...Arjuna typifies the spiritual seeker who, until he has received illuminating instruction from a qualified teacher, walks through life in ignorance, causing himself and others much needless suffering...All of us have a Krishna and an Arjuna component in our nature. We are both Self (or Spirit) and self (or ego-bound personality)...The mind is the alchemical mercury that must be transmuted into pure gold. It is also the cauldron in which this process of transformation occurs...The quotations in this volume were chosen for their inspirational power...Listening(shravana) to the disclosures of sages and saints is one of the time-honored practices of seeks after the Truth. Any time we pay attention to anything, we participate in it on the subtle levels. Therefore it matters greatly where we place our attention. The sages long ago recommended that the next best thing to immersing oneself in the Truth directly through profound meditation and ecstasy is to hear it from the mouth of one who knows and then to ponder it with one's native reasoning ability...
.....