Fall seven get up eight.

 Scrutinising the two armies and readying for battle, Arjuna addresses Krishna as Achyuta — the infallible one, incapable of making mistakes or failing. Not just upon the Kurukshetra battlefield, but throughout his earthly sojourn, Krishna epitomised equanimity of mind through all the trials and tribulations he encountered. Everything went wrong in His life, yet everything went right for Him, said Avanti Kundalia in a lecture.

One may argue that it is easy for the Divinity to remain unaffected by life’s vicissitudes, but difficult for humans. By glorifying Krishna as Achyuta, the Bhagavad Gita does not imply we must remain untouched by, and be perfect, through life’s challenges. However, If we do not practice a certain steadiness of mind, we will be reeled up and down like a yoyo through these dynamic transitions. Instead, like Krishna, if we accept the inescapable opposites that riddle mortal existence, we can rise stronger and wiser from each fall. Achyuta does not mean never falling — it refers to picking oneself up. As the Japanese saying goes, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”

A couplet from Swami Samanta Ramdas’ Manche Slok, which is a collection of 204 verses that serve as a positive affirmation of the mind reads, ‘jani sarva sukhi asakon aahe, vichare mana tuchi shodhuni paahe’, meaning, ‘Let us think over who is always happy in all respects. This is none other than Krishna’. We can face all life throws at us and remain steadfastly tethered to our Higher self, by retreating into a few moments of solitude and tapping into the inner stillness that is utterly undisturbed by the surroundings. The more we practice, the better we become at maintaining that peace. We begin to experience ourselves as Achyuta, the infallible one.