“Heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go like the seasons. They don't last, so learn to bear them patiently.”

This too shall pass

Arjuna is overwhelmed. He’s facing the hardest moment of his life, and his first instinct is to run. Lord Krishna’s first piece of advice isn’t philosophy. It is something closer to what a wise grandparent would say: feelings are like weather.

The Sanskrit word titikṣā means patient endurance: the ability to let difficult experiences pass through you without being knocked over. It isn’t the same as suppressing feelings or pretending to be fine. It’s the steadiness that comes from knowing āgamāpāyinaḥ: “they arrive, and they leave.”

That works both ways. The bad day will pass. So will the great one. That isn’t meant to be gloomy. It frees you to enjoy good moments without clinging to them, and to face hard ones without despair.

For teens: exam stress, a falling-out with a friend, a bad game: real, but temporary. For parents: the sleepless baby stage, the toddler tantrum phase. Seasons too. For anyone: next time you notice “I can’t stand this”, try adding “…right now.”