IS WAR JUSTIFIED...?
Whether war is just or unjust or man-made or created by God is difficult to answer. To the best of my understanding, war or killing is inevitable. That the powerful try to control the weak is a law of nature. The simplest example that comes to my mind is that carnivores prey on herbivores who in turn feed on plants. This food chain is merely a process to maintain a balance in nature. Maybe that is also the reason why God controls us not vice versa.
We, human beings, with our highly developed grey matter, try to manipulate this simple law of nature so as to justify our actions. More often than not, we tend to overdo it leading to grave repercussions; and then blame God for both our actions and the resultant misery.
God is neither just nor unjust. None of the scriptures quote him claiming to be either of the two. However, He is a very wise leveler. It is of His doing that not all human beings are equal. We differ in our physical appearances, colours, strengths and weaknesses, affluence and capabilities. This is reflected not only in life but also in the way that we die. However, this is not the only life that God has given us. We may die but our soul is immortal and is born again, akin to the way we shed a cloth and wear another. The Hindu concept of Karma further says that all deeds and thoughts that we accrue in a lifetime are like a bank balance that is carried forward from one life to the other.
At this point, I want to mention two of the greatest Hindu epics; Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, Rama, a divine incarnation (Good), wages a war against Ravana, a demon (Evil), and is victorious. Again, in the Mahabharata, the Pandavas (Good) win over the Kauravas (Evil). One of the most important discourses of the Mahabharata is revealed when one amongst the wise Pandavas, Arjuna finds himself in the battlefield, facing his cousins, teachers, friends and other close relatives as enemies who have lined up in front of him. He is overcome with remorse and emotion and finds himself unable to fight against them and wants to quit. He asks for advice from a divine incarnation, Lord Krishna, who is his charioteer for the battle. What Krishna tells Arjuna is now known as the Bhagwad Geeta, a holy Hindu scripture described by William von Humboldt as "the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known language". He gently chides Arjuna and tells him that it is his duty to fight in the cause of justice. Krishna further says that he should only think of his duty and his actions i.e. his deeds and not worry about the results/consequences of his deeds. If his actions are justified, it is his duty to do them but the result is obviously not in his hands. Fortifying the argument, Krishna also explains that he might kill someone physically but the soul is immortal after all; an argument which ties in with the concept of Karma that I mentioned earlier.
We, human beings, with our highly developed grey matter, try to manipulate this simple law of nature so as to justify our actions. More often than not, we tend to overdo it leading to grave repercussions; and then blame God for both our actions and the resultant misery.
God is neither just nor unjust. None of the scriptures quote him claiming to be either of the two. However, He is a very wise leveler. It is of His doing that not all human beings are equal. We differ in our physical appearances, colours, strengths and weaknesses, affluence and capabilities. This is reflected not only in life but also in the way that we die. However, this is not the only life that God has given us. We may die but our soul is immortal and is born again, akin to the way we shed a cloth and wear another. The Hindu concept of Karma further says that all deeds and thoughts that we accrue in a lifetime are like a bank balance that is carried forward from one life to the other.
At this point, I want to mention two of the greatest Hindu epics; Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, Rama, a divine incarnation (Good), wages a war against Ravana, a demon (Evil), and is victorious. Again, in the Mahabharata, the Pandavas (Good) win over the Kauravas (Evil). One of the most important discourses of the Mahabharata is revealed when one amongst the wise Pandavas, Arjuna finds himself in the battlefield, facing his cousins, teachers, friends and other close relatives as enemies who have lined up in front of him. He is overcome with remorse and emotion and finds himself unable to fight against them and wants to quit. He asks for advice from a divine incarnation, Lord Krishna, who is his charioteer for the battle. What Krishna tells Arjuna is now known as the Bhagwad Geeta, a holy Hindu scripture described by William von Humboldt as "the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known language". He gently chides Arjuna and tells him that it is his duty to fight in the cause of justice. Krishna further says that he should only think of his duty and his actions i.e. his deeds and not worry about the results/consequences of his deeds. If his actions are justified, it is his duty to do them but the result is obviously not in his hands. Fortifying the argument, Krishna also explains that he might kill someone physically but the soul is immortal after all; an argument which ties in with the concept of Karma that I mentioned earlier.
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