The Bhagavad Gita on Difficult Conversations
The Bhagavad Gita is itself a difficult conversation. It begins when Krishna drives the chariot between the two armies and tells Arjuna to look at the people he must face, and it ends with Sanjaya unable to stop remembering what he heard. The three verses gathered here mark the beginning and the end of that exchange. A leader learns from them that a hard conversation starts with placing the truth in plain view, continues with the patience to hear and to answer, and leaves something that stays with both people long after it ends.
The 3 verses the book gathers under Difficult Conversations
Chapter and verse, as listed in the Index of Management Areas, each with The Meaning as it appears in the book. The Teaching and the Reflect question for every verse are in the book.
- 1.25Krishna placed the chariot before Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers, and told Arjuna: O Partha, see these Kurus assembled here.
- 18.74Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra that he has heard this wonderful and thrilling dialogue between Krishna and the great-souled Arjuna.
- 18.76Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra that whenever he remembers the wonderful and sacred dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, he feels joy again and again.
Chapter One, Verse 25
भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् ।
bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ sarveṣāṁ ca mahī-kṣitām |
उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति ॥
uvāca pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti ||
The Meaning Krishna placed the chariot before Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers, and told Arjuna: O Partha, see these Kurus assembled here.
Good leadership places people before the real issue, especially the emotionally difficult stakeholders they must face.
In the book, this verse is followed by The Teaching and a Reflect question.
Every verse under this area, with its Teaching and its Reflect question, is in The Ethical Leader’s Gita. For copies for your leadership team, see corporate and bulk gifting.