The Guru Chatbot

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34)

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मन्-मना भव मद्-भक्तो
मद्-याजी मां नमस्कुरु
माम् एवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवम्
आत्मानं मत्-परायणः

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

“Listen, I am not one of these people with foresight. I am not an expert at reading the tea leaves. I cannot tell precisely when the next market crash will occur, when to buy up mortgage backed securities that are selling at a bargain, or when to move to a new city. I cannot accurately predict the next phenomenon. So many of us ponder going back in time and buying shares of that online retail giant. It was only a startup back then. Who knew that one website would start selling books and everything else, along with exclusive showings of primetime football games?

“Despite the acknowledged shortcoming in predicting the future and in noticing trends, I must say that I stumbled upon an idea that might soon become a reality. It begins with this premise of an AI chatbot. I have no idea how this became so popular, like an overnight sensation. Isn’t using AI prompts really no different than surfing the internet yourself and then curating information based on your personal preferences and filtering abilities? I don’t get it when people say they asked such and such AI a question and then received the following in response. You didn’t really ask anybody anything. You offered commands for a machine to go scour the internet and return information, without proper attribution, in most cases.

“Anyway, an extension of the chatbot is the assistant. You can talk to someone as if they are a real person. They will reply promptly to what are actually your prompts. You think you are chatting as normal, but it is really a machine on the other side. This got me to thinking. Considering the vast amount of wisdom from the Vedas and their teachers that is in the public domain, isn’t it likely that we will soon see the guru version of the chatbot?

“Hear me out on this. Instead of waiting for your chosen guru to make their once-in-a-year visit to the local temple, you can simply chat with AI. The knowledgebase is limited to what a certain guru has taught. Or perhaps the entire collection of Vedic literature, that has been translated into the local language, combined with the teachings of the guru serve as the basis. The large language model is indeed large. You can spend the entire day chatting away with this virtual guru. Will not people be drawn to that? Will they not see that as the best option for advancement? Will they not rely upon their virtual companion to secure the rescue they have been desperately searching after?”

Though things are always changing, there really is nothing new under the sun. As with many areas of confusion, we can get clarification from taking a quick peak at Bhagavad-gita, in the delivery that took place which was subsequently documented in the Mahabharata history. In this case, we have a disciple talking to an actual guru. The disciple has real-life questions, pertinent to both the immediate surroundings and also the larger life experience. The guru is kind, helpful, and most of all, wishing well. They want the best for the disciple. We must also stipulate that the guru is a real, living person, with their own name and attributes.

One of the recommendations the guru makes is to have constant thought. A kind of meditation, if you will, but also worship. It is both dhyana and upasana, if considering the Sanskrit terms. If a person follows the recommendation they will move closer to the guru. They will always be with Him, in fact. The recommendation is made to the disciple, who in that instance is a bow-warrior. Arjuna is the one who first had doubt. He was crippled by uncertainty, in the literal sense. Because he was unsure over how to proceed, the weapon he was carrying slipped from his hand.

सञ्जय उवाच
एवम् उक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये
रथोपस्थ उपाविशत्
विसृज्य स-शरं चापं
शोक-संविग्न-मानसः

sañjaya uvāca
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye
rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ
śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ

“Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.” (Bhagavad-gita, 1.46)

What happened next? Did Arjuna stay on the couch, so to speak, peppering the guru with question after question? Did Arjuna opt for procrastination, given the monumental task ahead of him? He had to fight in a war, after all. That was the guidance from the guru, to proceed with the original plans, while maintaining a spirit of detachment. The Divine will was already established. Arjuna would be but an instrument in the delivery of destiny.

तस्मात् त्वम् उत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वम् एव
निमित्त-मात्रं भव सव्य-साचिन्

tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham
mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin

“Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasachin, can be but an instrument in the fight.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.33)

We can opine that the beauty of Bhagavad-gita is in the participants, the setting, and also the nature of the roles. Krishna, who is the guru to the disciple, is actually the servant. In the normal course of affairs, Krishna takes orders from Arjuna. That is how military conflict took place in that ancient time. That is still the juxtaposition today, within formal transportation. The driver receives instruction from the passenger who hired the car. In that case, Arjuna was ready to release arrows. Krishna had to steer the cart as directed by Arjuna.

Forget having a chatbot, Arjuna had the guru right in front of him. Arjuna could have continued to ask one question after another. Instead, he had his doubts resolved and then proceeded with the task at hand. Access to the guru does not mean a life free of responsibility. It is not a license to sleep, to take rest, while placing the burden of responsibility on someone else. The recommendation from Krishna is to think of Him always, not to annoy Him with meaningless queries designed only to pass the time in fear of carrying out what needs to be done.

In Closing:

Consider what needs to be done,
And how liberation finally won.

Not that questions in rapid succession,
Aimless and lacking direction.

Not a tool to pass the time,
The guru with wisdom to shine.

Such that disciple finally to see,
Confident and of hesitation free.