Bhagavad Gita 2.41 · Krishna
Full translation
O son of the Kurus, the resolute intellect is one-pointed here. The intellect of the irresolute is many-branched and endless.
हे कुरुनन्दन इस समबुद्धिकी प्राप्तिके विषयमें व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि एक ही होती है । अव्यवसायी मनुष्योंकी बुद्धियाँ अनन्त और बहुशाखाओंवाली ही होती हैं ॥
What it means for you
Krishna says the decided mind is single, while the undecided mind branches endlessly. Each option grows its own what-ifs, and those grow more. That's the loop you're in, and it comes from a mind without a single aim yet. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.
Try this
Ask yourself what you most want this decision to protect. Answer in one word.
Even the wise get confused
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ॥
What is action, and what is inaction? Even the wise are confused about this.
Bhagavad Gita 4.16 · Krishna
Full translation
What is action, and what is inaction? Even the wise are confused here. I will explain that action to you, knowing which you will be freed from what is harmful.
कर्म क्या है और अकर्म क्या है इस प्रकार इस विषयमें विद्वान् भी मोहित हो जाते हैं । अतः वह कर्मतत्त्व मैं तुम्हें भलीभाँति कहूँगा, जिसको जानकर तू अशुभ संसारबन्धन से मुक्त हो जायगा ॥
What it means for you
Krishna admits the hard part: even the wise (kavayaḥ) are confused about what to do and what not to do. Struggling with this decision means it's a real choice.
Try this
Talk the decision through with one person who has nothing riding on it.
What clear judgement looks like
बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥
Clear judgement knows when to act and when to wait, what to fear, and what frees you.
Bhagavad Gita 18.30 · Krishna
Full translation
O Partha, the intellect that knows what leads forward and what withdraws, what should be done and not done, what is fear and fearlessness, what binds and what frees, is sattvic.
हे पृथानन्दन जो बुद्धि प्रवृत्ति और निवृत्तिको, कर्तव्य और अकर्तव्यको, भय और अभयको तथा बन्धन और मोक्षको जानती है, वह बुद्धि सात्त्विकी है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna describes clear (sāttvika) understanding: it knows when to go forward and when to hold back, what should be done and what shouldn't, what to fear and what not to, what binds and what frees. That's a checklist. Run your choice through it.
Try this
For each option, answer two questions: does this bind me or free me? What am I afraid of, and should I be?
Reflect fully. Then choose.
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥
I've told you all I know. Reflect on it fully, then do as you choose.
Bhagavad Gita 18.63 · Krishna
Full translation
Thus I have explained to you the most secret wisdom. Reflect on it fully, and then do as you wish.
यह गुह्यसे भी गुह्यतर शरणागतिरूप ज्ञान मैंने तुझे कह दिया । अब तू इसपर अच्छी तरहसे विचार करके जैसा चाहता है, वैसा कर ॥
What it means for you
Vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru. After seventeen chapters, Krishna hands the choice back to Arjuna: think it through fully, then do as you wish. The choice was always his, and yours is yours.
Try this
Set a deadline for this decision and put it in your calendar.
Act, and stay even
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥
Do the work steadily, letting go of clinging. Stay the same in success and failure; that balance is yoga.
Bhagavad Gita 2.48 · Krishna
Full translation
O Dhananjaya, perform actions while established in yoga, abandoning attachment. Remain equal in success and failure, for equanimity is called yoga.
हे धनञ्जय तू आसक्तिका त्याग करके सिद्धिअसिद्धिमें सम होकर योगमें स्थित हुआ कर्मोंको कर क्योंकि समत्व ही योग कहा जाता है ॥
What it means for you
Once you've chosen, Krishna's advice is to act steadily and let go of clinging, staying the same in success and failure. No decision comes with a guarantee, and evenness lets you act anyway.
Try this
Take the first concrete step on your choice today, however small.
Arjuna sits down, and stands up
स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव ॥
My confusion is gone, my clarity is back. I stand firm, free of doubt, and I'll act.
Bhagavad Gita 18.73 · Arjuna
Full translation
Arjuna said: By your grace, O Achyuta, my delusion is destroyed and memory restored. I stand free of doubt and will do what you say.
अर्जुन बोले हे अच्युत आपकी कृपासे मेरा मोह नष्ट हो गया है और स्मृति प्राप्त हो गयी है । मैं सन्देहरहित होकर स्थित हूँ । अब मैं आपकी आज्ञाका पालन करूँगा ॥
From 1.47 to 18.73
At the start of the Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna to drive the chariot between the two armies so he can see who he must fight. He sees teachers, uncles and cousins. His hands shake, his bow slips, and he sits down, refusing to fight (1.47). Eighteen chapters later, after Krishna has told him to reflect fully and choose for himself, Arjuna speaks again: my confusion is gone, my memory has returned; I stand firm, free of doubt, and I will act on your word (18.73).
Arjuna's clarity came from understanding enough to choose.
What it means for you
Arjuna's decision was the hardest anyone in the epic faced. He took his time. He asked, listened, questioned, and then stood up.
Try this
Write what standing up on your decision looks like, in one sentence.
That's all seven.
Come back to the one that stayed with you, or let Wisdom pick seven verses for your own situation.
Your situation is your own
Seven verses picked for your confusion & hard decisions.
Everyone gets the same seven on this page. Tell Wisdom what you're facing in a sentence or two, and it picks verses for you.
Week 1 is free. A few questions, about two minutes.
On iPhone, Wisdom gives you one verse each morning, read aloud. Get the app →
Common questions
What does the Bhagavad Gita say about making decisions?
What does yathecchasi tathā kuru mean?
Which Gita verse helps when you're confused?
Should I read one verse a day or all seven at once?
More Gita verses on confusion & hard decisions
- Bhagavad Gita 3.35Choose your own path, even if it is harder.
