UdyamGita

When someone comes to you in distress, you have to show your calmer side. Calmness easily rubs off on the other person, or at least creates a comfortable space for them. This is the approach Krishna uses here to ease Arjuna’s distress.

Whether it is an employee, vendor, partner, or investor, whoever approaches you in distress, the first and foremost thing you should do is calm the person down with a smile. Then begin the conversation by acknowledging their strengths and their good work. This makes the person feel comfortable and confident and puts them in a more receptive state of mind. Only then should you gently nudge the person with a line that challenges their understanding and makes them think deeper. Here, Krishna says that it is not worth grieving over the unworthy.

In cases where a business owner has to let people go for valid reasons, there is no point in grieving over that decision, nor in worrying about the possibility of similar heartbreaks with those who are still with you. Take decisions when they arise and move on. A business owner should not spend time grieving over people who are not worth it. After leaving, they will find their own path and their own joy, and sometimes it may even be better than what you could offer them. So without worrying about them, move on.

If you keep thinking too much about people who are with you, you may develop a habit of overthinking, which drains your mental bandwidth. Handle injustice when it actually happens, and until then, assume that everything is going well. This helps you maintain mental peace and stay focused on the growth of the organization.

For the first time, Krishna speaks—and he smiles.

This detail is profound. Arjuna is drowning in grief, standing between two armies, frozen by fear and attachment. Krishna, addressed as Hrishikesha (the master of senses), responds not with urgency or anxiety, but with calm composure. His smile is not mockery; it is mastery.

Then comes the opening line of wisdom:

“You speak words of wisdom, yet you grieve for what is not worthy of grief.”

Krishna immediately exposes the contradiction—intellectual talk mixed with emotional confusion. This is the precise diagnosis before treatment begins.



Business Insight

Calm is a leadership strategy, not a personality trait.

When someone approaches you in distress—employee, partner, vendor, or investor—their emotional state is already overloaded. Logic cannot enter a turbulent mind. Krishna demonstrates a powerful sequence:

1. Create calm first (the smile)
2. Acknowledge strength (you speak like the wise)
3. Then challenge the thinking (but your grief is misplaced)

In business, this approach dramatically improves outcomes. A calm presence:

• Lowers emotional temperature
• Creates psychological safety
• Makes the other person receptive

Only after this can a difficult truth be introduced.

Leadership Lesson

Verse 11 is a masterclass in detached decision-making.

Krishna states that the wise do not grieve excessively—neither for the living nor the dead. Translated to leadership:

Do not drain your mental bandwidth grieving over outcomes, people, or hypothetical futures.

For founders, this becomes critical during hard calls—especially when letting people go.

• Grieving endlessly over exits weakens leadership
• Worrying about future heartbreaks creates overthinking
• Emotional carryover reduces strategic clarity

People who leave will find their own paths—sometimes better ones. Your role is not to mourn endlessly, but to act responsibly and move forward.

Similarly, overthinking about people who are still with you—anticipating betrayal, disappointment, or loss—only creates anxiety. Address injustice when it happens, not before.

Mental peace is not avoidance; it is efficient leadership.

Key Takeaways

• Calm leadership creates emotional safety
• A composed response makes others receptive
• Start with strength before challenging beliefs
• Grieving over every decision drains leadership bandwidth
• Handle problems when they arise, not in imagination
• Mental peace fuels organizational growth