Arjuna does something crucial before Krishna begins teaching him: he stops defending his own conclusions and admits that he is confused.

“With my mind in a state of confusion regarding my duty and the feeling of helplessness because of weakness, I ask You to tell me what is good for me. I am Your disciple and I have surrendered myself to You. Please teach me.”

First question: Are you trying to solve the problem, or are you still defending the position from which the problem arose?

The Gita does not treat anger as an isolated event. Shlokas 2:62-63 trace a sequence from repeated dwelling, through attachment and desire, to anger, delusion and loss of judgement.

First question: What expectation, desire or attachment was present before the anger appeared?

The discourse begins with Arjuna overwhelmed by grief. Krishna does not merely console him. He challenges the assumptions behind the grief and turns the enquiry towards what changes, what does not, and what the Self actually is.

First question: What exactly are you grieving: the event itself, what it means to you, or the future you expected and have now lost?

The Gita repeatedly separates action from psychological dependence on a particular result. The problem is not action itself, but becoming inwardly bound to what one expects action to produce.

First question: If the result were different from what you want, would you still consider the action itself right?

Arjuna’s crisis is a decision crisis. Before he can act clearly, he has to recognise the conflict within his own thinking.

First question: Which part of your dilemma concerns what is right, and which part concerns fear of the consequences?

“I am the Self, O Gudakesha (Arjuna), situated within all living entities. I am the origin, the middle and also the end of all beings.”

First question: When you say “I”, what exactly are you referring to: the body, thoughts, memories, personality, or that which knows all of them?