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Re: Wy did Arjuna Fight??

• To: Ariel <krishna@krishna.org>
• Subject: Re: Wy did Arjuna Fight??
• From: madhudvisa@krishna.org (Madhudvisa dasa)
• Date: Wed Sep 25 11:12:44 1996
• Bcc: Ariel Telford <at863@bard.edu>, Krishna, edditors@iskcon.com
• Message-Id: id6562

Dear Ariel



Hello. Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!



Thanks for the letter. Sorry about the delay, my access to the net is almost 

zero at the moment...



>	Thank you so much for responding to one portion of my letter so 

>quickly.  But I'm afraid your response has just brought many more 

>questions to my mind...

>	I like your answer that one should surrender to Krishna, and that 

>that is what Krishna was telling Arjuna to do.  But many questions 

>follow.  Why would Krishna want people to fight and kill each other?  



This is exactly what Arjuna is asking Krishna and as you read Bhagavad-gita all 

will be explained. It was Krishna's desire the soldiers on the battlefield of 

Kuruksettra be killed... But they were not actually killed, they were 

liberated. The soul is eternal, there is no death for the soul... This is 

covered in great detail in the Gita. Actually all the people "killed" in the 

battle of Kurksettra were liberated as they saw Krishna at the time of their 

death. Some achieved the planet of Krishna and others got impersonal 

liberation.



It was Krishna's plan, He wanted to free the earth of the heavy burden of 

having too many armies on her surface and at the same time He staged the whole 

event to speak Bhagavad-gita to the bewildered Arjuna. You are bewildered in 

the same way Arjuna was bewildered so as Arjuna's bewilderment was cleared-up 

by submissively hearing from Krishna, by accepting Krishna as his spiritual 

master rather than his friend, so you can understand it in the same way. 



We have to at least in theory accept Krishna is the Supreme Personality of 

Godhead and He knows what He is doing, He knows what He is talking about... He 

is not wrong in His actions, we simply have to understand them... Otherwise we 

will not be able to understand the Bhagavad-gita or Krishna consciousness at 

all. 



>Sure, Arjuna's opponents were probably pretty evil people, but Krishna is 

>God!  Doesn't He have control over all these things?  Couldn't He simply 

>show the opposition how silly they are being, in that they are fighting 

>against God?!  



It was a family battle. So everybody knew everybody else. There were two 

parties: the Pandavas and the Kurus. So Krishna was with Arjuna and the 

Pandavas and Krishna's army was with the Kurus... 



But not that many people realised Krishna was the Supreme Personality of 

Godhead. It's not an easy thing to understand. Even when Krishna was personally 

present most people didn't realise He was God... Everyone know He was 

extraordinarily beautiful, strong, powerful, etc. But only a few knew He was 

the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna doesn't reveal Himself to everyone, 

He is covered by His yoga-maya energy so ordinary people can't understand Him.



It's not that Krishna and Arjuna didn't first try to settle the matter 

non-violently. It's all described in the Mahabarata. Even Krishna Himself went 

personally to the opposite side and tried to negotiate a peace settlement, but 

the Kurus were bent on fighting this unnecessary war and Arjuna, as a Ksatriya, 

was duty-bound to defend the Pandavas and fight to re-establish the rightful 

king of the world.



>Sanctioning violence doesn't really seem like a good 

>example to be setting.  What about all the crazy people in this world who 

>are fighting each other in the name of "God" and "religion."  The 

>Bhagavad-Gita seems like it's setting a bad example.  When you say that 

>devotees should be ready to "fight for Krishna" this really seems like it 

>would be setting a horrible example.



Of course devotees are not sanctioning all the wars that are going on at the 

moment, but we have to be realistic. If the USA is attacked by China how would 

you like it if your government didn't put up any opposition? They just let the 

Chinese take over the USA, kill the men, rape the women, etc. How would you 

like that?



>	Also, I was wondering when violence is allowed in Krishna 

>Consciousness.  Does God have to come and tell you specifically when you 

>should fight?  



According to Bhagavad-gita one can fight an aggressor, one who burns down the 

house, steals his wife, attacks with a deadly weapon, etc.



>I just turned 18, so I am now eligible for the draft in 

>the US.  If our government asks me to fight Salaam Hussar's army or 

>something, should I go?  Would this violence contradict Krishna 

>Consciousness?  



There are different types of people... Some are intellectuals, Brahmana's, they 

like to think, to read the Vedas, to meditate... Some are ksatriyas... they 

have the military spirit... They want to organise, the want to be involved in 

politics, and they like to fight as well... Some are business minded or 

farmers, they like to cultivate the land, protect and milk the cows, do 

business and banking... Many have not enough intelligence to support themselves 

independently, they have to serve one of the above three classes...



So times have changed a little and warfare is not really very "fair" any 

more... The US air-force flys over and drops bombs out of the sky... or they 

fill the water supply with some chemical to knock out the opposition... 5,000 

years ago it was a different thing altogether. The battle was a competition, 

and there were rules. It was an opportunity for the ksatriyas to display their 

fighting skills... And they were prepared to die in the fight. It's not for 

everyone, personally I'm not that way inclined at all and I don't think you are 

either... But some men like to fight. So the Vedic system organises things in 

such a way that everybody can work according to his natural propensities and at 

the same time make spiritual advancement. It is called "Varnasrama Dhama and 

you will find out more about it as you read Srila Prabhupada's books. 



It's not possible to do away with violence altogether. There has to be an army, 

a police force, etc. But the government have to find the right people to put in 

the army. They have to find the military spirited men. If you are not in that 

mood then you wouldn't make much of a soldier... So the idea of "conscription" 

is nonsense. You can't select men at random and put them in the army...



In the sixties many devotees joined the Hare Krishna movement to avoid the 

draft. If one is training to be a priest he doesn't have to go. So that is 

always an option. Personally I wouldn't go. We are interested in fighting for 

Krishna not for the US... But it's not really the age for violent warfare on 

our part -- for physically killing the demons. Our fighting is transcendental. 

We want to defeat the demonic mentality with the holy name, the chanting of:



          Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare 

              Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare



This is the most powerful weapon, more powerful than atomic bombs. So that is 

our fight. To re-establish God-consciousness, Krishna consciousness in this 

godless society...



So Krishna consciousness is a peaceful movement actually. It's the only way to 

bring peace to this troubled planet. There has to be a common goal and the only 

real common goal is God, Krishna. So we don't even say people have to become 

Hare Krishna's. Of course everyone is already a Hare Krishna, everyone is part 

and parcel of Krishna, Krishna is in everyone's heart, some want to forget 

Krishna... But Krishna appears at different times and sends His representatives 

like Lord Jesus Christ and Mohamad to re-establish religious principles. So we 

don't disagree with these representatives of Krishna, the details may be a 

little different, but the message is the same... This world is a place to 

become God-consciousness so in the next life we can go back home, back to 

Godhead... 



When people hear the Hare Krishna mantra, when they taste the prasadam offered 

to Krishna, when they read Srila Prabhupada's books, they remember Krishna. 

Krishna consciousness is not something imposed from outside. It's there in 

everyone's heart, it simply has to be uncovered, that is all.



So our war, our battle is to go out on the streets and chant Hare Krishna and 

distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. It's the real battlefield and it will 

yield the best results. A peaceful, Krishna conscious world... But there is so 

much opposition, even from within the Hare Krishna movement... The demons 

within... But that is our business, our battle, our war...



Anyhow keep reading the Bhagavad-gita, keep writing with your questions and 

don't worry if everything doesn't seem to sit properly in your mind at the 

moment. All will become clear in due course as you read more, chant Hare 

Krishna more and serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna more...



So I hope this letter is OK and I apologise for the delay.



Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!



Your servant 



Madhudvisa dasa

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