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All of the 18 Adhyayas (Chapters) of Gita are about the disenchantment of Arjuna from War, and Shri Krishna’s exhortation of Arjuna to fight. There is a single theme in Gita, which is present, everywhere and that is the eternal fight between dharma and a dharma good and evil. Pandavas are siding with dharma, while Kauravas are siding with adharma.

Though on stake is a mere material and worldly thing, i.e., Rajya or possession of a kingdom (though it is not so trivial as a corrupt reign tyrannizes its subjects) but still that becomes a sufficient cause, for Lord Shri Krishna to exhort Arjuna to fight and kill his own kith and kin, his own blood.

Why did he exhort Arjuna to kill his own relatives for a mere worldly possession? Why did he resort to violence and even deceit in order to fight Kauravas? Wasn’t it immoral, illegal and not befitting the stature of Shri Krishna or good, conscientious people like Arjuna to commit all this violence?

This is the reason given by today’s opportunist politicians and half-baked intellectuals regarding Ram Janmabhoomi and Krishna Janmabhoomi, that they are mere stone structures, that what if they are desecrated, broken and replaced by Mosques, God is everywhere, and Ishwar Allah tero naam, hence, what is the difference if Allah is worshipped there instead of Shri Krishna and Shri Ram. Let it be?

In the words of Sita Ram Goel, “ Hindu psyche has suffered greatly.”

Coming to the point again, then what is the purpose of Gita? What was the purpose of Shri Krishna in resorting to violence, and exhorting Arjuna to fight and to kill? Why did he lead such disastrous war just for the sake of a kingdom?

Because on the stake, was a much greater thing than a material thing such as kingdom. No material thing could be the justification of such a great war. On the stake was dharma. Kauravas had gained the kingdom by adharma, and if Shri Krishna had allowed them their adharmic deeds, then it would have created precedence for the posterity of the victory of adharma over dharma. And leaving the ground open for the corrupt and tyrannical Kauravas on the pretext of shunning violence, Pandavas would have in fact supported violence indirectly. By resorting to violence they prevented a corrupt rule on Hastinapur by the adharmic forces of Kauravas.

So dharma and satya were at stake in Kurukshetra. preventing adharma from gaining victory over dharma was the purpose of Mahabharata and fighting for dharma against dharma by any possible means and in any conditions is the message of Gita.

However, we have forgotten this message of Gita in Kali Yuga and have distorted it. We have taken ahimsa as our dharma unconditionally, even when it leads to adharmic forces defeating dharmic forces and destroying the very peace and ahimsa, which was vowed to be protected by ahimsa.

Actually this ahimsa was never our primary dharma. Our dharma was satya (truth), and our duty was to fight and protect dharma and satya from every enemy. And violence was not prohibited in this fight for satya and dharma. Actually violence committed for ensuring peace and non-violence, but non-violence.

And a non-violence, which leaves its borders unguarded, which lets adharmic forces overcome dharmic forces and lets them destroy the peace and non-violence, is not non-violence but violence.

That’s why Shri Krishna asks Arjuna in each and every chapter of Gita to pick up the weapon and fight adharma. This is the message of Gita.

There are also some more instances in Mahabharata where Shri Krishna resorts to treachery in order to defeat adharmic forces. When Duryodhana was going to his mother Gandhari totally naked for gaining power from the immensely powerful eyes of her, Krishna met him in his way and advised him not to go naked and at least wear a loincloth. Duryodhana followed the advice of Krishna and beared its consequences in the final war, when Krishna again resorting to treachery indicated Bheema to target the thighs of Duryodhana.

But in Kali Yuga having lost the message of Shri Krishna in Gita have also lost the distinction between dharma and adharma, and also our deity to fight for dharma and adharma. That’s why we all raise mindless slogans of non-violence when adharmic forces attack and destroy our culture, our temples, our civilization. This is no, non-violence, but sheer cowardice.

At last in the words of Shri Krishna, “Arise Arjuna, pick up your weapon and fight to defeat adharma”. So, if we want to save our civilization, then we will again have to hear the teachings of Shri Krishna.

Saumitra Sen

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