Vishaada be yoga?
The first chapter of Bhagavad Gita is called Vishaada Yoga. How can Vishaada be yoga?
See, yoga is interpreted in three ways.
1. Union of several herbs. Ayurveda and Ayurvedic medicines are also called yoga.
2. The combination of various planets is also called yoga. Raja Yoga, Kaal Sarpa Yoga, all these terms are used in Jyotish (astrology).
3. The union of the individual Self to the cosmic Self.
Here in Bhagavad Gita, since it is an authority on yoga, it’s the union of the small, individual Self to the Cosmic Self. When the small Self comes in contact with the big Self, first it comes with Vishaada Yoga -- Vishaada means regret. That is how yoga began there -- by regretting having jumped into the field of war; regretting the state of affairs that one is facing in life. That is Vishaada Yoga.
I think many people are stuck in this situation. Often people move into spirituality because there has been some trouble. Some problems come and they move to spirituality. And with Arjuna that was the case. He was in deep trouble, he was troubled mentally, challenged physically and so he came to Lord Krishna to find an answer for it. And so Bhagavad Gita began with Vishaada yoga.
If you see Ashtavakra Gita, it doesn’t begin with Vishaada Yoga, it begins with Jignasa Yoga. Janaka was a seeker, but Arjuna was a sufferer. Through suffering you go into yoga. Through seeking you go into yoga. And from suffering Arjuna later gets into inquisitiveness, he wants to know more. But with Janaka, it was pure seeking. It’s very interesting.
Whatever it is, you see in your life, don’t get stuck in Vishaada Yoga. You should move from there to Sankhya Yoga. Most people in the planet are in a state of regret. They are stuck in Vishaada Yoga but somewhere you have to reach the twelth chapter -- Bhakti Yoga!