Can you illustrate the principle of trans-moral actions?
Thank you. So can I give another example of the trans-moral? Yeah, there are many examples in the Mahabharata.
For example, when Krishna tells Bhima to hit Duryodhana below the thigh or when Krishna tells Arjuna to kill Karna when Karna is off the chariot. So now Arjuna had already defeated Karna on many occasions, just before the Kurukshetra war started, he had defeated him when the Virat Yudha had taken place. Arjuna had single-handedly defeated all the Kauravas, including Karna.
But at that time, Krishna told Arjuna, shoot, even when Karna was off the chariot. It's normally against Kshatriya etiquette. But Krishna wants to teach a deeper principle over here.
So the Mahabharata can be understood at the level of Karmakanda, Mahabharata can also be understood at the level of Bhakti. At the level of Karmakanda, sometimes we use the word Karmakanda in a very negative sense. But in traditional India, it's not necessarily negative because it's also piety.
It's religiosity by which one person goes to heaven, which is good. It's not bad. As compared to attaining Goloka, it is bad.
So the Mahabharata demonstrates Karmakanda. By doing Dharma, one will be elevated to Swarga. So from that perspective, while acting in this world, Kshatriyas sometimes have to, you know, Kshatriya Dharma involves warfare.
So morality is a principle, no doubt. But at the same time, morality is not an absolute principle. Dharma is the absolute principle.
So Krishna demonstrates that with the cunning, you need to be cunning. With the cunning, you may need to be cunning. So Krishna demonstrates that.
Karna tells Arjuna, Arjuna, remember the codes of Kshatriya and do not shoot. And then Krishna tells Karna, Karna, it is fortunate indeed that now you remember the codes of morality. Was it by the code of morality that you, along with five other warriors, attacked Abhimanyu and killed him? Was it by the codes of morality that you, along with the Kauravas, cheated in the gambling match? Was it by the codes of morality that you suggested that Draupadi be disowned? Was it by the codes of morality that you called her a prostitute? Was it by the codes of morality that you connived to have the Pandavas burned alive in Varanasi? If those were the codes of morality you followed, by that same code of morality, Arjuna will kill you.
So at one level, Krishna is demonstrating here, even from the point of mundane dharma, we can rationalize and explain what Krishna did to Arjuna. Krishna told Arjuna to do to Karna. But from the ultimate perspective, that is demonstrating Arjuna surrendered to Krishna.
That Arjuna, Krishna told him, shoot, he shot. So now, this should not mean, the idea of transmoral does not mean that we send morality on a toss. Toss it away as unimportant.
Morality is important. It is extremely important. And that is why, if morality is to be given up, it needs serious discussion.
It needs serious deliberation. So Krishna and Arjuna already had that deliberation in the Bhagavad Gita. And Krishna told, sarva-dharman pratyah mam ekam saranam vraja.
So there are some occasions when we may have to put morality aside for a higher cause. So for example, it is said that, but this is called as apadharma, emergency duty. In the Bhagavatam, Chetan Charitamudra's example, when Sanatana Goswami was imprisoned and he wanted to escape, so he told the prisoner over there, you know, actually I am a pious Muslim and before I die, at least once I want to go to Mecca.
So you please release me and then the piety that comes by going to Mecca, you will also get the piety. And when he did listen, then he also used the language that everybody understands, the language of money. He bribed him at that time.
So now, this kind of speaking lies or bribing, this cannot be done. It cannot be done. But that time it was an emergency.
You know, he had been imprisoned for no fault of his except his faith. And he might well have been killed over there or he might have just spent his whole life in the prison. So we value morality very much.
But at the same time, we don't make morality the supreme value. Bhakti is the supreme value and morality is important because morality normally helps us move towards Krishna. But sometimes morality can become an obstacle.
So at those times, we may need to give up morality for Krishna's sake. So it's like if it is dark and we have a torchlight, the torchlight shows us the way. This is right, this is wrong.
Or if you have a streetlight, the streetlight also shows us the way. So morality, moral principles are like that flashlight or streetlight. You know, we are all, our inner world is darkened by our selfish desires.
And that's why we need morality to help us ensure that we don't selfishly make immoral choices. But at the same time, when the sun has arisen, then we don't need the flashlight or sunlight. So when somebody is directly in the presence of Krishna, somebody is purely devoted to Krishna, who is sensing Krishna's presence in their heart, hearing Krishna's voice in their heart, those people, they may not use the streetlight.
So it is an exceptional situation. In principle, we agree that, in principle, we consider this a very exalted state of trans-moral. In practice, we need to first of all come to the level of morality.
That's why, although in our tradition, the gopis are considered to be highest devotees, all our acharyas are very strong and that we should not imitate the gopis. So we should not prematurely try to imitate their pastimes or even meditate on their pastimes if it is agitating us. We have to be careful.
But in principle, we cherish those pastimes. So morality is a light which guides us. But that light becomes redundant when Krishna comes in.
When the light of Krishna is guiding us, that is when we can be trans-moral. But when the light of Krishna is not there and we give up morality also, then we submerge ourselves in darkness. Does that answer your question?