2. Arjuna Overwhelmed

Arjuna stands in his chariot between the two armies. He looks at them and sees his kin and is overwhelmed.

Then Arjuna saw in both armies fathers, grandfathers, sons, grandsons, fathers of wives, uncles, masters, brothers, companions and friends.
When Arjuna thus saw his kinsmen face to face in both lines of battle, he was overcome by grief and despair . . . --Chapter 1, verses 26-28, The Bhagavad Gita (Tr. Juan Mascaro)

Arjuna did not fall into a God-is-on-our-side mentality and condemn the "other side" to hell with righteous indignation and fury. He recognized the kinship of all. All our wars are "civil" (a strange term, on which "civil-ization" is based) wars in which brother fights against brother, kin against kin, human against human.

In his lament (verses 29 - 46), he asks the eternal question concerning war:

Even if they, with minds overcome by greed, see no evil in the destruction of a family, see no sin in the treachery to friends;

Shall we not, who see the evil of destruction, shall we not refrain from this terrible deed?

Gandhi, in his translation and commentary on the Gita, points out that though this question is a worthy one, it is based on weakness. Arjuna cannot leave the field of battle. All that will happen is that the folk on his side will be slaughtered, overrun. Then the entire kingdom would be ruled by vicious despots.

As we know, Gandhi was no fan of war. But he invented a form of war, a nonviolent form based on truth (satyagraha), to counteract the violent form of war.

It is easy to blow people apart. It is not easy to oppose others effectively while doing them no harm.

Arjuna was facing this dilemma. His initial solution was not accepted either by Gandhi or by Krishna in the story.

Here is Arjuna's initial solution: "letting fall his bow and arrows he sank down in his chariot, his soul overcome by despair and grief." --Chapter 1, verse 47

This is where we leave him for the moment. Paralyzed in the middle of a situation requiring firm strong action.