The first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is called Observing the Armies. It is Arjuna who requests Lord Krishna to bring his chariot in the middle of the battlefield so that he can observe both his army, the Pandavas, and that of the Kauravas, led by Duryodhana. He wanted to have a feeling of what kind of war he was engaging himself. It is said that the number of persons in each army was gigantic. It is worth noting here that during the negotiations, Lord Krishna asked both Arjuna & Duryodhana what help they needed from him. Duryodhana chose weapons & armies whereas Arjuna chose Lord Krishna to drive his chariot.

Arjuna upon seeing the number of persons he had to kill especially his relatives & friends in the other army, became very emotional & said he would not be able to accomplish such a mission. He sat at the back of his chariot & was in great despair. This despair is the essence of the first chapter and shows that duty & responsibility are more important than any kind of ties, be it family, relatives or friends. Arjuna is a fighter by his birth & his duty is to fight for justice. But his emotions were now deviating him from his duty. This phenomenon is also happening in the modern world whereby the lack of control of emotions leads people away from the truth & justice.

The first chapter also shows the arrogance & ignorance of Duryodhana, a ruling king, who is supposed to lead by example & nobility. Due to his lack of wisdom, he triggers this war and will eventually be killed. Ignorance & arrogance are two great darknesses which blind the vision of a person. They are the causes of great personal suffering & if they are present in a leader, they will cause collective suffering. There is no big difference in the mindset of such a leader at that time & that of some of the leaders of our modern times. Great politicians of our modern era are performing horrible human tragedies such as warfare, accidental release of dangerous viruses & terrorist attacks.

Some important verses of this chapter are as follows:

Text 14: Victory is always present with persons like the sons of Pandu because Lord Krishna is associated with them.

Text 22: The servitor is always ready to render service to the Lord, and similarly, the Lord is always seeking an opportunity to render some service to the devotee.

Text 35: The devotee of the Lord does not retaliate against the wrongdoer, but the Lord does not tolerate any mischief done to the devotee by the miscreants.

Text 36: Besides that, saintly persons are advised to forgive.

Text 46: Such a kind and soft-hearted person in the devotional service of the Lord, is fit to receive self-knowledge.