Why did Shree Krishna ask Arjun to fight the war? Was it a terrorist like situation of the holy war where you kill and go to heaven?  A lot of people wonder if the Bhagavad Gita also teaches us such an irresponsible philosophy.

The answer is no.  Absolutely not.  When Shree Krishna asked Arjun to fight the war he spoke keeping in mind the practicalities of the world.  He acknowledged the fact that everybody is driven by their modes of material nature.  Everybody has a mentality and nature according to which they are comfortable in different kinds of work.  Somebody is naturally a teacher. Somebody is naturally an executive or an administrator.  Somebody is naturally a pounds and shillings man.  Somebody is just naturally an artist.  Everybody has their propensities.

Now if you work against your propensity, you will never be comfortable.  Shree Krishna understood that Arjun’s true nature was to be a King and a warrior, not a sanyasi.  Even if he gave up his profession and went to the jungle to become a sanyasi he would gather the tribal people there and form an army of his own.  It was his nature.

Everybody has their nature.  Keeping this in mind, Shree Krishna taught a much deeper science – the science of work also called Karm Yog.   It teaches us to attain the ultimate goal of God-realization by continuing our activities externally and cultivating spirituality internally.

The focus is not on external acts of renunciation, but on internal elevation through linking the consciousness with God.  By practicing Karm Yog a person can keep lifting his/ her consciousness from inside and finally bring it to a level where it is yoked with God.  Arjun achieved this state while performing his duty as a warrior. It was a testimony to the fact that we too can practice spirituality while working in the world.

Often people say that they are only willing to believe in what they can directly perceive, and since there is no immediate perception of God, they do not believe in him. However, the fact is that we believe in so many things in the world too, without direct perception of them. A judge delivers judgment upon a case concerning an event that took place many years in the past. If the judge adopted the philosophy of believing only what he or she had directly experienced, then the entire legal system would fail.