When, if ever, is it right to go to war?

ACCORDING TO A HINDU STORY, long ago there came a time when the people became jealous and deceitful, and the leaders oppressive. Priests became insincere and some stole the gifts brought to the gods. Kings were tyrannical. Tribes and nations were continually warring one against another.

Then Brahman, the Eternal One, decided to give mankind a special helper, a human Savior who would live among men and protect and guide them and teach them the way to live. And so it happened that one day a divine child was born. At his birth, angels appeared, singing praises. They bowed down before him and named him Krishna, the Savior of Mankind, the incarnation of the Eternal Brahman.

Now Krishna of course was a human being as well as a god. He was born in India where at that time everyone belonged to a "caste." His was the Warrior caste, which meant that his dharma or destiny must be fulfilled in war and struggle.

But as a child Krishna did not seem to be a warlike person. He lived happily with other children, wandering with them over the fields and woods, and helping to tend the cows. He learned to play the flute, and often played it while his young friends danced together. A strong boy, he soon became a favorite among his friends, perhaps because he always seemed to use his strength to protect the weak. Many tales have been told of Krishna’s gallant and miraculous deeds during his youth. Always these were done in order to protect some innocent sufferer, or to save some person or animal in trouble.

As Krishna grew older, he left his happy life as a cowherd, became a student of the sacred books, and gave himself to a life of simple living and fasting. His teacher was amazed at his brilliance and devotion.

After finishing his studies, Krishna became the champion of one tribe or another which had been unjustly treated. Always his championship was of the weak against the strong and the evil. If happiness were to be spread among all the people, cruelty had to be destroyed even if war must be waged to achieve this. Thus Krishna, born into the Warrior caste, was true to his dharma.

As the years passed, the warring groups in India grew stronger and larger and the battles became fiercer until India became divided into two warring nations. One nation was ruled by the evil king, Duryodhana; the other, by the good king, Yudisthira, long remembered for his justice and good-will. Finally, the selfish and ambitious King Duryodhana banished the good King Yudisthira and his people into exile and refused to allow even five villages to be shared with them.

After Yudisthira had tried unsuccessfully for thirteen years to settle the matter without a major battle, preparations were begun for an all-out war between the armies of the two kings. Both sides came to Krishna asking for his help. Duryodhana, the evil king, asked Krishna for armies. Arjuna, the brother of the good King Yudisthira, asked not for armies but for Krishna alone, saying "Friendship is the strongest weapon in the world. I want you for my charioteer." Both kings were granted their wishes, and Duryodhana chuckled at Arjuna’s foolishness.

Not long after, in the red dawning of the morning, the two great armies faced each other on the sandy plains of Kurukshetra. The evil king was in his chariot at the head of one great army, now even larger than before. Arjuna, brother of the good king, was in his chariot at the head of the other army. But with Arjuna stood the god Krishna as charioteer.

Arjuna looked about and his heart grew faint, for he saw the faces of fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, sons, brothers, grandsons, and friends. He spoke despairingly to Krishna:

"O Krishna, Krishnal Now that I look on all my own kins-n;en, arrayed for battle, my limbs have become weak, my mouth, is parching, my body trembles, my hair stands upright, my skin seems to be burning! My bow slips from my hand and my brain is whirling round and round. What can I hope for from this killing of kinsmen? What do I want with victory and empire?"

"Krishna, hearing the prayers of all men,
Tell me how we can hope to be happy
Slaying the sons of Dritarashtra?"
Evil they may be, worst of the wicked,
Yet if we kill them, our sin is greater.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"What is the crime I am planning, O Krishna?
Murder most hateful, murder of brothers!
Am I indeed so greedy for greatness?
Rather let the evil children come with their weapons
Against me in battle!
I shall not struggle, I shall not strike them.
Now let them kill me, that will be better."

Having spoken so feelingly, Arjuna threw aside his arrows and his bow. He stood as if already mortally wounded, his heart torn with sorrow.

Krishna was silent for a while. Arjuna tried once more to speak. ‘Which is worst," he cried out again, "to win this war, or to lose it? I scarcely know. My mind gropes about in dark-ness. I cannot see where my duty lies. Krishna, I beg you to tell me frankly and clearly what I ought to do. I am your disciple. I have put myself into your hands. Show me the way."

Krishna then answered: "Your words are wise, Arjuna, but your sorrow is for nothing. The truly wise person mourns neither for the living nor for the dead. Bodies are said to die, but THAT which possesses the body is eternal. It cannot be limited or destroyed. The real life within each one cannot be wounded by weapons, nor burned by fire, nor dried by the wind, nor wet by water. It is deathless and birth-less. It is indestructible. Therefore, never mourn for anyone.

"And besides, Arjuna, you were’ born in the warring caste. Fighting to protect, fighting to save others from oppression, is your duty. If you turn aside from this righteous way, you will be a sinner.

"Die, Arjuna, and you win Nirvana. Conquer and you enjoy the earth. Stand up now, and resolve to fight. Realize that pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat are one and the same; then go into battle."

So Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna, rose and obeyed. A conch was blown and the blare of a thousand conches responded. Arrows shot through the air like meteors; the sun itself was shrouded in the dust of the battle. Horses leaped; men ran at each other with swords. Hundreds, even thou-sands, were wounded or slain.

With each new dawn, the battle was begun afresh, day after day for eighteen days. Finally, the evil King Duryodhana was slain, and Arjuna and Yudisthira were the victors.

In the early dawn after the battle, the plain was grim with the bloody burden of thousands of dead. It was a weary sight for miles around. Weeping wives searched for the bodies of their lost husbands. Mothers mourned over their dead sons. An old grandmother sat on the ground and wept. UO shame on prowess" she cried. "Shame on courage! Shame on war that leaves weeping women to bear the burden of grief"

In spite of all this, because of the terrible war and the courageous victory of Arjuna, there was finally peace in the land. Yudisthira was crowned king of both nations. He reigned as undisputed ruler of all India for thirty-six years and in his time there was justice throughout the kingdom. The people saw in Yudisthira the ideals which Lord Krishna had taught them to attain.

"He did not hate any living creature.
He was friendly and compassionate to all,
He freed himself of the delusion of "Me" and "Mine,"
He accepted pleasure and pain with tranquility,
He was forgiving, ever contented, self-controlled,
He was neither vain nor anxious about the result of his actions."

(Based on extracts from an unpublished manuscript, "India’s Story of Krishna," by Sophia Lyon Fahs. This was based in turn on Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood (Hollywood, California: Vedanta Society of Southern California, latest edition 1972). Extracts are quoted with the permission of the Vedanta Society of Southern California.)