The Bhagavadgita -S. Radhakrishnan
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INTRODUCTORY ESSAY
12. The Way of Action: Karma-marga
Arjuna does not raise the question of the right or wrong of war. He has faced many battles and fought many enemies. He declares against war and its horrors because he has to destroy his own friends and relations (svajanam).[2] It is not a question of violence or non-violence but of using violence against one's friends now turned enemies. His reluctance to fight is not the outcome of spiritual development or the predominance of sattvagurna but is the product of ignorance and passion.[3]Arjuna admits that he is overcome by weakness and ignorance.[4] The ideal which the GIta sets before us is ahimsa or non-violence and this is evident from the description of the perfect state of mind, speech and body in Chapter VII, and of the mind of the devotee in Chap-ter XII. Krsna advises Arjuna to fight without passion or ill-will, without anger or attachment and if we develop such a frame of mind violence becomes impossible. We must fight against what is wrong but if we allow ourselves to hate, that ensures our spiritual defeat. It is not possible to kill people in a state of absolute serenity or absorption in God. War is taken as an illustration. We may be obliged to do painful work but it should be done in a way that does not develop the sense of a separate ego. Krsna tells Arjuna that one can attain perfection even while doing one's duties. Action done devotedly and wholeheartedly, without attachment to the results makes for perfection. Our action must be the result of our nature. While Arjuna is a householder belonging to the warrior caste, he speaks like a samnyasin not because he has risen to the stage of utter dispassion and love for humanity but because he is overcome by false compassion. Everyone must grow upward from the point where he stands.
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