The time is 5000 years ago; the place: Kuruksetra; the circumstance: the biggest battle the world has ever known. So the stage is set, and Lord Krishna has arranged a most dramatic build-up so everyone's attention is on what happens next. And when all eyes and ears are ready, Lord Krishna arranges that an intimate friend falls under the influence of His internal energy to act as a conditioned soul, bewildered by the most basic questions: 'Who am I?' 'What am I meant to do?' Lord Krishna , in response, explains to Arjuna the process of yoga and the basic transcendental knowledge needed to act in spiritual consciousness.