Veterans’ Day – On the Duty of Warriors
My non-violent conviction has been a source of inner conflict lately.
The US government’s conflict about the degree to which they will support Ukraine against the Russian invasion obliquely reflects my own conflict on the subject.
Too much involvement could pit the US against Russia directly.
While a successful invasion could lead to even wider conflict.
But if Russia were invading the US
I don’t think I could sustain my non-violent views.
It would be nice if I could embody a conviction that applies in any circumstances.
So I reread The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient text relating the conflict a heroic warrior has on the eve of a war against a branch of his own family.
He said to the Lord:
We are about to perpetrate a great evil – we are prepared to kill our own people.
It would be better for me if they were to kill me in battle, unresisting and unarmed.
The Lord answered:
No embodied being can abandon actions.
Recognizing your inherent duty, you must not shrink from it. For there is nothing better for a warrior than a duty-bound war.
It is only these bodies of the indestructible, immeasurable, and eternal self that are coming to an end.
The eternal self is not born, it never dies; being, it will never cease to be. It is unborn, unending, invariable, primeval. It is not killed when the body is killed – therefore fight!
This suggests my conviction should arise from my understanding of
the relationship between my self and the eternal self.
Because my inherent duty is embodied in that relationship.
Guess I’ll see if I can look within.
Freeing your mind helps to free your body.
Photo by Aaron Greenwood