Gita Psychology

Arjuna sits on a battlefield between two armies. On one side: his teachers, relatives, friends. On the other: his duty, his people, his path. Every option violates something essential. He cannot fightthese are his kin. He cannot retreatthis is his dharma. The system cannot move.

Complete coherence collapse at the decision point.

What Krishna teaches in response isn't theology. It's geometric instructions for maintaining coherence under extreme constraintwhen all paths seem to violate integrity and paralysis feels like the only option.

The Bhagavad Gita presents itself as sacred scripture. But read through the lens of coherence geometry, it's a manual for action when action seems impossible. A guide to preserving integration when conditions tear at every seam.

Its central teachingkarma yoga, action without attachment to fruitsisn't moral platitude. It's a precise technical solution to a specific geometric problem: how to maintain coherence when outcome-dependence creates impossible binds.

Why This Matters for Understanding Coherence

Arjuna's crisis is universal. You're stuck between impossible options. Every choice violates something you value. The weight of consequences paralyzes action. You cannot see a path that doesn't tear you apart.

This is high-curvature navigation: the geometry is steep, the constraints are tight, and standard approaches fail. Moving forward seems to guarantee damage. Staying still means collapse. The manifold itself feels hostile.

Krishna's solution operates at multiple levels simultaneously:

Detachment from outcomes breaks the bind by shifting the locus of integrity from results (which you can't control) to action itself (which you can).

Dharma as coherence-preserving path provides navigation principle: not rigid rule but your particular trajectory through state-space that maintains structural integrity.

Karma as constraint accumulation explains why past actions shape present optionsthe manifold you navigate was deformed by previous choices.

The gunas as curvature modes describe different coherence statesclarity (sattva), agitation (rajas), collapse (tamas)and how to recognize which you're in.

The Gita's teaching isn't "how to win." It's how to maintain coherence regardless of outcomewhich is the only sustainable approach when conditions guarantee suffering either way.

Articles in This Series

The Book That Teaches You to Act When Action Seems Impossible

The Bhagavad Gita begins not with philosophy but with paralysis—a warrior facing impossible choice. Discover the most sophisticated psychology of action under constraint ever written.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Arjuna's Crisis: Coherence Collapse at the Decision Point

Arjuna's body knows before his mind: trembling limbs, parched mouth, fallen bow. This clinical description reveals what coherence collapse looks like when the nervous system detects impossible geometry.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Karma Yoga: Action Without Attachment to Fruits

You have a right to your action, not to the fruits. Karma yoga teaches how to act coherently when outcomes are uncertain—not through spiritual bypassing, but through outcome independence.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Dharma as Coherence-Preserving Path: What Duty Actually Means

Better to die doing your own duty than to live by another's. This isn't rigidity—it's geometry. Dharma is the coherence-preserving path unique to your constraint landscape.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Karma as Constraint Accumulation: How Past Actions Shape Present Geometry

Karma isn't cosmic justice—it's geometric consequence. Every action deforms the manifold you move through. You navigate constraints you carved through previous choices.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

The Three Gunas: Curvature Modes in Coherence Space

Clarity, agitation, collapse—the three gunas describe fundamental coherence states. Learn to recognize which mode is active and navigate accordingly for dramatic coherence gains.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Jnana Yoga: Shifting Identification Through Knowledge

You're not the pattern—you're the space in which patterns appear. Jnana yoga shifts identification from confined roles to witnessing awareness, changing the geometry of everything you navigate.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Bhakti Yoga: Coherence Through Coupling to the Divine

Bhakti isn't blind faith—it's strategic entrainment. When your capacity is exhausted, couple to a stable source and receive coherence you cannot generate alone.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Modern Applications: The Gita for Leadership, Crisis, and Personal Paralysis

Leadership crisis, burnout, moral injury, relational impasse—same geometry, different context. The Gita's framework translates directly to contemporary impossible choices.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Synthesis: The Gita as Coherence Manual for Extreme Conditions

The complete integration of Gita teachings as a coherence manual: karma yoga, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga unified as complementary paths through impossible constraint landscapes.

IdeasthesiaRyan Collison

Part of the HUMAN MEANING collection exploring how coherence operates across historical, cultural, and social scales.