Episode # 866 – Bhagawan Krishna is motivating Arjuna to do his duty – An important understanding!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna asserting to Arjuna that as a “Kshatrya” warrior, his primary duty is to stand up and fight for the cause of “Dharma”. This war is a unique one and it is clearly a war between “Dharma” and “Adharma”. In due course, Bhagawan Krishna also firms up the stage one which is the “Deha-Atma-Viveka-Gnyaana”, which we’ve discussed in detail for the past few episodes. Moving on further, as stage one discussion comes to an end in the second “Adhyaaya”, Bhagawan Krishna explains the duties that Arjuna should perform as a “Kshatrya” warrior. We shall witness the shloka which we last discussed yesterday in order to have continuity in our discussion. Bhagawan Krishna says thus, 

“Svadharmapabi cha abekshya na vikampitum arhasi!

Dharmaarthi yuddhaah chreyaha annyakshatryasa vidhyate!!”

Here, Bhagawan clearly stresses the importance of Arjuna getting up and fighting the war, rather than sitting and brooding over losing his family members and friends. However, there could be a gross misinterpretation here in this shloka which people can make – Is Bhagawan Krishna inducing violence wantedly into the mind of Arjuna? If there’s a peace method of resolving issues, why is Bhagawan Krishna resorting to a war? Is He trying to instigate Arjuna through the Bhagawad Gita? We shall witness the answer today. We should understand one thing very clearly here – Bhagawan Krishna is asking Arjuna, who is a “Kshatrya” to take the weapon and fight. He is not motivating either a Brahmana Rishi or a Vaishya to fight the war. Moreover, the “Maarga” through which a “Kshatrya” can attain “Moksha” is only through fighting for “Dharma” and nothing else. It is the duty of a “Kshatrya” prince to fight and protect the kingdom from all the “Adharmic” forces isn’t it? Even in today’s context, we see all our military and armed forces fighting on our territorial borders. They are killing countless numbers of terrorists who are trying to infiltrate our borders every passing day, and by that, they are protecting all of us from serious life threats and terrorist attacks on a large scale. Hence, just because killing a living being is considered to be an “Adharmic” act, can our army people put down their weapons and stand simply? This cannot happen, isn’t it? Hence, even though the “Dharma” of “Ahimsa” might be valid, the context in which this “Dharma” is valid or not is important for us to understand. In this case, Arjuna is a warrior and he is performing the duty of fighting and protecting “Dharma”. Hence, it is the duty of Bhagawan Krishna to motivate Arjuna and make him take the weapon in his hand again. 

Hence, to answer the important and often misinterpreted question in a nutshell – Through this shloka, Bhagawan Krishna is doing the right thing by motivating Arjuna to fight. This doesn’t mean that He is inciting and instigating violence. Bhagawan Krishna is only making Arjuna to do his duty, so that through his “Karma Yoga”, he can also attain the highest “Moksha”. Bhagawan is going to talk about the “Karma Yoga” in a great detail in the ensuing “Adhyaayas”, and this is the foundation for it. So, all the misinterpretations that people make from this important shloka stand nullified and we should understand that through such half-baked arguments, these people are trying to malign our “Sanaatana Dharma” and Bhagawan Krishna. We should understand one basic thing here – Our “Sanaatana Dharma” is the only religion in this world that promotes peace and harmony, along the path of “Dharma” (“Vaasudeva Kutumbakam”). If there is an “Adharmic” force that is posing a threat to this peace and harmony, obviously one has to destroy those forces, and the right persons have to be employed for this purpose. This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna is doing here – He is employing the right person in the form of Arjuna and the other Paandava brothers to destroy those “Adharmic” forces in the form of Duryodhana and Co. and restoring the “Dharma”, peace and harmony in the state of Hastinapura. 

So for today, let us ponder over this point and let us understand this very clearly. We shall continue this discussion in the next episode and move on further from here! Stay tuned! 🙂