Pep Talks
The greatest of all pep talks in India are the words Krishna tells Arjuna when he is dispirited about engaging in a civil war against his own relatives. Arjuna, is this hour of battle the time for scruples and fancies? Are they worthy of you? Any brave man who merely hopes for fame or heaven would despise them. What is this weakness? It is beneath you. Is it for nothing men call you the scorcher of foes? Shake off this cowardice, Arjuna. Stand up. You are moaning for those who should not be moaned for. Yet you speak like a wise man. The truly wise never weep either for the dead or for the living. There is nothing nobler for a warrior than what a righteous war offers. Arjuna! That warrior must indeed be a happy man to whom comes unsought a war like this, which is an open gate to heaven. Arjuna, if killed in battle you will attain heaven; if victorious you will enjoy the kingdom. Standup now and resolve to fight. Realize that pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat are all o...