191 Wars: What can’t be prevented can be minimized, The Monk’s Podcast with Govinda Prabhu
Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
So, today we discuss broadly about war from a Dharmic perspective and in terms of causes of war, it to say that the war is simply virtuous attacking the vicious. It is not always like that, that like when the Rajasuya gets to be conducted and a virtuous Vaishnava king might also attack another Vaishnava king. But the big difference was that the war was fought against the king.
It was more like a test of skills and strength, not against the civilians. And it certainly did not enlist the civilians per se. So that was the difference between say Yudhishthira Maharaj becoming emperor and Jarasandh who tried to imprison the kings and sacrifice them whereas Yudhishthira Maharaj continued the legacy of whoever was ruling.
So, then we discussed about in modern times, what has happened that getting civilians involved or targeting civilians, even when it happened, say the Muslims Islamic invasion did that, but that was what was occasional and because of the nature of technology and the nature of resources, wealth could not be so easily transported also. So, many of them made India their home base itself and ruled over here. But with the British, with the time of the Industrial Revolution, it was not just plundering of wealth, but devastation of the sources of wealth itself, which led to, which is where wars become more, there is always the wealth seeking element of war, but the systematic destruction of economies by people who are interested only in money without any consideration of the insight war for monetary purposes alone.
That is something which is very dangerous in today's world. So, war becoming a big business and then in that connection, we discussed that elaborately about nationalism. There is a difference between say political nationalism and cultural nationalism and the difference is that in the Vedic tradition, the idea of the country or Rashtra, whether it is one's particular kingdom or state or the broader Bharatvarsha, the idea was more connected with culture, that the river that one is connected with and the river that are a part of Aryavarta.
So, the idea was cultural and then gradually from that spiritual transformation. But in modern time, nationalism is weaponized to try to incite ordinary people to fight and then that makes them paint the other side as completely evil. So, that is where then the war becomes indiscriminate.
So, wars that if at all they had fought, it's one head of state fighting another head of state. It's not one country fighting another country and not demonizing all the citizens of that country. And then with respect to several remarkable points about how Lord Ram didn't even enter into Lanka or the Pandavas, they actually performed the last rite of even the Kauravas and then they reconciled with Vithrashtra and Gandhari.
So, the idea is sometimes war is unavoidable and to think that as humanity evolves war will become impossible, war will not happen, that is to consider that the people at the time of Mahabharata and Ramayana were not evolved. But what can be done is that if there are dharmically inclined people, then they will minimize war and even if war happens, they will try to minimize the casualties, minimize the extent of the war and to that extent if we cultivate spiritual culture, we support the spiritual culture, then it is easier to have more dharmically inclined rulers and so defense and deterrence are essential in the real world to minimize the possibility of war and we all have to be prepared and in today's world especially while cultural and political nationalism can be separated, but at certain times the political aspect of nationalism may also be utilized but that cannot be made the final goal. The final purpose is ultimately to elevate people's consciousness and that can happen only through a culture and spirituality ultimately.
So, the purpose of war is to establish dharma and it is not to establish a particular person in power or it is not to establish, to demonize or destroy a particular person, particular kingdom also. Any last points you would like to add? No, that's a lot to discuss. Thank you very much.
Because that's what I am saying that the entire, even that began by Krishna only, the sweetest of, you know, charming personality in regards to performing Vrindavan Leela, but that same charming personality also has a tough, he can suck the life of Putana, right? Because that is how life is. Yeah. Okay.
That's a beautiful starting point that we may want to live lovingly and affectionately, but we have to be, he said, be good, but be real also. Don't be naive. Yeah.
Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you.