Many of us carry a question and do not ask it. We fear that it will sound small, or that asking will be taken as a lack of faith. The Gita begins the other way round. The whole book exists because Arjuna asked, and he kept on asking.

So what does Arjuna ask, and what do his questions tell us about him? They change with his state of mind. First he is confused about what to do. Then comes the difficulty of practice, then the wish to know, then the wish to see, and at the end a return to ordinary living. Lord Krishna answers each one, and each answer begins where Arjuna stands at that moment.

Here we take fourteen main questions in the order of the book. With each comes the first thing the Lord says, and a link to the place in the library where the full answer is treated. This is the fifth stop on Arjuna's Journey. The state of mind these questions come from is the subject of Arjuna's Despondency.

Arjuna begins by asking to be taught

The first request comes before any question. Arjuna states his condition plainly and then asks.

He says three things: his nature is overpowered by weakness, his mind is clouded by confusion about duty, and he is the Lord's disciple. Then he asks to be told what is surely good for him (Gita 2.7).

Keep the word "surely" in mind, because the request returns. Arjuna does not want a list of options. He wants one clear answer. In chapter 3 he asks for the one path, decisively, and in chapter 5 he asks again to be told decisively. The Lord hears the request every time.

Five questions about what to do (chapters 2 to 5)

What does the goal look like? In the first question Arjuna asks for a picture of the aim: how does a person of steady wisdom speak, sit and walk (Gita 2.54)? This is not a confused man's question. It is the question of a learner who has glimpsed something high and wants to recognise it. The reply fills the rest of the chapter.

If knowledge is higher, why make me fight? In chapter 3 Arjuna challenges the Lord directly.

First he asks why he is urged into this terrible act if knowledge is thought higher than action (Gita 3.1–2). Then he says that the Lord's seemingly mixed words are bewildering his mind. Few students speak so openly. The Lord is not angry. He takes up the very point: two kinds of steadiness were taught before (Gita 3.3), and no one can stay without action even for a moment (Gita 3.5). The full reply is in Is It Possible to Give Up Action?.

Why do I do wrong against my own will? Next Arjuna asks about himself: why is a person pushed into sin, even unwilling, as if by force (Gita 3.36)? Everyone knows this. We know what we should not do and do it anyway. The Lord's answer fits in a line: it is desire, which turns into anger, and it is the great enemy here (Gita 3.37). It is taken up in The Enemy Called Desire.

How do I know it was You who taught this? In chapter 4 the Lord says he taught this yoga to the sun-god long ago. Arjuna stops him: You were born later, the sun-god earlier, so how am I to understand this (Gita 4.4)? This is a question about the teacher, not the teaching. The Lord replies that many births of his and Arjuna's have passed, that he knows them all, and Arjuna does not (Gita 4.5).

Renunciation or the yoga of action? In chapter 5 Arjuna raises the worry he had in chapter 3. The Lord has praised giving up action and also the yoga of action (Gita 5.1); which is better for him, said decisively? Chapter 4 had closed with the call to cut doubt with the sword of knowledge and stand firm in yoga (Gita 4.42). The doubt came back all the same. Saying a thing once does not end a doubt. This time the Lord chooses plainly: both lead to the highest good, but the yoga of action is better than giving up action (Gita 5.2). The full reply is in Renunciation or Karma Yoga?.

When practice is hard (chapter 6)

In chapter 6 the Lord has taught the yoga of evenness. Arjuna now admits honestly that he cannot see it holding, because the mind is restless (Gita 6.33–34).

The mind is restless, turbulent, strong and stubborn, and holding it is as hard as holding the wind. Anyone who has tried to sit quietly knows this sentence. The Lord does not argue with it. He first agrees that the mind is restless and hard to hold, and then says that by practice and detachment it can be held (Gita 6.35).

The second question comes from fear. What becomes of a seeker who has faith but does not make enough effort, and whose mind strays from yoga? Does he, lost on both sides, vanish like a torn cloud (Gita 6.37–38)?

Arjuna asks the Lord to remove this doubt completely, because he sees no one but the Lord who can (Gita 6.39). The reply is gentle. That seeker is not destroyed here or hereafter, and no one who does good ever comes to a bad end (Gita 6.40).

There is no argument in these two questions, only honest admission: I cannot do it, and I fear that everything will be wasted. The Gita does not treat such questions as weakness. It makes room for them.

Asking to know more (chapters 8, 10, 13 and 14)

Now the questions turn. Before, Arjuna asked what he should do. Now he asks what a thing is. In chapter 8 he puts seven questions together. What is the supreme reality, what is the self, what is action? What are the three terms that stand for the world, the divine powers and sacrifice? And how do the self-controlled know the Lord at the time of death (Gita 8.1–2)? The Lord starts his answer by saying that the supreme imperishable is that reality (Gita 8.3).

In chapter 10 Arjuna says that the Lord alone can describe his divine glories fully (Gita 10.16). The answer is honest: I will tell you the chief ones, because there is no end to my extent (Gita 10.19).

In chapter 13 Arjuna wants to know about nature and the self, the field and its knower, knowledge and what is to be known (Gita 13.1). The Lord starts with a definition: this body is called the field, and one who knows it is its knower (Gita 13.2).

In chapter 14 the question is again about a person. By what signs is one known who has gone beyond the three qualities of nature, what is his conduct, and how does he cross over (Gita 14.21)? The answer runs through several verses, and in one place says that one who is the same in honour and dishonour is called beyond the qualities (Gita 14.22–25).

The voice of these questions is different. It is no longer "why are you urging me?" but "I want to know". The way Arjuna addresses the Lord has changed too. In chapter 8 he calls him the Supreme Person (Gita 8.1), and in chapter 11 Lord and Master of yoga (Gita 11.4). He still speaks as a friend, but now with awe.

In chapter 11 Arjuna asks to see

The question of chapter 11 stands apart, because nothing is asked. Something is requested to be shown.

Arjuna begins by accepting that the Lord is exactly as he has described himself, and then says he wishes to see his majestic form (Gita 11.3). Look at how he puts the request: if You think I can see it, show me Your imperishable form (Gita 11.4). There is humility in this. Arjuna does not take it for granted that he is fit to see. He leaves that to the Lord.

Here the answer does not come in words. The Lord says that Arjuna cannot see him with these eyes, and gives him divine sight (Gita 11.8). Some things are not learned by asking. They have to be shown.

Back to living: faith and renunciation (chapters 17 and 18)

The last two questions return to everyday life. In chapter 17 Arjuna asks about people who set aside the rules of the scripture but worship with faith: is their state goodness, passion or darkness (Gita 17.1)? The Lord says that faith rises in every embodied being from their own nature, and is of three kinds (Gita 17.2).

The question of chapter 18 brings back the confusion of chapter 5 in a finer form.

Now Arjuna wants to know the true nature of renunciation and of relinquishment, each separately (Gita 18.1). In chapter 5 the question was which of the two is better. Here it is what each one actually is. The Lord says that giving up actions driven by desire is renunciation, and giving up attachment to the fruit of all actions is relinquishment (Gita 18.2). The full reply is in Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action.

The fourteen questions at a glance

Taken together, three things stand out. The questions move from refusal to request: first "why are You urging me?", then "tell me", then "I want to know", then "show me". Early questions are about Arjuna's own task, and later ones about the nature of things. And no question is turned away. Sometimes the answer is full. Sometimes the Lord says plainly that it cannot be given in full. And sometimes, instead of words, he gives sight.

How the Lord answers

The Lord's replies do not all come in one mould. Four ways stand out.

First, he accepts the true part of the worry. About the restless mind he does not say that Arjuna is wrong. He says that the mind is indeed restless and hard to hold, and then gives the way (Gita 6.35). A remedy that denies the difficulty first is no remedy.

Second, where a choice is asked for, he chooses, but does not drop the other. He says that renunciation and the yoga of action both give the highest good, and that the yoga of action is better (Gita 5.2).

Third, he corrects the size of the question. Asked for all the glories, he tells the chief ones, because there is no end to his extent (Gita 10.19). Asked to show his form, he gives divine eyes instead of words (Gita 11.8).

Fourth, he moves the ground. Asked how he could have taught the sun-god, he speaks of memory, not of time: Arjuna does not remember his births and the Lord remembers all of them (Gita 4.5).

And sometimes he speaks without being asked. You are dear to me, so I shall speak for your good, he says in chapters 10 and 18 (Gita 10.1, Gita 18.64). Questions open the way, but the Lord's care does not wait on them.

What readers often get wrong about these questions

"Asking questions shows weak faith." It does not. The question of chapter 6 comes out of trust that no one else can remove this doubt (Gita 6.39). The question of chapter 11 comes out of belief that the Lord is just as he has said (Gita 11.3). Faith and questioning go together.

"These fourteen are all of Arjuna's questions." They are the main ones, not the whole list. After seeing the cosmic form he asks who the fierce figure is (Gita 11.31). In chapter 12 he asks which are better knowers of yoga, those who worship the Lord with form or those who worship the unmanifest (Gita 12.1). That doubt is the subject of Devotion or the Unmanifest.

"One verse gives the whole answer." Usually not. The line we gave with each question is the start of the reply. A whole teaching follows, and the links above lead to it.

Five habits of asking, taken from Arjuna

Arjuna's questions suggest a way of asking that we can use in our own lives.

• Say plainly where you stand. Arjuna first says that he is overwhelmed and confused, and only then asks (Gita 2.7). A question without a stated condition floats in the air.
• Ask for one clear answer. Not "tell me everything" but "tell me the one path" (Gita 3.2).
• Say the hard part honestly. Arjuna has no hesitation in saying that the mind will not stay (Gita 6.34).
• Name your fear. "What if I fall away partway?" is a question that comes straight out of fear (Gita 6.37–38).
• Say whom you ask, and why. "There is no one but You" ties the question to trust (Gita 6.39).

An example

Rohit teaches at a school. On one project two senior colleagues have given him opposite advice. One says to finish what he began. The other says to drop it and take on a new responsibility. Both have a point, and Rohit respects both. For two weeks he says nothing and goes round in circles.

Then one day he goes to the first colleague and says: "You are right, and so is the other. I am torn between the two. Tell me the one thing that is right for me now." The colleague pauses and answers, because the question is clear. This is Arjuna's way in chapter 3 (Gita 3.2): say what pulls you two ways, and ask for one clear path.

Questions readers ask

Why does Arjuna ask about the two paths twice?

Because chapter 4 ended by speaking of knowledge and yoga together (Gita 4.42), and the doubt about which to choose came back. In chapter 5 he gets a clear answer: both lead to the good, but the yoga of action is better (Gita 5.2).

Does the Lord always answer in full?

He answers every question, but not always in the same form. On the divine glories he says that he will tell only the chief ones, because there is no end to his extent (Gita 10.19). On the request to see, he gives divine sight (Gita 11.8). Sometimes the reply is an experience, not words.

Does Arjuna ask every question out of doubt?

No. The question of chapter 3 comes out of confusion (Gita 3.2), but the questions of chapters 6 and 11 come out of trust and longing (Gita 6.39, Gita 11.4). The same Arjuna asks in different moods at different moments.

Which question should I read first if I am torn at work?

Start with the questions of chapters 3 and 5 (Gita 3.1–2, Gita 5.1). The first is answered in Is It Possible to Give Up Action? and the second in Renunciation or Karma Yoga?.

Does Arjuna ever say that his doubt is gone?

Yes, at the very end. His last words in the Gita say exactly that (Gita 18.73), and that is where the questions stop.

From questions to a mind without doubt

After giving the answers, the Lord does one thing more. He says that he has told Arjuna this most secret knowledge, and that Arjuna should now reflect on it fully and do as he wishes (Gita 18.63). Giving the answer and giving the freedom to choose go together. Arjuna's last words reply to that freedom:

Arjuna says that by the Lord's grace his confusion is destroyed and his memory is regained, that he stands free of doubt, and that he will act on the Lord's word (Gita 18.73). This is the same Arjuna who put down his bow in the first chapter.

This also answers the question we began with. Arjuna's questions are a map of his mind: where he was confused, where afraid, where hungry to know. The Gita neither dismisses them nor hushes them. Each question becomes a stop on the road, and by passing through the stops the doubt ends. The one who asks is the one who walks.

The same idea in a shorter form is in the simple reading. For the exact wording of the questions, the three threads that run through them and the places where commentators differ, read the deeper reading.