{"id":1693,"date":"2006-10-10T13:45:15","date_gmt":"2006-10-10T12:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=1693"},"modified":"2006-10-10T13:45:15","modified_gmt":"2006-10-10T12:45:15","slug":"five-reasons-not-to-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=1693","title":{"rendered":"FIVE REASONS NOT TO FIGHT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"by Adbhuta Hari das<\/a> <\/p>\n

On the battlefield of Kuruksetra Arjuna’s heart broke down, when he saw on the opposing side his friends and relatives ready to fight. They didn’t see fault in destroying a family, nor did they consider what pious or impious activities are. Their heart was overtaken by envy, and they have lost all intelligence on account of greediness for acquiring the empire. Such symptoms are exhibited by a materialistic people who are unhappy seeing others fortune, and are happy when others undergo tribulations. <\/p>\n

But Arjuna was a devotee, he was unhappy realizing that the evil effect of the war will bring unhappiness to everyone. In spite of being a victim of an aggression and being banished to the exile, due to his saintly qualities, he was still ready to excuse even the greatest enemy. According to Artha scriptures ( propounding economic development) such aggressors should be killed, but Arjuna speaks from the level of more authoritative Dharma ( religious ) scriptures which don’t permit killing one’s friends and relatives. He gives five reasons for not to fight, not knowing that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme Lord is even more important than religious formularies. <\/p>\n

1. COMPASSION Arjuna’s compassion towards his family members was based on the unreal, external and temporary bodily conception, which is the greatest barrier for advancing in spiritual consciousness. <\/p>\n

If we are attracted to this illusory existence surrounded by a so-called society, friendship and love, then how can we develop attraction for the eternal spiritual world? We have to realize that society and family can not offer us shelter and safety on our dangerous journey in the waves of illusion, where we assemble like many straws that gather together for a brief moment and are then thrown asunder by the waves of the river. Intelligent person therefore does not identify himself with the temporary material body and its material connection with others, but he seeks an eternal and blissful relationship with the Supreme Lord. <\/p>\n

To counteract Arjuna ‘s objection based on bodily affection, not to kill his loved ones, Lord Krishna try’s to inspire Arjuna to fight, presenting him arguments that are based on knowledge. Krishna points out the difference between body and soul. Temporary material body is active only due to the presence of the real person, the indestructible soul. When the eternal soul loses contact with that body, death results and body which doesn’t have true existence disintegrates into original elements which formed it at the first place. So fearing for the death of others is ignorance. Body is destined to perish. Today, tomorrow or some fifty years after, body will fall apart like worn out cloth. It has to die. Arjuna therefore can’t save his family members from being harmed by not fighting. But he can promote them to a higher status of life, by destroying their bodies and cleansing them in this way from the sinful reactions like a doctor who saves the patient by removing the infected limb. <\/p>\n

Thus Arjuna should rejoice acting for the benefit of the imperishable souls of Bishma, Drona and others. They are going to receive new bodies, after destruction of the old ones, as a person who puts on new garments and gives up the old and useless ones. Even if Arjuna doesn’t accept the eternity of the soul from the viewpoint of scriptures and from the worldly point of view considers that soul doesn’t exist and that life is simply the result of a chemical combination. Then he should not be afraid to fight. After all, how can he be a killer of a combination of chemicals? So, regardless of what knowledge of the soul Arjuna accepts as true. He should perform his duty of fighting and he shouldn’t lament, because the living entity as he is cannot be killed nor can the material body be saved for any length of time or permanently protected. <\/p>\n

2. ENJOYMENT Arjuna’s argument of being unable to enjoy the Kingdom if he wins it at the cost of the lives of his family members is a less noble reason. Attempting to convince Arjuna to fight Krishna is therefore using less elevated principles, which promise a material reward and are based on fruitive activity and religious duty. Persons who perform their duty just for sake of some reward consider God to be the order supplier for their sense gratification. Arjuna acts in a similar way. By addressing Lord Krishna as Govinda, he indicates that Krishna will understand what will satisfy his senses. But Govinda is not meant for satisfying our senses. If we satisfy his senses, this would be our actual ultimate benefit, because by Krishna’s grace who is master of all senses, all our desires will be satisfied. <\/p>\n

But Arjuna thinks otherwise. He is interested in ultimate benefit with reference to his future, in terms of enjoyment with his family members. He considers obtaining kingdom unworthy if there won’t be anyone to enjoy it with. Naturally nobody wants to enjoy life alone. Everyone with fruitive mentality works hard to become rich, with only purpose to show his opulences to others. Upon death of his family members Arjuna won’t be able to show up his kingdom, and this will be the source of unhappiness for him. Addressing material enjoyment based upon identifying with one’s body Krishna argues that engagement in the battle will not bring him misery but enjoyment. “If you are killed on the battlefield, you will attain the heavenly planets. If you are victorious, you will enjoy the earthly kingdom.” Because there is no loss in either event, Krishna says, “Get up and fight with determination.” And if Arjuna doesn’t fight, people will consider him a coward. Great generals like Duryodhana, Karna and other contemporaries will not think that he have left the battlefield out of compassion for his brothers and grandfather, but out of fear for his life. The result of his so-called compassion, which is based on illusion will simply be infamy and will not lead him to higher planets. For a renowned ksatriya such as Arjuna, the loss of his reputation and others’ esteem will be more painful than his enemies’ arrows. <\/p>\n

3. DESTRUCTION OF FAMILY Arjuna reasons that with death of the elder members who are responsible for purifying processes in the family, beginning from birth to death, family traditions and Vedic rituals of making offerings to the demigods, and forefathers may stop. Without religious practices irreligion will flourish and the women will be unprotected and misled into adultery by unscrupulous men. From the degradation of womanhood, unwanted children addicted to killing, intoxication and many other sinful activities will flood the human race at the risk of causing chaos in the society. Unqualified to perform traditional Vedic rituals, younger irresponsible family members will thus lose their chance for spiritual salvation. Therefore, for no purpose should the elder members of the family be slain, otherwise hell will await both the family and the destroyer of the family. Krishna counters Arjuna’s argument explaining that common people follow the standards set by great personalities. If he neglects his duty and declines to fight, following his example people will cease to perform their duties, thus society will be put to ruination and then he will be the cause of unwanted population. <\/p>\n

Arjuna feels obliged to the demigods like Indra and Surya for giving us the rain and sunshine. He feels indebted to sages like Vy?sadeva, who has given us Vedic literature and he feels indebted to ancestors without whom he won’t be possessing material body. He considers that by offering remnants of food to the forefathers, they will be released from ghostly or other kinds of miserable life, and by worshipping of demigods one will prosper in this material life. Krishna condemns such idea of using the Vedas for many sacrifices aimed at pleasing various demigods to gain temporary fruits and benedictions. <\/p>\n

Previously He was encouraging Arjuna to fight to obtain heaven, but Krishna now speaks on a higher level which leads to devotional service. When person pays his income tax that is distributed to all the departments. He’s not obliged to pay tax, to the education department, and many other government departments separately. Similarly one who is engaged in the devotional life is not required to perform such rituals since demigods, forefathers, sages and other living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. <\/p>\n

Simply by performing devotional service, and taking full shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, one has no need to serve such persons separately. Arjuna is preoccupied with a fruitive mentality, which causes Bewilderment about the real goal of life. Krishna defeats his argument about Importance of the fruitive rituals, instructing him to rise above the fruitive performance of duty, which are contaminated by the modes of material nature under which we will still be subject to the stringent laws of action and reaction. One has to transcend even piety and the so-called goodness of the material world. Just like in the prison house, if one is a third-class prisoner, he should not aspire to become a first-class prisoner, but to transcend the prison walls or come out of the prison house. So rather than fighting to gain heavenly pleasures or to avoid infamy, Arjuna should be established in self-realization. Mercury is poisonous, but in the hands of an ?yurvedic doctor, mercury becomes a powerful medicine. <\/p>\n

Similarly, while regular, attached work entangles the soul in the material world, detached, dutiful work, performed in knowledge and aimed at pleasing the Supreme, leads him to liberation. Such performance of duty with proper goal and consciousness will satisfy the purpose behind the Vedas or fruitive rituals, just like a great reservoir of water can at once serve the purposes served by a small well. <\/p>\n

4. FEAR FROM SINFUL REACTIONS According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhisma, Kripa and Drona have lost the respectability of teachers because they didn’t protest when Draupadi was disrobed and because they took the side of Duryodhana, simply on financial considerations. From the material point of view they were obliged to show gratefulness to Duryodhana, who maintained them, by assisting him now when he is in danger. In spite of their very affectionate and intimate relationship with Pandavas, they didn’t consider that Duryodhana has usurped the property of Pandavas. <\/p>\n

Vaishnavas and Brahmanas therefore never accept salary, they accept donation. Money which is provided from a materialist contaminates mind and degrades to material platform, even such great personalities as Bhisma and Drona. Arjuna nevertheless thinks that Bhisma and Drona remain his respectful superiors, but he doesn’t follow their instructions either, since they desired the fight and even before the battle began, they already blessed the Pandavas disclosing them the means of how they can be killed. Arjuna concludes that planning for enjoyment while overlooking future suffering is foolish and that brief, kingly pleasures are not worth the sinful reaction of suffering in hell for millions of years because of killing his guru and relatives. Krishna is defeating his argument of incurring sins by fighting, by Rather the opposite facts. <\/p>\n

If, he doesn’t perform his religious duty of fighting, then he will certainly incur sins for neglecting his duties and thus lose his reputation as a fighter. Out of mistaken sense of duty, Arjuna is proposing sinful activity in the name of pious, like people who are nowadays very eager to excuse the capital punishment. The state is sympathizing with the murderer not to be killed. In this way criminal activities are actually encouraged. This kind of sympathy which are weakness of the heart, are made by the uncivilized persons, who think that with body everything is finished. Arjuna is exhibiting the same symptoms of petty weakness which are not befitting the person who knows the higher values of the life. <\/p>\n

Ksatriyas are by nature virile and proud. Therefore to challenging him and stir his ksatriya blood, Krishna is reminding him of his great heritage by addressing him as Parantapa, O chastiser of the enemies. Arjuna’s duty is chastise the mischief mongers. Suppose a policeman Refrains from violence when duty dictates that he defends a person from attack? His apparent nonviolence is in fact a criminal violation of the right of a citizen to be protected by the state. Still Arjuna prefers the embarrassment of begging to the sinful reaction for killing his worshipable superiors, but for ksatriya begging is unthinkable. Neither his culture nor his psychology allows it. Ksatriyas rule, and without a kingdom, Arjuna would have nothing to rule. Like Arjuna people are nowadays very eager to artificially establish classless society. But classless society can be formed only on spiritual platform, not on the material platform, because “everyone is forced to act according to his own nature. <\/p>\n

No one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.” Merchant should not think that because he is engaged in an occupation in which the telling of lies to make some profit is compulsory, he should give up his profession and pursue the profession of a brahmana. No, because without profit the merchant cannot exist. So “It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though faultily, than to perform another’s duty perfectly.” Arjuna therefore cannot be nonviolent, and should not forsake his duty because of the temporary pains and pleasures that arise in the course of its performance. When there is necessity, violence is required to keep the social system strictly in order. Government is keeping military and police departments with the purpose to protect the citizens. When enemy attacks the country then force is required. There is no question of idle sitting. Even if tiger attacks someone, he’s allowed to be killed in a self-defense. In both cases such killing is not sinful. Real principle that determines what is sinful and what is not is whether we act for the Lord’s satisfaction or not. If the warfare in the Kuruksetra battlefield was for Arjuna’s sense satisfaction, then it would be a sinful activity. <\/p>\n

But Arjuna is supposed to act for the Krishna’s satisfaction, like a soldier, who when he kills under the Command of a superior officer, is not subject to be judged. But if he kills on His own personal account, then he is certainly judged by a court of law. Krishna has personally sanctioned Battle of Kuruksetra. Therefore, this is Religious fight, and in religious fight there need be no fear of degradation. As soon as one is elevated to the spiritual platform, by acting according to Lord’s desire, then he doesn’t have to perform his occupational duty in the bodily concept of life, because he’s neither brahmana, neither ksatriya, nor vaisya nor sudra. Krishna is instructing Arjuna. If you think that you are not in bodily concept of life, then it is My order, ‘You must fight.’ If you think that you are in bodily concept of life, then you are a ksatriya, it is your duty to fight. Both ways you have to fight, and if you fight with detachment, dutifully and in the proper consciousness, without falling victim of his own attractions and aversions, you shall never incur sin. <\/p>\n

5. INDECISION Arjuna is not convinced that conquering his enemies is better than being conquered by them. The kingdom is flourishing under Duryodhana’s rule, so why should the Pandavas fight only to take over the kingdom for themselves? He wonders whether millions of people should die just to enthrone him and his family. Krishna wanted a king who will be his representative a devotee. In Vedic culture king represents God, and is offered as good respects as the God. Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana didn’t represent the Supreme Personality of Godhead because they were going directly against his orders and Therefore they were not qualified to give any protection to the citizens and lead Them to the ultimate goal of life. Dhrtarastra, who was materially and spiritually blind, knew that Krishna is Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he was aware that his plans were not approved by Krishna neither Bhisma, Vidura, nor the other senior members of the Kuru dynasty. Still due to jealousy and enviousness on Pandavas, he became so fallen that he could not hear anybody’s advice. <\/p>\n

Just like a thief, who knows that if he commits stealing, he will be punished. Even after hearing, seeing others to be punished and personally experiencing, due to his sinfulness he still can’t restrain himself from sinful activities. Duryodhana who was an expert politician because of applying all his good qualities for personal sense enjoyment can be also compared to a thief who has a good brain, but he’s applying it for mischievous activities making people unhappy. Duryodhana was obstinate and never agreeable to any peaceful negotiation. He was not ready to part with even an inch of land without fight. Arjuna was therefore forced to come onto the battlefield and fight. Because Arjuna was torn between his love for his relatives and his sacred duty, he couldn’t decide what to do. While he friendly argued with Krishna basing his reasons on compassion, logic and scriptures, he couldn’t find solution to his perplexity and conflicting feelings. Therefore to remove his confusion, he surrendered to Krishna accepting him as a spiritual master. Without understanding our real position we are perplexed with worldly problems, which are all illusory like a dream in which person is having a nightmare thinking that is eaten by a tiger. <\/p>\n

To wake up from this worldly illusory position based on desire to lord over the material nature, one has to surrender to a spiritual master. By accepting his instructions one realizes God and his constitutional position, of being the eternal servant of the Supreme Lord and becomes free from illusion, fear and anxiety. Arjuna was freed from illusion by Krishna’s grace. He could understand that Krishna was not only his friend but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Firm and free from doubt he then agreed to fight on spiritual platform according to Krishna’s desire. Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita for the benefit of all conditioned souls. Although His instructions are meant for everyone, we should note that His direction to kill was specifically meant for Arjuna. Krishna doesn’t expect us to fight armed conflicts for Him, because most of us are not ksatriyas (soldiers, warrior class), but He expects from us to sacrifice ( surrender) all our abilities in His service, as Arjuna (who was only playing part of an ordinary man affected by family affection) did. <\/p>\n

Arjuna’s martial skills were not required for Krishna to win the war, because according to Krishna’s plan (which was shown to Arjuna in Universal Form) Kaurava army has been already defeated. But Krishna wanted Arjuna to act with devotion as His instrument, and his devotion was thus expressed by fighting on the battlefield. If we follow Arjuna’s example and engage in devotional service acting as Krishna’s instruments according to instructions of the spiritual master, then we will also be able to understand who is the Supreme Person and consequently become eligible to enter into His kingdom. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Adbhuta Hari das<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vaishnavas and Brahmanas therefore never accept salary, they accept donation. Money which is provided from a materialist contaminates mind and degrades to material platform, even such great personalities as Bhisma and Drona. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}