How could the Narayana sena agree to fight against Krishna?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
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Okay, so the Narayana Sena soldiers, they are told to fight on Durgana's side. If they are also devotees of Krishna, then how can they fight against Krishna and they die while fighting against Krishna? It's death in separation. So yeah, actually there are different frames of consciousness.
For example, if he is in different situations and what is Anukul, what is Pratikun, that can vary. So for example, there is the story of Maricha. Now Maricha is a demon, is a shape-changer, shape-shifter and he is conscripted, practically forced by Ravana to join in the conspiracy to have Kisita abducted.
And first when Ravana comes, he tells him, Ram is so horrible, don't mess with him. And then he hears and goes back. But then afterwards, again Shurpanakha comes and incites him.
She describes Kisita's beauty. And then he comes back and then he says that I have not come here to hear your advice. I have come here to give you instruction.
Either you help me or I will kill you. So at that time Maricha thinks, actually if I have to die, better let me die at Ram's hands instead of Ravana's hands. Now there are different Ramayan commentators who have actually analysed this incident in two opposites.
Some say that actually this shows in Bhakti. Although he is a demon and he had been hit by Ram's, he had been filled with fear earlier being hit by Ram's arrow. But now because of that he had been remembering Ram, even if in fear, even if in fear.
And now he had developed faith in the glory of Ram. That's why he wanted to die at the hands of Ram. But there are other Ramayan commentators who say that actually, you know, if he is a devotee, he should be serving the Lord.
He should not be thinking about how I am dying. In thinking that at whose hands I am dying, he is actually doing disservice to Ram. So he is thinking that how I am going to die, he is thinking, but he is not thinking whether I am serving Lord Ram or I am causing disservice to Ram.
So this is a very selfish calculation. Now from one perspective, both are true, from different perspectives. One is that okay, anyway I am going to die, better let me die at the hands of Ram.
The other is, okay, you know, everybody has to die, but we have to serve the Lord, that is more important. So that way there can be different perspectives. And we can't know the inside of anyone's consciousness.
So in the case of the Narayan Sena, see the Kshatriyas, in general, their ethos was that they, at least in the way it is depicted in the Mahabharata, then I will explain how it is depicted in the Bhagavatam. The Mahabharata is largely a book that is at the Karmakant level. There are Bhakti sections in there.
The Bhagavad Gita is there, the Vishnu Satsangam is there, Narayan is there. These are all Bhakti sections, but largely it is at the Karmakant level. And in the Karmakant understanding, when a Kshatriya fights heroically and dies on the battlefield, then that Kshatriya will be elevated to heavens.
That is the understanding, obviously. So the warriors over there at that time, they feel that yes, if there is a war and if we fight and we die, we will be elevated to heaven and that is auspicious for them. That is what their destination, they think of them.
That's from the Karmakant perspective. That's why the Kshatriyas over there, even those on the Kauravas' side, they fight forcefully. Because Mahabharata says they had victory or heaven in their minds and they fought.
Now in the case of the Narayan Sena, they knew that if they fight against Krishna, they will die, but they had that attitude of service to Krishna. This is what Krishna wants us to do, so we will do it. And in one sense, it was a difficult service for them.
But that's what Krishna wanted them to do. So Krishna accepted their service. And because they died, yaha hare krishna mukha ravinde, the Bhagavatam describes that those who saw Krishna and drank his beautiful form with their eyes, they actually attained liberation.
So even the Narayan Sena, whether they fought for Krishna or they fought against Krishna, the fact is that they died in the presence of Krishna and they attained liberation. So that is the important thing. And because it was by Krishna's will that they were fighting against him, so it was a difficult service that Krishna gave them and they accepted it.
So thank you very much. We will continue. You want to say something?