The Messenger With The Message

“Krishna is violent to demons, and to attempt to prove that Krishna is not violent is ultimately to deny Krishna.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 7.128 Purport)

The truths contained within the Bhagavad-gita are quite profound. Those who read the book for the first time will find loads of information not found in any other religious doctrine, philosophical treatise, or even Vedic text. The Vedas are the spiritual tradition of India, the ultimate truths of life passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of time. Any scripture which follows the conclusions of the original Vedas can be considered Vedic literature. The Bhagavad-gita certainly meets this criteria. In this wonderful work, which is known as the Song of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the person we refer to as God, Lord Krishna, delivers a beautiful discourse on the meaning of life, the role of the living entities in this world, and how one can go about performing their activities while simultaneously remaining on the path towards transcendental perfection

Since this work is so wonderfully composed and contains descriptions of many astounding truths of life – such as reincarnation, the consciousness of the living entity at the time of death, the laws of karma, and the temporary nature of material happiness – it is quite common for non-devotees, those who don’t necessarily believe in a God or in Krishna, to take to reading this book and expounding on it. So many commentaries and translations of the Gita are available, with each work presented in terms of the author’s worldview, their ultimate conclusion. Since only Krishna, or God, can be everything, it shouldn’t surprise us that His teachings would hit home with a large cross-section of people. Those who take the ultimate conclusion in life to be material enjoyment can find what they need in the Gita. There are others who don’t believe in a personal God, an Absolute Truth who possesses an eternal, transcendental form. For them, the Gita contains much discussion about Brahman and the impersonal nature of the Absolute Truth. There are others who believe in meditational yoga as the topmost practice, the ultimate activity derived from the ultimate conclusion. For them, there is an entire chapter in the Gita dedicated to such yoga practice.

Ironically enough, even believers in nonviolence – those who view the complete abstention from the arousal of conflict, physical and mental, to be the ultimate activity in life – take to reading the Gita. We say “ironically” because the setting of the Bhagavad-gita – the podium, if you will, from which Krishna provides His instructions – is a battlefield. Moreover, the Gita concludes with the commencement of one of the greatest wars in history. The death toll from the Bharata War, the war Krishna urged His cousin and disciple Arjuna to fight in, saw the deaths of millions upon millions of soldiers. It is said that the burden of sinful men was too great on the earth at the time, and thus the Lord Himself was petitioned to descend from the spiritual world and rid that burden. This is one of the causes for the tremendous bloodshed that took place. Yet even though the Gita has this backdrop, some use the work to justify their view that nonviolence should be employed under any and all circumstances. While the idea of nonviolence under all circumstances is certainly ideal, basing this conclusion off the Gita is quite faulty. Lord Krishna, or God, is certainly violent from time to time. This violence is not an inconvenient truth, but rather a beautiful activity that speaks to the Lord’s all-merciful nature. Krishna is the messenger in the Bhagavad-gita, but we shouldn’t make the mistake of separating the message from the messenger. The message is secondary; the messenger is more important. The message is actually meaningless without the messenger. Only when we see the message as being part and parcel of the messenger can we truly understand its meaning.

“The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor—these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.” (Bhagavad-gita, 16.1-3)

Let’s quickly review the issue of nonviolence. This principle is known as ahimsa in Sanskrit and it is even addressed by Krishna in the Gita. The Lord states that a realized soul, an upper echelon transcendentalist, abides by many principles and exudes many characteristics. The most important principles and characteristics are listed in the Gita so as to allow those on the lower platform of knowledge, the aspiring devotees, to be able to better gauge who is a devotee and who isn’t. One of the characteristics listed by Krishna is nonviolence. The justification for this is quite obvious. Every living entity, every form of life, is equal in their constitutional position. There is a famous saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” With human beings and other life forms, the covers may be different, but the individuals inside the covers are the same. If we observe two people, where one person is wearing fancy clothes, while another is wearing simple rags, we can’t say that one person is better than the other. One person may have more wealth and pay more attention to detail, but we can’t say that they are any different on the inside. Expanding this idea to an even grander scale, we can think of every living entity as wearing a different set of clothes. These clothes manifest through the different qualities of the body: eyes, legs, hair, ears, height, weight, etc. Not only do the outward features make these “clothes”, but so do the inward features such as temperament, personality, likes, and dislikes. The outward covering is known as the material body, and it is something that gets created, developed, and then ultimately destroyed. The spirit soul within does not change throughout this process, thus making it the basis for identity.

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 2.20)

Since every soul is the same, a spiritual spark emanating from the giant energetic fire known as God, there is no reason to be envious of or to act malevolently towards another human being. We are all in the same boat, so to speak, thrown into this ocean of nescience. We’re all trying to find our way out of this suffering. Some of us are further along in the process than others, but our ultimate objective is the same regardless. Therefore there is no reason to be violent towards another living entity. There is no reason to unnecessarily kill another living entity, regardless of whatever personal justification we may have. This position is universally held, for even one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shall not kill”. This has since been purposefully misinterpreted by many to mean “Thou shall not murder”, but the principle of nonviolence is still there just the same.

So does this mean that we should always be nonviolent? Should violence never be used under any circumstance? Though we should never kill another living entity, sometimes it is required. If a human being has no other means of food other than to kill an innocent animal, then it is generally allowed. The reasoning behind this has nothing to do with sense gratification. Say the human being starves to death and thus leaves the animal all alone. Can the animal do anything to further its condition? If the human being remains alive, it is capable of maybe sustaining life around it and saving other living entities. The human being has a higher level of intelligence, so it is granted dominion over the animal kingdom. This shouldn’t be taken as a sanction for unnecessary animal killing, as currently takes place with the practice of slaughterhouses.

Since the human being has a higher level of intelligence, which culminates in the ability to understand God, it has necessary functions to perform. One of these required functions is the providing of protection. Though we should be kind and peaceful towards fellow living entities, not everyone is guaranteed to act the same way towards us. Some people will take to violence regardless of whatever sound counsel is given to them. This was the case with Duryodhana, the illegitimate king of the Kaurava dynasty. Lord Krishna, during His time on earth, tried to broker a peace agreement between Duryodhana and the Pandavas, the five sons of King Pandu who had the rightful claim on the kingdom. Duryodhana rejected this peace proposal, even though it came from God Himself. Goswami Tulsidas, the great Vaishnava poet, mentions this incident in his Dohavali. Tulsidas references Duryodhana’s behavior to remind people to not turn their backs on God. Those who do will have to suffer greatly. How did Duryodhana suffer? Since he rejected the peace offering, the Bharata War was eventually started, with Krishna serving as the charioteer for the leading Pandava warrior, Arjuna. The Pandavas won, Duryodhana and all his army were killed, and the kingdom was returned to the rightful owners.

“If, however, you do not fight this religious war, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 2.33)

What would have happened if Krishna and the Pandavas took the nonviolent approach? After all, this was the view of Arjuna and many of his brothers. They were hesitant to fight because war meant that their family members fighting for the opposing side would have to be killed. Arjuna did not want to enjoy a kingdom if it came at the expense of people he respected. Lord Krishna, through His teachings in the Gita, informed Arjuna that it was his duty as a military man to provide protection to the innocent. It was his dharma, or religious duty, to fight. This is quite a strong statement. It wasn’t as if Krishna said, “Oh okay, violence is justified sometimes. Maybe this is one of those times.” The Lord went one step further by telling Arjuna that if he didn’t fight, he would be committing a great sin. Simply based off this one fact, we see how silly it is to try to justify the theory of nonviolence from the Gita. Anyone who does so certainly is separating Krishna from His message.

Why is violence required in some instances? If those who are in charge of protecting the innocent don’t do so, where will people go for help? Who will protect them from the attacks of the miscreants? In this way, not only are the kshatriyas [the warrior/administrator class] charged with providing protection, but so is God Himself. Since Krishna is Absolute and all-attractive, everything He does is beautiful. He is beautiful while standing in the forest with flowers and a peacock feather in His hair, playing His flute, and He is equally as beautiful when killing demons.

Not only does Krishna use violence from time to time, but so do His devotees. While fighting in the Bharata War, Arjuna’s chariot was adorned with a flag bearing the emblem of Hanuman. Many thousands of years prior to Krishna’s advent, the Lord appeared on earth in the guise of a warrior prince named Rama. Lord Rama’s wife, Sita Devi, was kidnapped by a demon named Ravana who lived on the island of Lanka. To find Sita, the Lord enlisted the help of an army of monkeys whose chief warrior was a pious individual named Hanuman. Lord Hanuman famously leapt across the ocean and made his way to Lanka, where he eventually found Sita. While in Lanka, Ravana had Hanuman bound up and his tail set on fire. Shri Hanuman, though he is kind, sweet, compassionate, and learned, is anything but nonviolent when it comes to interacting with demons such as Ravana. Hanuman freed himself from the ropes around his body, and then took to battle. Since his tail was still on fire, Hanuman decided to set the entire city of Lanka ablaze. Though this was an act of violence on a grand scale, it was still a thing of beauty. Hanuman’s behavior is indicative of the protection that God’s greatest devotees offer the innocent.

We should not try to separate Krishna from His words or activities. God is the most beautiful person in the world, and this beauty is not limited to His transcendental form. This eternally blissful and knowledgeable form, sach-chid-ananda-vigraha, also takes to activities. It would make sense then that the most beautiful form in the world would have the most beautiful activities. This beauty is not limited to Krishna’s peaceful activities. His defense of the innocent and unflinching protection of the devotees evokes loving emotions just the same.

Animal Sacrifice

“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.18)

One of the four regulative principles of devotional service requires one to refrain from eating meat, fish, or eggs. Meat eating involves unnecessary violence towards animals, so anyone who stays away from such food will avoid the negative karma associated with it. Living a simple, non-violent lifestyle allows us to concentrate our time and energy on God realization.

One will find, however, that the concept of animal sacrifice is very prominent in the scriptures of all major religions. The Christian Bible has a detailed list of which animals can be sacrificed and how they are to be offered. Similarly, the Vedic literature lists many such animal sacrifices which reward the performer with material benedictions. During Lord Krishna’s time on earth, the great king Yudhishthira performed the sacred Ashwamedha sacrifice, which involves sacrificing a horse. Prior to that, during the Treta Yuga, the famous Maharaja Dashratha of Ayodhya also performed the sacrifice. It was performed by many kings with the idea of bestowing good karma on the king and his kingdom. Dashratha’s sacrifice bore fruit in the form of Lord Rama, God Himself, being born as his first son.

The performance of such sacrifices seems to contradict the principle of no meat eating. However, this type of animal sacrifice bears no resemblance to the violence committed against animals in modern day slaughterhouses. The Vedas are somewhat complex, with different dharmas (religious duty) assigned to different classes of people. Since the material world is a place governed by gunas, or qualities (goodness, passion, and ignorance), every living entity has a different level of intelligence and thereby varying capacities for understanding scriptural injunctions. Though bhagavata-dharma, loving service to God, is the highest form of religion, God is so kind that He provides other forms of religion so as to allow everyone to make spiritual advancement. Below the system of bhagavata-dharma is the religious system involving the four rewards of life. Those who are religiously inclined generally seek the rewards of dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification), and moksha (liberation). To achieve these benedictions, there is a section of the Vedas known as karma-kanda. It is in this portion of the Vedas where one will find the various animal sacrifices performed by kings of the past. The idea wasn’t to allow meat eating for simple sense gratification, but rather to sanction violence in a regulated manner, which would be both beneficial to the performer and to the animal sacrificed. In a sacrifice properly performed by qualified brahmanas wherein mantras were perfectly recited, the living entity inside the animal would immediately be rewarded a higher birth in the next life. The performer would also immediately receive the material rewards they were seeking after. Naturally, such a religious system is subordinate to bhagavata-dharma, but it was nonetheless performed as a way of allowing kings to make gradual elevation in spiritual consciousness. The kshatriyas, or warrior class of men, generally live in the mode of passion, rajo-guna. Due to this fact, they are allowed to gamble and even hunt deer as a way of practicing their defensive skills. Unnecessary violence towards animals was never condoned, and there are many historical incidents mentioned in the Vedic texts of kings being punished for acts of unnecessary violence towards deer or other living entities in the forest. The same Maharaja Dashratha once accidentally shot and killed a young boy with his arrow while ranging the forest. Since the boy’s parents would eventually die from the grief resulting from the untimely separation from their son, they cursed Dashratha to suffer the same fate in the future. For this reason, Dashratha died after the exile of His eldest and most beloved son Rama.

“In the Vedic literature there are numerous prescription of sacrifice. And in some of the sacrifices animal sacrifice is also recommended. So that animal sacrifice does not mean to kill the animal. Animal sacrifice means to prove the strength of Vedic hymns so that one old animal is put into the fire and he’s given again a new life, renewed life, just to show the potency of the hymns, Vedic hymns. But in this age, Kali-yuga, those sacrifices are forbidden." (Shrila Prabhupada, Lecture, 700416LE.LA)

These sacrifices were a means of testing the brahmanas who would preside over them, and was also a way of benefitting the animal being sacrificed. The entire purpose was aimed at providing purification. These sacrifices were performed during previous Yugas, where dharma had a stronger presence in society. According to the Vedas, dharma gradually declines amongst the population as time goes on. The current age we are in, Kali Yuga, is best known for dharma having only a twenty-five percent level of strength, whereas it was at one hundred percent at the beginning of creation. Gradually with this decline in religiosity, came the tainting of these sacrifices. Brahmanas were no longer performing them for purification, but merely as an excuse to eat animal flesh.

“When there was too much animal sacrifice in India, Lord Buddha appeared. And in the Vedas there is recommendation for animal sacrifice in some sacrificial ceremony, not ordinarily. And that sacrifice is meant for testing the power of chanting mantra. An animal would be put into the fire, and it would come again with renewed life. In this way, there is recommendation in the Vedas that some animals… But people misunderstood it. People began to slaughter." (Shrila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, Tokyo, 720422)

Krishna advented as Lord Buddha specifically to stop the degraded process of animal slaughter. In order to justify his message of nonviolence, he preached against the injunctions of the Vedas. In this way, the modern day injunction against meat eating was instituted and the animal sacrifice process was gradually stopped.

Meat eating involves killing another animal, which shouldn’t be done. But God is so nice that He understands that many people won’t be able to give up such a practice easily. Bestowing His mercy upon them, He provided for the rituals of animal sacrifice to allow them to gradually rise up the chain of God consciousness. If one sacrifices an animal before the Goddess Kali, he is at least thinking about God prior to committing such a heinous act. One will find that dishes containing goat meat are very prevalent in Indian restaurants and it stems from the tradition of sacrifice to Goddess Kali. Even a sanctioned sacrifice like that has many stringent rules attached to it. The animal must be a goat and the sacrifice can only be performed once a month. In this way, God is helping people by making meat eating such an arduous task.

"Even though one may be religiously inclined, animal sacrifice is recommended in the shashtras, not only in the Vedas but even in the modern scriptures of other sects…When such people kill animals, they can at least do so in the name of religion. However, when the religious system is transcendental, like the Vaishnava religion, there is no place for animal sacrifice." (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.26.1-3 Purport)

The word “Vaishnava” refers to devotees of Lord Vishnu, who is the same as Lord Krishna. By following the principles of devotional service, we have no need for mundane material sacrifices. We should all try and rise to such a platform. Giving up meat eating may seem very difficult, but if we dedicate ourselves to constantly chanting the names of God in a loving way, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, then we will surely succeed.

When Violence is Necessary

“According to Vedic injunctions there are six kinds of aggressors: 1) a poison giver, 2) one who sets fire to the house, 3) one who attacks with deadly weapons, 4) one who plunders riches, 5) one who occupies another’s land, and 6) one who kidnaps a wife. Such aggressors are at once to be killed, and no sin is incurred by killing such aggressors.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1.36 Purport)

Question: How can you worship Krishna, who instructed Arjuna to fight in a war that led to the death of millions?

Answer: The ideas of religion and violence never seem to go hand in hand. Religion means to see outside of one’s own body and to see the spirit soul in all of us. This naturally removes feelings of  lust, greed, and anger, which are the forbearers to violence. Because of this, many mistakenly think violence itself is completely unnecessary and never warranted.

According to the Vedic teachings, violence is not only allowed, but it is required in certain situations. The kshatriyas, or warrior class of people, are required to provide protection to the other members of society. From our experience, we see that not everyone is a good or nice person. Some people are always angry and looking for a fight. Material nature is divided into three qualitative modes, the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. People in the mode of ignorance are naturally inclined to be violent towards others since they lack the knowledge required to settle disputes peacefully. The Vedas say that one has a right to defend and protect themselves if attacked by such people.

The circumstances related to the Bharata War provide a great example of when violence is necessary. Around five thousand years ago, two families, known as the Pandavas and the Kauravas, who were related as cousin-brothers, had a disagreement over who had the right to rule over a kingdom. The Pandavas were the sons of Pandu, and the Kauravas were the sons of Dhritarashtra, Pandu’s brother. Pandu was a great king who died prematurely due to a curse. His sons were the rightful heirs to the kingdom, but Dhritarashtra favored his sons instead and allowed them to unjustly usurp power over the kingdom. The Pandavas naturally objected to this and the struggle between the two families culminated in the Bharata War, which took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in India. Arjuna, the leading warrior for the Pandavas, was getting ready to start fighting, but he suddenly felt faint of heart and didn’t want to fight. He started thinking along the lines of nonviolence, and he questioned his cousin about it, Lord Krishna. Their conversation is chronicled in the Bhagavad-gita.

Arjuna’s soft-heartedness was very characteristic of a devotee of God. Though they were cousins, Arjuna and Krishna were also great friends growing up, with Arjuna looking up to the Lord. When Krishna appears on earth, He usually doesn’t disclose His divinity to most people. If everyone knew He was God, then they might fear Him instead of becoming His friend. Krishna prefers devotional service performed in the mood of friendship and love rather than out of fear. As a devotee, Arjuna possessed all good qualities, with one of them being kindness and benevolence towards all. A devotee is by nature nonviolent, not wanting to hurt even an ant unnecessarily. In his youth, Arjuna and his brothers spent much time with their cousins, the sons of Dhritarashtra. They were all descendants of their great grandfather Bhishma, who was respected by all. They all received training in the military arts from their spiritual master Dronacharya. Now both Dronacharya and Bhishmadeva were on the battlefield, but fighting for the side of the Kauravas. Arjuna did want to engage in a fight against such respectable people. He did want to win a kingdom if it meant killing other family members. These feelings overwhelmed Arjuna, and he decided that he would not fight and instead become a renunciate.

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was serving as His cousin’s charioteer at the time, quickly admonished Arjuna, telling him that his behavior was not worthy of a kshatriya. Kshatriyas make up one of the four varnas in the Vedic varnashrama dharma system. Their duty is to provide protection to all the citizens, and especially to the brahmanas (priestly class). Krishna told Arjuna that it was his duty to fight. Here we get the definitive judgment on when violence is necessary from God Himself. Violence is necessary when it is done on religious principles. It was Arjuna’s religious duty to fight. Lord Krishna tells us that each person should faithfully perform his or her occupational duties in life, without attachment. In this way, there is no sin incurred from even acting violently.

“It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though they may be faulty, than another’s duties. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.55)

Therefore He advised Arjuna to execute the duties of a kshatriya instead of those of a brahmana.

Force is necessary to have peace. Police exist for this very reason. We see in areas where there is not a strong kshatriya presence, that crime is very high and the citizens do not feel safe. Diplomacy has its use, but it usually never brings about lasting peace. In peaceful negotiations, people will say whatever they need to in order to further their position. Lord Krishna Himself tried diplomacy prior to the Bharata War, but He knew that it wouldn’t be successful due to the obstinacy of the Kauravas.

War can be very ugly. The Bharata War saw millions of soldiers die. Yet violence as a last resort, performed on religious principles is a necessary evil in life. Nonviolence is a very nice concept in theory, but not always practical. Even brahmanas, who are taught to be nonviolent, defend themselves when necessary. The great sage Vashishta procured various weapons to defend himself from the attacks of Vishwamitra Muni, who was trying to steal Vashishta’s cow.

In the end, the best way to achieve everlasting peace is for everyone to be constantly engaged in devotional service to the Lord. We can always be thinking of God by reading books about Him, serving His authorized representative, and by always chanting His name. This was the method prescribed by Lord Chaitanya and all the great Vaishnava acharyas. Following their instructions, we can all live peacefully and hopefully never have to fight with anyone.