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by Jayaram V
"O Kaunteya, if you are killed ( in the battle) you will ascend to heaven. On the contrary if you win the war you will enjoy the comforts of earthly kingdom. Therefore get up and fight with determination. (Bhagavad gita 2.37)
"With equanimity towards happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat, fight. This way you will not incur any sin. (Bhagavad gita 2.38)
Hinduism does not advise peace in the face of evil and injustice. The
Bhagavadgita, which is like a bible for the Hindus, is a message to Arjuna when he hesitates to wage a war against his own kith and kin. Sri Krishna advises him that Arjuna should wage the war because it was a part of his duty or karma and that he should not think of withdrawing from his responsibility out of fear or cowardice.
Hindus believe that Sri Vasudeva Krishna is an incarnation of God. He himself actively participated in many wars against evil forces and also served as a charioteer for Arjuna. The Aryan gods of the Vedic times were all warriors. Hindus also believe that if a person dies while waging a war in the defense of his country, he would attain the heaven of the warriors (viraswargam), a belief which often proved suicidal for many Rajput warriors and their rulers in medieval India when they came into conflict with the Muslim invaders. Armed with this belief these warriors often marched into the battle field, with a death wish rather with an aim to win.
It was actually the Buddha who introduced the concept of peace and non violence in a big way in the subcontinent and influenced all streams of thought. We understand that during his life time, he also intervened in the battle that was going on between two republics in ancient India and prevented bloodshed. You are perhaps aware of the story of Ashoka of the Mauryan empire. He ruled a territory that included parts of central Asia, the present day Afghanistan and a major portion of India. After a bloody war in which thousands of innocent people died, he realized the destructive nature of wars and became a pacifist. But Ashoka is just an isolated instance in the history of India.
Non violence as a creed became famous during the British rule when Mahatama Gandhi took it as the means to shake the British Raj. But Gandhi's nonviolence, as he himself said, was not of the weak and timid. It was the weapon the courageous to face evil with equanimity of mind. Gandhi was successful because the British were civilized and decent people, who believed in the principles of human liberty and somehow tolerated him and allowed him to do whatever he intended to do. Imagine what would have happened to Gandhi, if the oppressors were intolerant and tyrannical like some present day African Dictators.
Hinduism believes that God Himself reincarnates on earth whenever there is an ascendance of evil on earth to protect the weak, destroy the evil and restore order. Hence according to Hinduism war is justified when it is meant to protect oneself and the world from evil and injustice. However Hinduism neither supports acts of aggression nor advocates violence to terrorize people into submission.
Suggested Further Reading
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