The War-Zone Spirituality.

A person who thinks that it (the Atman) slays, and another who thinks that it is slain, neither of these understands. It does not slay, nor is it slain. (Gita 2.19)

War Zone

War is a quest for self. Amid the chaotic atmosphere of a war-zone came the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred spiritual scripture that the humanity had ever known. Sri Krishna, the deliverer of the message, could have chosen a serene, picturesque setting in the Himalayas, but instead opted for a battlefield. Because the battlefield is the place where the physical, mental, and spiritual forces converge. The rate of convergence of these forces is so fast that it prompts man to enquire about the fundamental questions of life.

The physical forces of the body play a dominant role in the battlefield. The instincts grow sharper, and, sometimes, men are reduced to a state of an animal to defend himself against the enemy. In a battlefield, there is a constant fear of being annihilated by the enemy. Death may come at any moment. This uncertainty, coupled with the annihilation of the body, prompts men to ask whether he or she is really the body or an imperishable substance within.

In a battlefield, the mental forces also take a toll. The modern battlefield is completely asymmetrical when compared to the earlier battlefields. In a modern battlefield, there are suicide bombers, child soldiers, drones, and nuclear weapons. As a result, there are innumerable dilemmas that appear in a battlefield. There is always a debate raging over this type of asymmetrical warfare. In earlier battlefields, there were clear combat rules in place, but in a modern warfare, the conventions are reduced only to the handling of POW's.

The modern battlefield.

 Here are some of the examples of the dilemmas that appear in a battlefield. What will you do when you are engaged in a combat with a child soldier? What will you do when your drone accidently hits a school or a hospital? What will you do when you are asked to employ the scorched-earth policy on civilian zones, and thereby depriving their resources for existence? What happens when your position is constantly bombarded by the enemy day after day, with the probability of getting hit at any moment? Men in such situations become insane and sometimes they commit suicide.

All these scenarios exact a mental toll on the soldier. Nowadays, it is commonly recognized as PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). Before WW2, the mental illness was considered as an act of cowardice. In Vietnam War, many of the American soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD. Here are some of the stats mentioned in U.S Department of Veterans affairs.

"About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime." (http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp)

Vietnam War - PTSD.

In a battlefield, the spiritual forces also come into play. Some soldiers get a premonition of their death before the battle, and some are simply resigned to the higher will, and so on. All philosophical questions arise in the mind. Who am I? Why do I exist? Does God really exist? Why do people suffer? What is death? Is there any life after death? Therefore, imagine the state of mind when physical, mental and spiritual forces combine.

           

Our daily lives also involve the convergence of these forces, but they remain beneath the surface. In a battlefield, the rate of convergence is so fast, and it happens above the surface. Now we will examine the spiritual solutions for the war-zone as exemplified by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

As we have seen that the foremost fear in the battlefield is the fear of annihilation. This fear of annihilation stems from the idea of the body, the base upon which the human beings operate. Therefore, the Bhagavad Gita begins by shifting the base from the idea of the body to the idea of the 'Atman'. Men commonly live in the idea of the body. This idea of the body is rooted in ignorance. The Bhagavad Gita begins with the statement that one is not the body but one is the infinite Atman.

The indestructible 'Atman'.

 The soul or the Atman is indestructible. Therefore, one must not fear annihilation in a battlefield. Sri Krishna says,

That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul. (Gita 2.17)

Sri Krishna explains the nature of the Atman, which is opposite to nature the body. The Atman is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primordial. Sri Krishna says,

For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. (Gita 2.20)

Therefore, a person who thinks that he or she is the body, and attributes the action of killing, or the case of being killed, to the body, is ignorant. Because the atman can never be slain, nor it slays another.

A person who believes that it (the eternal essence) slays, and another who believes that it is slain, neither of these understands. It does not slay, nor is it slain. (Gita 2.19)

Ignorance

Next comes the dilemma that one faces in the battlefield. Arjuna, in this case, had to face his teachers, brothers, friends, and relatives. Should he kill them or not? Arjuna faints at this emotional sight and pleads his case to Sri Krishna to be relieved from the battlefield. He insists that killing brings many undue consequences. He says it is better to give up the kingdom altogether. He insists it is better to renounce the world completely and take up the life of the renunciate. Here is the catch. Because Arjuna is ignorant of both the way of the world and the way of the renunciate. So what is the solution?

The solution is performing action combined with detachment and middle path. Sri Krishna offers the solution of detachment to the different practitioners of religion. This is the prescription for the practitioners of Bhakti. 

But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death. (Gita 12. 6-7)

The Bhakti yoga involves surrendering all the actions to God. Sri Krishna offers many simple alternatives. He says, 'Keep your mind on me (Gita 12.8) or just work for me (Gita 12. 10)'

Path of Bhakti

 For the practitioners of Yoga self-exertion and mind control is the key. Sri Krishna says,

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. (Gita 6.5)

A practitioner of yoga should always engage his body, mind and self in relationship with the Supreme; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness. (Gita 6.10)

path of meditation.

Then there is the path of Karma yoga – Yoga of action. Yoga of action doesn’t mean attachment. It is not completely going down either. It is just striking a balance in between. Men often think that simply by abstaining from work that they can attain liberation. But it is not the case. Sri Krishna says,

Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection. (Gita 3. 4)

The reason why it cannot be done in that manner is due to Prakriti. Prakriti coupled with gunas forces men to work. Even for the maintenance of the body movement is essential. Therefore, one cannot abstain from work altogether. Sri Krishna says,

Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore, no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment. (Gita 3.5)

Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work. (Gita 3.8)

Therefore, men should engage themselves in work and work must be performed for the sake of sacrifice and detachment. Also, one must give up the fruits of all actions. Sri Krishna says,

Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme. (Gita 3.19)

Work without attachment.

 There are so many paths enunciated in the Gita and in each path Sri Krishna gives the best possible way in which men could arrive at the Atman. By arriving at the Atman, all dilemmas can be removed completely. Therefore, a combat soldier requires not only physical training but also requires spiritual training. A soldier with only the physical training is like an animal. Men with spiritual training can fight better.

The combat soldier is involved in active duty and engaged in the world. But imagine the great souls who have given up the world completely. The rate of convergence of the physical, mental, and spiritual forces is much higher than that of a soldier. The combat soldier experiences these conditions only in a combat zone, but for those who have given up the world completely, experience this combat zone at every moment in their lives. Because they have to shift their base from the idea of the body to the idea of the Atman completely.

Therefore, any kind of war, secular or spiritual must be fought with the idea of the Atman and not with the idea of the body.

Thank You.


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