The Religions Book

110

IT MAY BE YOUR

DUTY TO KILL

SELFLESS ACTION

T

he Bhagavad-Gita is an

ancient Hindu scripture

about virtue and duty. It

tells of a dialogue between Krishna

(an incarnation of the supreme god

Vishnu) and the warrior-prince

Arjuna. Arjuna is about to go into

battle against another branch of his

family in a dispute over who should

rule the kingdom. As a member of

the kshatriya class (the military

or ruling elite), it is his duty is

to fight. Yet he despairs of killing

some of those on the other side—

his relatives or those whom he

respects as great teachers.

In the opening section of the

Gita, Arjuna says that he would

rather give up the struggle over the

kingdom than be involved in the

slaughter. Not only does the idea of

killing members of his family and

his teachers go against his deepest

inclinations, but he also fears that

it will have negative consequences,

creating bad karma for all involved

(in Hinduism, killing a relative is

thought to lead to the downfall of

a family and rebirth in hell).

Arjuna is caught between two

apparently conflicting principles:

should he do his duty as a member

of the warrior class or avoid the

disastrous karmic consequences

of killing? Advice comes from his

charioteer, who turns out to be

none other than the god Krishna.

Krishna tells Arjuna that he

should do his duty and fight. The

act of killing would only create bad

karma if it was done for the wrong

reasons—out of hatred or greed,

for example. The ideal is for the

individual to do his or her duty,

whatever it is and however much it

goes against personal inclinations,

but to do it with selfless motives.

Not only will such action not cause

harm, but it will be a step toward

personal liberation.

Krishna argues that personal

motives are what count when

considering any type of action.

IN CONTEXT

KEY SOURCE

The Bhagavad-Gita

WHEN AND WHERE

2nd century BCE, India

BEFORE

From 1700 BCE Dharma—the

right way of living to preserve

universal order—is a central

feature of early Hindu thought.

6th century BCE Buddha

upholds the concept of

unselfish action, but teaches

that all killing is wrong.

3rd century BCE The Indian

emperor Asoka incorporates

nonviolence and compassion

toward all people into his rule.

AFTER

From 15th century Sikhism

includes the duty to protect

the weak and defend the faith.

19th–20th century

Mahatma Gandhi develops

the strategy of passive

resistance as a nonviolent

weapon against injustice.

By fulfilling the obligations

he is born with, a person

never comes to grief.

Krishna