The True Enemies: Internal Foes
The Bhagavad Gita revolutionizes our understanding of enemies. While we typically focus on external adversaries, people who wrong us, compete against us, or wish us harm, Krishna points to far more dangerous enemies within ourselves. These internal foes damage our peace, wisdom, and spiritual progress far more than any external person ever could.
The Three Gates to Hell
Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita represents one's sacred duty, moral law, and righteous path. Krishna explains that dharma includes personal duties (svadharma), universal ethics, and cosmic order. Following one's dharma, even imperfectly, is superior to perfectly performing another's duty.
тАФ Bhagavad Gita
Karma in the Bhagavad Gita means action performed with mindful intention. Lord Krishna teaches that karma encompasses all physical, mental, and verbal actions, and their inevitable consequences. True karma yoga involves performing duties without attachment to results, dedicating all actions to the Divine.
тАФ Bhagavad Gita
In Chapter 16, Krishna identifies three internal enemies that are "gates to hell" and lead to the soul's destruction:
Kama (Lust/Desire)
Uncontrolled desire is the root of suffering. It creates endless craving, makes us manipulative, and blinds us to what truly matters. Desire for what others have breeds envy; desire for what we cannot have breeds frustration. When desire controls us, we become capable of harmful acts toward anyone who stands in our way.
Krodha (Anger)
Anger is desire's offspring. When our desires are thwarted, anger erupts. The Gita describes anger's destructive chain (2.62-63): it clouds judgment, destroys memory of wisdom, and leads to ruin. Anger toward external "enemies" harms us more than them; we carry the poison while they go about their lives.
Lobha (Greed)
Greed is never satisfied. No matter how much we acquire, it demands more. Greed makes enemies of everyone, since anyone might have something we want. It destroys contentment and turns even friends into competitors. The greedy person lives in constant anxiety.
Why Internal Enemies Matter More
External enemies can harm our body, reputation, or possessions. These are painful but temporary. Internal enemies destroy our peace, wisdom, and spiritual progress, harms that transcend this life. As Krishna explains, the soul is eternal (2.13); what truly harms us is what damages the soul's journey, not what harms the temporary body.
Moreover, external enemies often arise from our internal ones. We create adversaries through our own greed, anger, and desire. The person who controls the inner enemies finds external enmity naturally decreasing.
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рдХрд╛рдордГ рдХреНрд░реЛрдзрд╕реНрддрдерд╛ рд▓реЛрднрд╕реНрддрд╕реНрдорд╛рджреЗрддрддреНрддреНрд░рдпрдВ рддреНрдпрдЬреЗрддреНрее
tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah
kamah krodhas tatha lobhas tasmad etat trayam tyajet
"There are three gates to self-destruction and hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must abandon these three."
Key Verses on Handling Adversaries
Verse 1: Equal Vision Toward All
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рд╕рд╛рдзреБрд╖реНрд╡рдкрд┐ рдЪ рдкрд╛рдкреЗрд╖реБ рд╕рдордмреБрджреНрдзрд┐рд░реНрд╡рд┐рд╢рд┐рд╖реНрдпрддреЗрее
suhrin-mitraryudasina-madhyastha-dveshya-bandushu
sadhushv api cha papeshu sama-buddhir vishishyate
"One who is equal-minded toward well-wishers, friends, enemies, neutrals, mediators, the hateful, relatives, saints, and sinners - such a person excels."
This verse presents the ideal: sama-buddhi, equal intelligence toward all categories of people. Note that "enemies" (ari) and "hateful ones" (dveshya) are specifically mentioned. The yogi doesn't have different internal reactions to friend and foe; the same equanimity applies to all.
This doesn't mean treating everyone identically in action. You may need to defend against an enemy while embracing a friend. But the internal state, the quality of consciousness, remains even. No hatred poisons the response to enemies; no clinging attachment distorts relationships with friends.
Verse 2: The Danger of Anger
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рд╕реНрдореГрддрд┐рднреНрд░рдВрд╢рд╛рджреН рдмреБрджреНрдзрд┐рдирд╛рд╢реЛ рдмреБрджреНрдзрд┐рдирд╛рд╢рд╛рддреНрдкреНрд░рдгрд╢реНрдпрддрд┐рее
krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramshad buddhi-nasho buddhi-nashat pranashyati
"From anger arises delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, loss of intelligence; and from loss of intelligence, one falls down completely."
This famous verse describes anger's destructive cascade. When we harbor anger toward enemies, we trigger this chain within ourselves. The enemy may be unaffected while we suffer delusion, memory loss, intelligence destruction, and ultimately ruin. Hatred is self-inflicted poison.
Understanding this, the wise person refuses to hate even genuine enemies. You may need to oppose them, but you don't let hatred establish residence in your consciousness. The battle ends when the external conflict ends; hatred continues corroding long after.
Verse 3: Desire as the Great Enemy
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рдорд╣рд╛рд╢рдиреЛ рдорд╣рд╛рдкрд╛рдкреНрдорд╛ рд╡рд┐рджреНрдзреНрдпреЗрдирдорд┐рд╣ рд╡реИрд░рд┐рдгрдореНрее
kama esha krodha esha rajo-guna-samudbhavah
mahashano maha-papma viddhy enam iha vairinam
"It is desire, it is anger, born of the mode of passion, all-devouring and greatly sinful. Know this to be the enemy here."
When Arjuna asks what impels a person to sin even against their will, Krishna names the real enemy: desire and its companion anger. These arise from rajas (passion) and are "greatly sinful" and "all-devouring." The word for enemy here is "vairinam," the same word used for external foes.
This verse reframes the entire concept of enemy. External opponents are secondary; internal desire and anger are the primary enemies. Master these, and external enemies lose much of their power to disturb you.
Verse 4: Where the Enemy Dwells
рдЗрдиреНрджреНрд░рд┐рдпрд╛рдгрд┐ рдордиреЛ рдмреБрджреНрдзрд┐рд░рд╕реНрдпрд╛рдзрд┐рд╖реНрдард╛рдирдореБрдЪреНрдпрддреЗред
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indriyani mano buddhir asyadhisthanam uchyate
etair vimohayaty esha jnanam avritya dehinam
"The senses, mind, and intellect are said to be its seat. Through these, it deludes the embodied soul by covering wisdom."
The enemy of desire operates through senses, mind, and intellect. It "covers wisdom" (jnana avritya), preventing us from seeing clearly. When dealing with external enemies, our response is often distorted by this internal enemy working through our senses and mind. We may overreact, underreact, or completely misjudge the situation.
Controlling senses and mind, therefore, is essential for handling external adversaries wisely. The person enslaved by their senses cannot respond appropriately to enemies; they will be reactive rather than responsive.
Verse 5: Conquering the Enemy Within
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рдкрд╛рдкреНрдорд╛рдирдВ рдкреНрд░рдЬрд╣рд┐ рд╣реНрдпреЗрдирдВ рдЬреНрдЮрд╛рдирд╡рд┐рдЬреНрдЮрд╛рдирдирд╛рд╢рдирдореНрее
tasmat tvam indriyany adau niyamya bharatarshabha
papmanam prajahi hy enam jnana-vijnana-nashanam
"Therefore, O Arjuna, first control the senses, and then slay this sinful destroyer of knowledge and realization."
Krishna's prescription: first control the senses, then destroy the inner enemy. The word "prajahi" (slay, destroy) is the same used for killing external enemies. The internal battle is treated with the same seriousness as external warfare.
Note the sequence: sense control comes first because without it, you cannot perceive the inner enemy clearly or have the strength to overcome it. This is why spiritual practice (yoga, meditation, discipline) is essential for those who want to handle external conflicts wisely.
Verse 6: Seeing the Soul in Enemy and Friend
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sarva-bhuta-stham atmanam sarva-bhutani chatmani
ikshate yoga-yuktatma sarvatra sama-darshanah
"The yogi who is united in consciousness sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. He sees the same essence everywhere."
The highest perspective: seeing the same atman (soul) in all beings, including enemies. The person attacking you is, at the deepest level, the same consciousness that animates you. They are acting from ignorance, driven by their own inner enemies of desire and anger, but their essential nature is divine.
This vision doesn't prevent appropriate action. Even seeing the soul in the Kauravas, Arjuna had to fight them. But it prevents hatred, because you cannot truly hate what you recognize as yourself in another form.
Arjuna's Dilemma: Fighting Without Hatred
The Bhagavad Gita opens with Arjuna facing his enemies on a battlefield. Many of these enemies are relatives, former teachers, and friends. His initial response is to refuse to fight, not wanting to kill those he cares about. Krishna's teaching transforms his understanding, showing how to engage in necessary conflict without the poison of hatred.
The Initial Confusion
Arjuna's famous breakdown in Chapter 1 includes concern about killing enemies who happen to be family. He sees Bhishma, Drona, and others on the opposing side and loses his will to fight. His compassion is understandable but misplaced; it arises from attachment rather than wisdom.
Krishna's Correction
Krishna doesn't tell Arjuna to hate his enemies. Instead, he teaches:
- The soul is eternal: You cannot truly kill anyone (2.19)
- Dharma requires action: As a warrior, fighting injustice is his duty (2.31)
- Act without attachment: Fight because it's right, not for revenge or gain (2.47)
- Maintain equanimity: Stay balanced whether killing or being killed (2.48)
The Transformed Warrior
By the Gita's end, Arjuna is ready to fight. But his internal state has transformed. He's no longer refusing out of misplaced attachment, nor fighting out of hatred. He fights as an instrument of dharma, doing what the situation requires without personal animosity.
This is the model for dealing with enemies: take necessary action without letting hatred corrupt your consciousness. The Kauravas needed to be stopped; they had acted adharmic and refused all peaceful solutions. But hating them would only have added more adharma to the situation and damaged Arjuna's own spiritual progress.
Action Without Hatred
The Gita's revolutionary teaching is that you can oppose someone, even fight them, without hating them. Hatred is not necessary for effective action; in fact, it often distorts action. A surgeon removes a tumor without hating it; similarly, the dharmic warrior removes threats without the poison of enmity. The action may look the same externally, but the internal state is vastly different.
Equal Vision Toward Friend and Foe
The Gita repeatedly emphasizes sama-darshana (equal vision) and sama-buddhi (equal intelligence) toward all categories of people. This isn't mere idealism but a practical approach that transforms how we experience life.
Understanding Equal Vision
Equal vision doesn't mean:
- Treating everyone the same way externally
- Ignoring real threats or dangers
- Pretending everyone is trustworthy
- Being passive in the face of injustice
Equal vision does mean:
- Maintaining the same inner equanimity regardless of who you face
- Seeing the soul in all, including adversaries
- Responding from wisdom rather than reacting from emotion
- Not being elated by friends' praise or devastated by enemies' attacks
The Freedom of Equal Vision
When you achieve equal vision, enemies lose their power to disturb your peace. You can assess threats objectively, respond appropriately, and then release the situation without ongoing rumination and resentment. You're no longer at the mercy of others' behavior; your peace comes from within.
This doesn't mean you don't prefer some people over others. Natural affection for friends and family remains. But the underlying consciousness is stable whether dealing with beloved friends or bitter enemies.
Developing Equal Vision
Practice Steps
- See the soul in your enemy: remember they are an eternal being on their own journey
- Understand their behavior comes from their gunas and karma, not pure evil
- Notice how hatred feels in your body; recognize it harms you
- Practice responding rather than reacting to provocation
- Meditate on the same consciousness in all beings
- Recall that you too have acted wrongly under the influence of desire and anger
When to Fight and When to Forgive
The Gita presents what might seem like contradictory teachings: it advocates for forgiveness as a divine quality (16.3) while also directing Arjuna to fight. Understanding when each applies is crucial.
The Role of Dharma
Dharma, righteous duty, determines the appropriate response. Different situations require different actions:
When Action is Required
- Protecting the innocent from harm
- Upholding justice when it's your responsibility
- Setting necessary boundaries against exploitation
- Fulfilling your role-based duties (warrior, protector, leader)
When Forgiveness Applies
- Personal slights and insults (not requiring action)
- Past wrongs that cannot be undone
- When fighting would cause more harm than good
- Releasing the ongoing burden of resentment
The Internal-External Distinction
A key insight: forgiveness is primarily internal, while action is external. You can forgive someone (release hatred and resentment) while still taking necessary external action. Arjuna forgives the Kauravas in the sense of not hating them, but still fights them because dharma requires it.
Conversely, you might take no external action (not fighting, not seeking revenge) while internally still harboring resentment. This is not true forgiveness. The Gita's path involves inner peace regardless of what external action is required.
Practical Guidelines
- Ask what dharma requires, not what your anger wants
- Take necessary action from duty, not from revenge
- Always maintain inner equanimity regardless of external action
- Release resentment even when you must oppose someone
- Seek wise counsel when unsure whether to act or forbear
Real-Life Examples
Example 1: The Business Betrayal
Amit's business partner cheated him out of their company through legal manipulation. Initial rage consumed Amit, affecting his health, sleep, and relationships. Every day he plotted revenge and rehashed grievances.
After studying the Gita's teaching on internal enemies, Amit realized his anger was destroying him while his ex-partner moved on unaffected. He began the process of releasing resentment while still pursuing legal remedies. The legal action continued, but from duty and justice rather than hatred.
The outcome was the same externally, but Amit's internal state transformed. He could pursue what was right without being consumed by bitterness. His health improved, and he eventually built an even more successful business.
Lesson: Take necessary action but don't let resentment poison your life. Your enemy's worst punishment can't match the damage ongoing hatred does to you.
Example 2: The Workplace Adversary
Priya had a colleague who undermined her constantly, taking credit for her work and spreading rumors. HR was unhelpful, and Priya felt powerless. The situation dominated her thoughts and made work miserable.
Applying Gita principles, Priya started seeing her colleague as driven by insecurity and fear, acting from rajas and tamas. This didn't excuse the behavior but helped Priya not take it personally. She focused on her own dharma, doing excellent work and documenting everything.
She set boundaries without hatred, addressed issues directly when necessary, and refused to engage in retaliation. Over time, the colleague's behavior became more obvious to others without Priya's intervention. Eventually, natural consequences caught up with the colleague.
Lesson: Focus on your own dharma rather than obsessing over your adversary. Appropriate boundaries and natural consequences often work better than reactive conflict.
Example 3: The Family Enemy
After a inheritance dispute, Rajesh hadn't spoken to his brother for fifteen years. The bitterness affected family gatherings, created stress for parents, and weighed on Rajesh constantly. He felt justified, his brother had acted unfairly, but the ongoing enmity brought no peace.
Through spiritual practice and Gita study, Rajesh realized he was carrying a fifteen-year burden that his brother had long stopped thinking about. The Gita's teaching on the soul helped him see his brother as more than just his harmful actions. He was a fellow soul, confused and acting from ignorance.
Rajesh initiated reconciliation. Not because his brother deserved it, but because Rajesh deserved freedom from the burden. The relationship never fully recovered, but Rajesh's peace of mind returned. He had released an enemy and regained his equanimity.
Lesson: Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Maintaining enmity burdens you more than your enemy.
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