There are many baseless comments about the Bhagawad
Geetha. The following post deals with 2 most common questions about the Geetha.
Imagine the following scenario. Our hero is a soldier.
His country men are tormented by a dictator. This dictator is one of the worst
men in history not unlike Hitler, Mussolini, Sadam Hussein, Idi Amin and so on.
Our hero heads the liberation front. All preparation for the war has been
completed. The two forces are ready to strike on each other. The day of the
battle arrives. The people eagerly await the liberation front to win. For years
they have suffered in the hands of the dictator. They wait for their freedom
but our hero has a change of heart. He looks at the leaders of the opposing
forces. He recognizes his brother who has always been the aide to the dictator.
He recognizes other familiar faces. More friends and cousins are ready to lead
the opposing forces. Our hero is confused; how can he go against his friends
and family? On one hand his countrymen depend on him to free them from a tyrant
but, on the other hand the tyrant is helped by his friends and family members.
He knows that without him the liberation front does not stand a chance against
the dictator. He gets down from his tank and picks up a white flag; he has made
a decision. Family always comes first and so he walks away from the battle
field.
Given the above scenario, what would anyone say
to the soldier? Is it okay for him to abandon his countrymen for the sake of
his family? Shouldn’t greater good be given precedent? Any sane person would
agree that the liberation of the masses from the hands of a tyrant should be
given precedent. Let us now look at our scenario again. Our hero is ready to
abandon his mission. He is ready to walk away when he is stopped by his mentor.
Having understood our hero’s state of mind and for the sake of greater good the
mentor urges him to proceed with his original plan. He cannot walk away now;
not when the lives of millions depend on him. It is the duty of our hero as an
able soldier to help overthrow the tyrannical regime. Yes his family members
are part of the tyrannical regime but they must be stopped. Our hero listens to
his mentors. He agrees to battle for his people’s rights. The liberation front
is victorious in the war. Our hero is chosen to lead the people and a special
medal is awarded to the mentor. Everyone is happy and rejoice the end of
oppression and tyranny.
The above scenario is similar to the
Mahabharata. On one side the Kaurava forces were corrupt kings who wreaked
havoc on the people. On the other side we have the liberators, the Pandavas.
The Pandava forces depended on the ability of Arjuna. On the first day of
battle, Arjuna had a change of heart when he spotted his family members amongst
the Kaurava forces. He decided to abandon the battle. It is precisely at this
moment that Lord Krishna stepped in to advice Karma Yoga to Arjuna. It is the
duty of Arjuna as a warrior to protect his people. He cannot shirk from this
duty. Lord Krishna further preached the true identity of a person. Our true
identity is the soul. We are the soul and we are never destroyed. He informed
Arjuna that death doesn’t cause destruction of the soul. It is equal to
changing ones clothes; the dead at re-birth gets a new body. Protecting people
against tyrannical regime and invasions are the duty of a warrior.
Were the Kauravas immoral kings? The Mahabharata
lists some of the many offences committed by them. They tried to assassinate
Bhimasena by feeding him poison; they tried to assassinate all the Pandavas by
trapping them inside a mansion made of wax and setting fire to the mansion.
They stole the property of the Pandavas. They disrespected Draupadi the wife of
the Pandavas by trying to disrobe her in front of everyone in the royal
assembly. They wanted to seize power so as to be able to misuse power and
wealth of the nation to promote their own personal welfare. They were not
intent on the welfare of the citizens but wanted to only enjoy the privileges
available to a ruler. The citizens did not want the Kauravas to gain power.
They wanted the Pandavas to govern them.
Hence, there is nothing wrong in Lord Krishna’s
preaching. His preachings do not instigate war. Would it be okay for modern day
governments to listen to pacifists and state that they will not protect their
people from the terrorists? Would it be acceptable if the Governments say that
the terrorists can come and set fire to their cities, pillage and plunder their
cities, destroy peace and prosperity but the Government will simply look the
other way as fighting back against the terrorists would mean waging war?
Lord Krishna only preached the duty of a warrior
to Arjuna. He did not get hold of a doctor and tell him to wage war. Everyone
must fulfill the duties assigned to them. This leads to the next doubt that
Lord Krishna supported the caste system.
The answer to the above question is, yes, Lord
Krishna did support the caste system but He did not support discrimination. The
Vedic caste system is a division based on profession. Warriors are Kshatriyas.
Doctors, engineers, priests, lawyers, economists etc are the Brahmins. Farmers
and merchants are Vysyas. The tradespeople are Sudras. Each profession is
required for the proper functioning of a society. Imagine living in a nation
where there are no medical professionals or police or plumbers. Each person has
to uphold the duties of his/her profession. This does not mean that a doctor is
superior to a plumber or that a police officer is superior to a farmer. Superiority
arising from ones status in society and profession stems from false ego which
is not accepted by Lord Krishna. During the time period when Lord Krishna
preached the Bhagawad Geetha, all castes were treated equally. Vidhura was a
Sudra by birth but he was allowed to change his profession and work as a
minister in the Government which was the profession of a Brahmin.
Lord Krishna did not support discrimination but
He advised everyone to be true to their chosen profession. This is similar to
the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors and the oath taken by Engineers that the
health and safety of the public shall be paramount. The Vedic Caste system
cannot be eliminated; for, eliminating Vedic caste system means eliminating the
different professions. As a society we need police, soldiers, doctors,
engineers, teachers, farmers, and tradespeople. Even if we do not call these
professions by the name of the caste they are classified under, a police is a
Kshatriya, a doctor a Brahmin, a farmer a Vysya and a plumber will be a Sudra.
Each of the above has a duty to fulfill for the proper functioning of the
society. They can change professions if they have the right aptitude. Vidhura
had the aptitude to be an able administrator and hence could opt for the
profession of a Brahmin.
Anyone who mocks or blames the teachings of Bhagawad
Geetha hasn’t really understood the concepts mentioned in the Geetha. They must
first try to read the Bhagawad Geetha with an open mind.
Please refer to the following links to know more
about the Vedic Caste System.
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