How Krishna Taught Arjuna To Handle Toxic People

How Krishna Taught Arjuna To Handle Toxic People

Source: Youtube The Krishna Way

Have you ever wondered why some people closest to you cause the deepest wounds? Why walking away feels wrong - but staying feels like slow self-destruction?

Maybe it’s that uncle who always finds a way to criticize you in front of others, or a friend who wraps control in sweet-sounding concern.

You question yourself - am I overreacting? Should I stay silent for peace?

Now imagine this: What if your biggest emotional battles weren’t with strangers, but with your own blood, your own mentors, your own brothers?

This isn’t just your story. In fact, over 5,000 years ago, in the heart of the Dwapar Yug, Lord Krishna guided Arjuna through a battlefield not just of warriors, but of toxic relationships - even within his own family.

This video will show you how Krishna’s advice to Arjuna still applies today - whether you’re dealing with controlling elders, manipulators, or outright narcissists.

Let’s walk through it.

In the Mahabharata, the battlefield was physical, but the deeper war was spiritual and emotional. The enemies weren’t just warriors in armor; many wore the disguise of kinship and love.

Bhishma was the patriarch of the Kuru family - wise, revered, and committed to his vows. But that very loyalty made him blind to injustice. He stood silent as Draupadi was humiliated. He supported a corrupt ruler because he thought his duty was to obey the king, not stand for what was right. His toxicity was subtle, passive, and wrapped in nobility. Yet it caused suffering that echoed across generations.

Then there was Shakuni - clever, calculating, and smooth. He didn’t raise his voice. He whispered. He manipulated. He sowed jealousy, twisted narratives, and ignited the fire of hatred in Duryodhana’s heart.

Duryodhana, on the other hand, was blatant. Arrogant, jealous, entitled, fueled by insecurity masked as confidence. He couldn’t stand seeing others do well. Instead of improving himself, he focused on bringing others down.

These were Arjuna’s relatives. This was his grandfather, his cousin, his uncle. His war, like ours today, wasn’t just about action. It was about boundaries. When Arjuna looked at these men, he didn’t just see enemies. He saw people he grew up with. He dropped his bow and said, “I can’t fight them. I would rather die than raise a weapon against my own family.”

Krishna didn’t push him to be stronger - he simply guided him to see things for what they truly were. Krishna’s first lesson was about recognizing. In the Bhagavad Gita, he says,

That which is real cannot be threatened.

That which is unreal does not exist.

He urged Arjuna to see beyond surface identities - uncle, brother, elder - and to look at action and intention. It’s a lesson that hits hard even today.

When someone constantly undermines you under the name of tradition, that’s not love.

When someone says they care, but their care makes you feel small, suffocated, or scared, it’s not care. It’s control.

Krishna asked Arjuna to look beyond personal ties not with hatred, but with clarity and to stop justifying toxic behavior simply because it came from familiar faces.

One of Krishna’s deepest teachings was about detachment. Not the cold kind that cuts you off from the world, but the courageous kind that says

I can love you and still say no.

What does that mean in the context of toxic relationships?

It means you don’t react out of anger or revenge.

You respond with clarity. You don’t play their game.

You hold your ground, and you do it with grace.

Lets bring it to real life.

A family member who constantly questions your choices, but insists it’s just concern. A colleague who praises you in meetings but slowly poisons your reputation behind your back. A friend who demands loyalty, but only on their terms.

At first, you might play along. You try to keep the peace. You adjust your tone, soften your truth, apologize even when you know you’ve done nothing wrong. You tell yourself it’s not a big deal, that they care, that it’s just their way. But over time, it starts to wear you down. You feel smaller. Less sure of yourself. More anxious around people who were supposed to be safe. That’s when the questions begin to shift from, “Why are they like this?” to “Why am I still allowing this?”

And that’s where Krishna’s wisdom quietly enters. Not to tell you to start a war - but to help you come back to yourself.

You start to observe.

You stop explaining yourself to those who only hear what they want to hear.

You speak your truth, simply and clearly.

You don’t fight louder - you step back stronger.

Maybe they still test your boundaries. Maybe they push harder when you don’t play the same role anymore. But

you don’t need to resist or retaliate. You stay rooted. Calm. Steady.

Because in the Gita, Krishna doesn’t ask for hatred. He asks for clarity. And in clarity, there is quiet power.

You don’t escape toxicity by mirroring it. You rise above it by refusing to carry what was never yours to begin with.

Krishna didn’t just give philosophy. He gave real ways to deal with toxic people. First,

see clearly. Stop giving people passes because of titles. Start looking at behaviors.

Ask yourself,

“Does this relationship bring me growth or fear? Do I feel expanded or shrunken?”

Second,

stay centered. Don’t get pulled into emotional traps. Remember who you are. Their drama can’t touch you if you’re steady.

Third,

Act with purpose.

You’re not here to fix them.

You’re here to live your truth.

Set boundaries not to punish, but to protect.

Say no without explaining every detail.

You don’t owe people your suffering just to make them comfortable.

Krishna never glorified violence. He glorified clarity. He told Arjuna,

“You are not killing them. You are breaking the cycle.”

There comes a point in every relationship - family, friends, lovers - where you must ask: is staying here breaking me? If the answer is yes, Krishna’s advice is simple:

Act. With calm. With courage. But act.

Sometimes, that means walking away. Not to punish them. But to protect yourself.

Not out of hate, but out of honor - for your life, your purpose, your peace.

Let karma take care of consequences.

You take care of your path.

The hardest battles are the silent ones we fight within ourselves.

The push and pull between keeping the peace and protecting your peace.

Between staying loyal and staying honest with yourself.

So, if you’re stuck in a situation where love feels like pressure, where loyalty feels like a trap, know this

you’re not wrong for wanting space. You’re not selfish for choosing peace over drama, purpose over guilt.

Because the true battle is never about defeating others. It is about not letting others defeat you.

Not all battles are fought with swords.

Sometimes, all it takes is the guts to stop pretending.