Code of the Samurai🔗

righteous war, then you will incur sin having abandoned your own duty, and you will lose your reputation.

2.34 People too will remember your everlasting dishonor and to one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

2.35 The great generals will think that you have withdrawn from the battle because you are a coward.

You will be looked down upon by those who had thought much of you and your heroism in the past.

2.36 Many unspeakable words would be spoken by your enemies reviling your power.

Can there be anything more painful than this?

2.37 Slain, you will achieve heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the Earth.

O son of Kunti, stand up determined to fight.

2.38 Pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat – treat them all the same.

Do battle for the sake of battle. You shall incur no sin.

Krishna works on Arjuna at two levels. At one level He talks to Arjuna at the super conscious plane educating him on what the ultimate truth is.

He talks to Arjuna about how life does not end with the death of the body, about how the undying and indestructible spirit lives on. Here, Krishna addresses Arjuna's fears about killing his relatives and elders and teaches him that what he considers to be the end of life for these people is just one step in their journey.

Krishna then descends to the practical level at which Arjuna exists. Krishna explains to Arjuna why, from a societal point of view, he should not run away from the battlefield, but instead, stay on and fight as it behooves a warrior. Krishna here addresses Arjuna as the kshatriya, the warrior.

In each society there are groups of people who are the designated protectors of that society. They are the warriors, the soldiers, who defend their country and countrymen. In the same manner, there are others who are designated as clerics and priests, as teachers and counselors, as traders and businessmen and as workers and manual laborers.

In most modern societies these are commercial as well as societal divisions. They are commercial classifications to the extent that they are the means to one's livelihood, based on one's acquisition of skills and education with the expectation of pursuing such a career and vocation. They however become societal classification as well subsequently, as these careers become the tools of building wealth and status. Even in modern societies the wealth and name thus acquired are passed on through generations, even if those born subsequently have done nothing to earn the wealth and status and do not have the capability to maintain them.

In ancient India, the system of education was the gurukul system, in which young children stayed with a Master and learned both material and spiritual skills. This education started very early, as early as three and latest by seven, when the children were left in the Master's care by their parents. The Master gauged the capability and aptitude of each child and trained the child in an appropriate manner. The vocation of the parent or father was not a major criterion in deciding upon the skills imparted to the child. The Master determined the child's aptitude by its own behavior and through such studies as astrology.

The varna or caste system practiced by the Hindus from time immemorial had its roots in the gurukul education. Unfortunately, over time, caste determination became based on birthright. Son of a warrior was assumed to be a warrior, irrespective of his capabilities, aptitude or inclination. So, the four varna or castes that are brahmana, the priest and teacher, kshatriya, the ruler and warrior, vaisya, the trader and businessman, and sudra, the worker, became rigid social structures based on birthright.

This corruption of such a scientific practice has led to many social inequalities and injustices. The son of a brahmana has no right to call himself a brahmana, unless he has the aptitude and then the learning to be a teacher and a priest. In our ashrams, we now have many young men and women from different castes and religious groups who are being trained in spiritual and religious rituals that so far had been considered the prerogative of only the brahmana caste. We have brahmacharis who are of Christian faith, who train others in guru homa and mantra, the fire rituals, chants etc. In no way are these young priests inferior to any brahmana!

When Krishna refers to Arjuna as a kshatriya, he is referring to the entire personality of Arjuna, the great warrior, which had been only partly by birth and mostly by training based on his aptitude. Arjuna is the quintessential warrior, the samurai, who knows no fear, and yet is now disturbed by issues of whether he is doing right or wrong by fighting against his kinsmen. The code of kshatriya, as with the code of samurai the professional Japanese warriors of earlier days and all other soldiers even till today, is a professional code as well. Once you are in the army you fight irrespective of what you think about who you are fighting against. Rights and wrongs no longer apply.

Krishna says, ‘Fight! You are a kshatriya. By fighting as your duty demands, you earn merits and go to heaven. If you run away from this war you commit a sin. You will also be termed a coward and people who know you will laugh at you. You will be dishonored, and for a kshatriya, dishonor is far worse than death. Do not worry about victory or defeat. If you are defeated and die you will ascend to heaven. If you are victorious, you will enjoy material benefits in this world itself. Therefore, fight as it is your duty as a kshatriya.’

Krishna says to treat pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat all the same. He says to fight without worrying about the outcome. To fight is your duty. When the Paramatma - Supreme Soul says this, it means that Arjuna does not have to worry about right and wrong, about sin or merit.

Isn't fighting, isn't killing people a sin, you will ask. Then why is it that Krishna recommends Arjuna, not merely recommend, but actually force Arjuna to fight and kill. What is the operative logic here, you may ask?

There is no logic. Krishna's exhortation is beyond human rationale. It is not what you do that matters. It is who you are that matters. An enlightened Master can do no wrong even if he kills, because when he kills it would be with awareness, not for personal benefit. On the other hand, any average person even while doing an act of kindness may be doing something wrong.

You may have seen movies where an undercover policeman with a gun is arresting some dangerous criminals and suddenly a cop in uniform shows up. This uniformed cop would ask the undercover cop to put his hands up and in the confusion the criminals would escape. This may seem funny in a movie, but it happens all the time in real life. You think you are doing something very good based on your sense perceptions and yet the reality of the situation may be far different.

The problem is that we do whatever we do with a motive. It is all outcome based. What is in it for me is the million dollar question. We do things either out of fear or greed. These are the two most powerful motivators, the carrot and the stick. What applies to a donkey applies even more relevantly to a human being.

Krishna is not worried about what you do, He is concerned only about who you are. If your actions are innocent of motives, whatever you do is right. If what you do is motivated by fear and greed, pain and pleasure, victory and defeat, you can do nothing right. Whatever we do for gain is sinful.

What if you were in a totally strange place for a very short period and you know nothing that you do will have any repercussions. Will you have any inhibitions based on what your conditioning has been? It is as if you are invisible and you will leave no trace. What will your behavior be like?

What happens when the fear of loss of reputation and loss of identity disappears? Will you be the same person?

What happens when you have an Aladdin's lamp with a genie, which makes all your dreams come true? How long will the excitement last when you know that whatever you wish will happen? Will your greed still last?

Fear and greed are strong motivators because we are not centered; we are not sure about ourselves; we do not know who we are. Here Krishna is breaking that mould. Act without fear and greed, He says. Do not worry about consequences. This is against all societal and religious conditioning.

Krishna, as the transcendental Parabrahman, is not concerned about the practical and societal consequences of Arjuna walking out of the battlefield. He is only concerned about what that would do to Arjuna’s inner self. If Arjuna had truly been steeped in ahimsa, non-violence, Krishna would have never attempted to persuade Arjuna into violence. Arjuna however, was trying to avoid fighting, not because of any moral and conscientious objection, but from the angle of emotional attachment to his kinsmen and others arising out of his own identification with them.

In these verses, Krishna is trying to bring Arjuna out of his dilemma, his depression, his confusion, and his vishada that has obscured his normally clear vision. Krishna is trying to get Arjuna to transcend his conditioned actions based on fear and greed. He is trying to get him to act without worrying about the outcome.