We must connect with our hearts.
Why do people fight among themselves? The heart must change. Greed and selfishness must perish. Then alone will there be peace in the world. The innermost Atman concealed in the chambers of your heart is an embodiment of peace. It is a quality of the soul. It fills the pure heart. It runs away from egotistical people. Attain the peace through meditation on the ever-peaceful Atman. – Swami Sivananda
How did Krishna justify war?
War is always happening inside everyone, so fight is necessary to win the war. Krishna justified war in this way. However, this is an answer for people working in different areas of life. The Mahabharata says that even Arjuna misunderstood Krishna’s words as an exhortation to fight with weapons.
Krishna’s key teachings on war and peace
- Dharma over Desire: Krishna urges Arjuna to fight not out of hatred, but as a righteous duty (Kshatriya dharma) to stop evil.
- Detached Action: The core message is to perform one’s duty without being attached to the results (results like victory or defeat), which brings inner peace.
- Internal War: The text is often interpreted as an allegory for the internal struggle between good and evil, or the higher self and lower tendencies.
- True Peace: Genuine peace is found not merely in the absence of conflict, but in controlling the senses, freeing oneself from selfish desires and surrendering to the divine.
- The Nature of Life: Krishna teaches that the soul is eternal, reducing the fear of death, which helps Arjuna overcome his hesitation to fight.
The final message from the Gita is that while war may be unavoidable in upholding justice, it should be waged without malice.
Dear ones, we all must pray to end the wars, mass destruction and loss of lives.
Aim Hrim Klim
Photo by Marina Shatskih on Unsplash