Chapter 2. Contents of the Gita
Summarized
TEXT 21
vedavinasinam nityam
ya enam ajam avyayam
katham sa purusah partha
kam ghatayati hanti kam
SYNONYMS
veda--in knowledge; avinasinam--indestructible; nityam--always;yah--one who; enam--this (soul); ajam--unborn; avyayam--immutable;katham--how; sah--he; purusah--person; partha--O Partha (Arjuna);kam--whom; ghatayati--hurts; hanti--kills; kam--whom.
TRANSLATION
O
Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, unborn,
eternal and immutable, kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?
PURPORT
Everything
has its proper utility, and a man who is situated in complete knowledge knows
how and where to apply a thing for its proper utility. Similarly, violence also
has its utility, and how to apply violence rests with the person in knowledge.
Although the justice of the peace awards capital punishment to a person
condemned for murder, the justice of the peace cannot be blamed because he
orders violence to another person according to the codes of justice. In Manu-samhita, the lawbook for mankind, it is
supported that a murderer should be condemned to death so that in his next life
he will not have to suffer for the great sin he has committed. Therefore, the
king's punishment of hanging a murderer is actually beneficial. Similarly, when
Krsna orders fighting, it must be concluded that violence is for supreme
justice, and, as such, Arjuna should follow the instruction, knowing well that
such violence, committed in the act of fighting for Krsna, is not violence at
all because, at any rate, the man, or rather the soul, cannot be killed; so for
the administration of justice, so-called violence is permitted. A surgical
operation is not meant to kill the patient, but to cure him. Therefore the
fighting to be executed by Arjuna at the instruction of Krsna is with full
knowledge, so there is no possibility of sinful reaction.
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