By: BK Usha
Source: The Daily Guardian https://epaper.thedailyguardian.com/view/1986/the-daily-guardian/15
Dated: February 1st, 2025

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna and Arjuna have a spiritual dialogue on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. At the end of Krishna's sermonising, Arjuna, who was hitherto reluctant to fight his own kin, realises the true nature of things and picks up his bow to fight the Kaurava army.

In essence, the Gita says that the human soul must conquer vices to attain perfection. But since the battle against one's weaknesses is depicted through the metaphor of a war between the Pandavas and Kauravas, many people have come to believe that God exhorted Arjuna to slay the Kauravas, and therefore it is right to employ violence to destroy evil. They forget that the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is a part, extols abstention from violence as the highest form of religion, the greatest penance, the best sacrifice, and the supreme truth.

The question of whether it is right to use any means, including violence, for what one considers a noble cause has exercised human minds for long. There may be many situations which present a moral dilemma, wherein one has to choose between employing the wrong means for the right cause, and seeing one's cause suffer.

When we think about it, we realise that violence, which is evil, can never be justified. Violence may appear to be an immediate or easy solution to a problem, but it ends up sowing the seeds of bigger problems. How the damage done by violence persists over centuries is illustrated by the mutual distrust and animosity - subtle and overt - between the adherents of different religions. The ill will is a legacy of violent struggles waged in the name of religion ages ago. Historical accounts of those events still colour people’s perceptions and create rancour towards those who practise a different faith.

Violence results from a failure to understand the concerns or point of view of others and engage in dialogue with them to resolve mutual differences. It also stems from short-sightedness, or the inability to realise the damage it will do in the long run. Another cause of violence is lack of patience and tolerance. Lust, greed, ego, and fear also drive people to violence. These vices are toxic for the human soul, which is originally a being of purity, peace, and love. It is in its natural state of peace that the soul finds relaxation and comfort. A soul robbed of peace can experience neither joy, fulfilment, nor ease. Violence not only deprives the soul of peace, but also takes away our contentment and strength. Thus weakened, the soul becomes prone to more mistakes, which bring further misery.

Only non-violent means can truly resolve differences by dissolving the barriers that divide people, and fostering mutual trust and respect to create a world free from fear.

BK Usha is a Rajyoga teacher 
at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Abu Road, Rajasthan.