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The second chapter of Bhagavad-gita continues with Arjuna, who has lost the will to fight, summarizing his position to Kṛṣṇa before the soldiers of both armies.

na caitad vidmah kataran no gariyo
yad va jayema yadi va no jayeyuh
yan eva hatva na jijivisamas
te ’vasthitah pramukhe dhartarastrah

“Nor do we know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. The sons of Dhrtarastra, whom if we killed we should not care to live, are now standing before us on this battlefield.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.6]

The battle of Kuruksetra was between two groups of cousin-brothers: the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Maharaja Pandu had five sons, the Pandavas, and his brother Dhrtarastra had one hundred sons, known as the Kauravas. So it is a family feud, fighting within the royal family of the Vedic Empire, which at that time encompassed the entire planet.

Formerly it was the understanding between the Pandavas and Kauravas that when others beyond the family would come to attack them, they would join together, all 105 brothers, and fight. But then there was a fight amongst themselves—one hundred brothers on one side against five brothers on the other. Because all of them were from a ksatriya family, it is understood that despite the uneven odds, they were expected to fight to the end.

Ksatriyas are so hot-blooded that even in their marriages there would be fighting. No marriage could take place in a ksatriya family without fighting. Kṛṣṇa had 16,108 wives, and almost every time He had to fight to win the wife. For ksatriyas, fighting was their sport and the purpose of their existence. But in Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was perplexed whether or not he should engage in fighting among close relatives.

There is a proverb in Bengal, khabo ki khabo na yadi khao tu pause: “When you are perplexed whether or not to eat, it is better not to eat.” Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where food is available, but we are not very hungry. Then we hesitate while we consider whether or not to eat. The best course is not to eat unless we are really hungry.

So when we are confused, whether to do or not to do something, jabo ki jabo na yadi jao tu sauce: “When you think, ‘Whether I shall go or not?’ better don’t go.” But when it is a question of answering the call of nature, you must go. Jabo ki jabo na yadi jau tu sauce, khabo ki khabo na yadi khao tu pause. These are very commonsense principles.

Similarly, Arjuna is now perplexed, “Should I fight or not fight?” So his conclusion was that he should not fight. That is a common plight among diplomats. When there is declaration of war between the modern politicians, they have to consider the pros and cons of going to war. Sometimes even if they don’t want war, it comes to them anyway. For example before the Second World War, everyone knew that Hitler wanted to retaliate because in World War I the Germans were defeated. So Hitler was preparing for war. The British did not want war, so Prime Minister Chamberlain went to see Hitler to try to stop the war. But he couldn’t, because Hitler was determined to fight.

Similarly, in this fight between two sides of the Vedic royal family, Kṛṣṇa tried until the last minute to avoid the war. He proposed to Duryodhana that “Your cousin-brothers the Pandavas are ksatriyas. You have usurped their kingdom. Never mind that you have taken it unjustly. But they are ksatriyas. They must have proper means of livelihood. The only proper occupation for ksatriyas is to rule. So give the five brothers five villages. Out of the whole world, the Vedic Empire, you give them five villages.”

Duryodhana replied, “No, I am not going to part with even an inch of land without a fight.” Therefore, under such condition, the fight must occur, because a ksatriya is honor-bound to accept a challenge to fight. If he declines to fight, then he loses his qualification as a ksatriya. So there is no question of Arjuna’s considering whether he would fight or not. All attempts at diplomatic settlement had failed; the battle is sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa; so the war must go on.

Some people are pacifists, and want to raise the question “Why can’t we stop war? Even when we don’t want war, why does it take place?” That is not a very difficult subject to understand; war happens because every one of us has a fighting spirit. Even children fight, cats and dogs fight, birds fight, ants fight. This is common knowledge. So how will you stop human beings from fighting? The fighting spirit is there. Fighting is one of the symptoms of the material condition. So fighting is inevitable, but when and under what circumstances should fighting take place?

According to Vedic civilization, war means dharma-yuddha: fighting on religious principles according to Vedic directions. Not fighting on the basis of whimsical political ideas: this-ism versus that-ism. At present they fight because of the material ambitions of the politicians. But that is not Vedic warfare.

Just like now fighting is going on between the developed nations and the Islamic terrorists. The developed nations are trying to avoid a fight, but the fighting is going on anyway, because the Islamic terrorists refuse to give up. Of course, according to Vedic religious principles, they are both wrong, because their fighting causes harm to innocent bystanders. Vedic warfare was conducted according to principles of honor among members of the ksatriya class, and there was never any ‘collateral damage’ or harm to the population.

So whether honorable or dishonorable, war is going on. You cannot stop fighting; it is part of the human existential condition. Many people want to stop war, but that is impossible. It is nonsensical proposal, a waste of time and energy. It cannot be, because the fighting spirit is there in everyone. That is a symptom of the conditioned living entity. Even children, who have no politics, no real enmity, they fight for five minutes; then again they are friends. So the fighting spirit is there; you cannot stop it.

Now, the real question is, how should fighting be utilized as service to God? Our Esoteric Teaching movement says, “Change your ontology; change your consciousness.” We don’t say, “Stop fighting” or artificially try to change your nature, no. We say that whatever you are naturally doing, it should be done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our advice.

Nirbandha-Kṛṣṇa-sambandhe: whatever you do, it must have some relationship with the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa will be satisfied by your work, then act; otherwise if there is some doubt, don’t do it. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

atmendriya-priti-vancha——tare bali ‘kama’
krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama

“The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kama (material lust), but the desire to please the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa is prema (spiritual love).” [Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 4.165]

Krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama: to please Kṛṣṇa’s senses is love. Just like when you love somebody; for the pleasure of your beloved, you can do anything. But without your beloved being involved, you are very reluctant to do anything. The same principle should be transferred to Kṛṣṇa. Try to educate yourself how to love Kṛṣṇa, and act for Kṛṣṇa only. This is the perfection of life.