Ahinsa: Unraveling Non-Violence and Duty"
Recently, I found myself explaining the concept of Ahinsa to my children. As I delved into the explanation, memories from my own childhood surfaced – the teachings we received, the lessons we learned. Among them, Mohandas Gandhi's cherished Sanskrit sloka " Ahinsa Paramo Dharma - Non-violence is the ultimate duty " stood out, as well as his depiction of the three monkeys: Bura Mat Dekho - See no Evil Bura Mat Suno - Hear no Evil Bura Mat Kaho - Say no Evil During COVID-19, as I delved deeper into my understanding of the Bhagavad Gita, a question emerged – an inquiry about Ahinsa itself. I grappled with the apparent contradiction: If Ahinsa was truly the highest virtue, why did Lord Krishna, a central figure in the Gita, encourage Arjuna to engage in the Kurukshetra war when Arjuna himself was hesitant to do so? The very foundation of non-violence seemed to be shaken by this apparent encouragement towards conflict. As I dwelled deeper into this I realized, that all these ...