Bhagavad Gita is a compilation of seven hundred verses of which each verse contains four lines. They are all conversations. Almost all of them are between Arjuna and Krishna whom we all know. Gita starts with a question asked by the ruling king of a place to a reporter about the situations on the battle field. The king, among the two fighting princes, is the father of one and the uncle of the other. Then you might very well doubt why then there must be a war since the son of the king always rules next. To answer that question, we will need to go deep into the story of Mahabharata and may find that it is not easy to say who is the most eligible upon going back through ancestry.

Whoever may be the righteous person to rule, the question of our concern is whether to fight or not for a kingdom. A material gain. The question is asked by Arjuna, the prince who was exiled from his country  by his cousin. The question is asked to Krishna, a king of a small kingdom compared to the one these two are fighting for. Krishna is the friend and charioteer of Arjuna.

A book instead of starting with soft notes and slowly moving to higher notes in the climax, begins with a bang. The purpose of the book is to make a person happy for ever. Hence he is made the most unhappy in the beginning.

The questions are like this. ” I see my own people to fight with. I sweat, I tremble. My bow slips from my hand. My mind doesn’t stand still. I feel like burning alive. I don’t want victory in this battle. I don’t want any kingdom or anything at all. To whom I would like to fight enemies and win wealths, they are all situated in front of me pledging their lives. I see our teachers, cousins, relatives, sons, grandsons, friends etc.  I don’t want to kill any of these people even if they kill me. What wealth should I enjoy without them? How can a person be happy by killing his dear ones? We will be sinned if we kill them.”

“It’s true that warriors on the other side don’t think like this. That’s because they are ignorant. But that shouldn’t be a reason we, who see which is which to be equally ignorant and arrogant as them. We know what is right and what is wrong. It’s not just us but our progeny also will suffer. Hence we shouldn’t fight.”

“Hence I will not raise my bow against my own people. If they kill me; an unarmed person,  that will be far better”.

Saying that much, he threw away his bow and arrow and sat down in his chariot.

Now what we ought to ponder over  is whether these statements are correct or not? They who argues that Bhagavad Gita is a book warranting war says that the question of Arjuna is the right part in the book. The cruel Krishna who wanted to kill all the warriors appeared there said some wicked words to annihilate them. For them, Gita from here onwards is demonic book.

On the other hand they who argues that Bhagavad Gita is a holy book tries hard to say Gita is not book of war. One easy way they find is saying that there is no actual war at all. All the Kaurava Pandava things symbolises the sins and virtues in our minds. Krishna is only saying us to kill our sins with virtues. The battle field is but mind. With that symbolisation, they continue reading Gita. On each worse here onwards, they wonder what it actually represents. If Krishna says apple whether it is orange or strawberry in fact? Their job is harder than they who ridicule this book.

We, when reading Gita afresh, should stop being these two types of people. We shall not be Atheists who tires to see wicked war in every worse in this book nor we be like zealots who see only serene peace every where in Gita. To condition our minds to understand this book is to change ourselves as how Arjuna was and continue reading. Walking only his path can take us forwards. Any one who has virtue in his mind should think like this young prince.

If this young prince  who, demanding half the country called for a war, if now wishes to call it off, won’t a huge massacre will be avoided? We must say that he is the first Indian who talked about non violence very before another great person, Mahatma Gandhi repeated his words.

Isn’t Arjuna asking right? Is it a kingdom by killing one’s beloved ones one needs or a peaceful life may be in a small house with a happy family? Even if he has the right for half the country, what if he relinquishes it? Can’t it be called a great sacrifice?

What’s the use of war? Why to kill others? What benefit is in that?