And Krishna was Wrong

Thus having spoken Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows on the battlefield and sat down on the seat of his chariot. (Chap 1 Verse 46) Arjuna that chastiser of enemies said: I shall not fight O Krishna, and became silent. (Chap 2 verse 9)

If only the story had ended there…

At the start of the Bhagvad Gita Arjuna is faced with a dilemma. On the one hand he is reluctant to enter into a war which is likely to cost the lives of most of his family, friends, respected elders, along with at least 4 million other people. On the other hand he also has moral duties as a warrior, and as a righteous person. According to the traditional interpretation the dilemma is resolved when Arjunas objections are defeated by the Divine Krishna’s appeals to duty, (and the revelation of his Universal Form and the mystic wisdom that comes with it).

I posit that it is really a story about a fairly rational, nonviolent man who gets persuaded, and frightened into obeying the whims of a mystical and aggressive demon— Krishna. As a result of listening to Krishna’s advice he goes to war resulting in millions of deaths including almost his entire family. Most tragically, Arjuna loses his beloved 15 year old son Abhimanyu. (when I read that part of the Mahabharata for the first time I actually cried!) Arjuna’s eventual victory is pyrrhic. He gains a kingdom he didn’t want all that badly, and loses a huge chunk of his loved ones. He gives up a higher value in favor of a lower value. As such, in the later chapters of the Mahabharata there is very little celebration of the victory at Kurukshetra. Instead sorrow and despair dominate the psyches of Arjuna and all the Pandava brothers.

This interpretation makes chapter 1 of the Gita the most noteworthy (Chapters 2 and 3 also contain some gems, but Arjuna’s mind tends to fizzle out as the text goes on). Most readers go into this chapter under the preconception that Arjuna is wrong. It is read mostly as a preface to Krishna’s later statements. I implore readers to take this chapter seriously, because in fact the objections which Arjuna raises here are never adequately addressed by Krishna.

Arjuna, while he still retains his rational, nonviolent instincts and presents his argument against going to war. Despite being overwhelmed by grief and distress he repeatedly states that the kingdom, divine reward, or happiness which would result from winning the battle is simply not worth the resulting deaths:

O Krishna, of what value are kingdoms? What value is living for happiness if they for whom our kingdom, material pleasure, and happiness is desired: preceptors, fatherly elders, sons; and grandfatherly elders, maternal uncles, fathers in law, grandsons, brothers in law, and relatives are all present on this battle field ready to give up their kingdoms and very lives? O Krishna even if they want to take my life I do not wish to take their lives. O Krishna what to speak for the sake of the earth, even for the rulership of the three worlds; in exchange for slaying the sons of Dhrtarastra what happiness will be derived by us? Chap 1 verses 32-35 How by slaying our own kinsmen will we be happy? Chap 1 verse 36 Alas how strange it is that we have resolved to commit great sin. Just because of greed for royal luxuries we are prepared to slay our own kinsmen. Chap 1 verse 44 It is better to live in this world by begging, without slaying our great and elevated superiors; otherwise by slaying our superiors the wealth and pleasurable things we are bound to enjoy will be tainted by blood. Chap 2 verse 5 Even if the sons of Dhrtarastra armed with weapons in hand slay me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield that would be considered better for me. Chap 1 verse 45

I don’t feel the need to elaborate more on this. Arjuna speaks for himself. You can even see some primitive cost-benefit analysis creeping through.

Krishna counters this with a blind appeal to duty. But why should Arjuna adhere to his martial duty if there will be no perceptible gains to any party? Well according to Krishna doing one’s duty is inherently moral irrespective of the consequences. The idea that detachment from consequences is ideal becomes a persistent theme in the Gita. To be frank, this is pretty barbaric and insane.

Eventually Krishna reveals his Universal Form to Arjuna. In Chapter 11 verse 23 Arjuna says “O mighty armed one, seeing Your magnificent form of manifold faces and eyes, manifold arms, legs and feet, manifold stomachs and manifold terrifying teeth; all the planets tremble in fear and so do I”. Arjuna even makes mention of the fact that the Asuras fear Krishna. After this dramatic episode, Krishna’s suggestions become more forceful and sometimes take on the form of commands.

In the end, Arjuna succumbs to Krishna’s advice and fights. His teacher Drona, his son Abhimanyu, his grandfather Bhishma, his brother Karna, and innumerable others all die. After the battle, Arjuna repeatedly expresses remorse about his actions, and why wouldn’t he? He literallyjust said that he cared more about his family than the kingdom. He followed Krishna’s advice to the letter and paid a heavy price for it.

How have so many thousands of years passed with Krishna revered as a deity for his words in the Gita? From a rights theorist perspective, Arjuna made the wrong choice because although he killed plenty of guilty people, innocents (i.e. draftees) also died. From a utilitarian perspective he made the wrong choice because he caused an enormous amount of unnecessary suffering and pain. Most importantly, from an egoist perspective he made the wrong choice because the decision did not serve his interests. The ONLY perspective from which Arjuna made the right choice is the barbaric “traditional Hindu morality” one, whereby doing one’s duty as a warrior overrides any concern of the effects on your actions on yourself or others. Krishna proposes that we should be indifferent to mass violence and slaughter if instigating it is in our duty. For this he deserves only our scorn and revulsion.

The Gita is the story of a peaceful rational man, reluctant to send 4 million men many of whom he loved to their deaths. However, this man lets his mind slip and allows himself to be persuaded and intimidated by an irrational and aggressive demon. We should heed the warning of the Gita and reject those who try to persuade us into committing acts of violence with irrational appeals to “duty”. We should just as firmly reject those who attempt to persuade us to act against our own self interest by appeals to mysticism. If we don’t, we might end up like Arjuna. Largely alone due to our own foolishness and in possession of a kingdom we never truly desired.