Gandhi, Godse and Geeta

Mahatma Gandhi first read the Geeta at the age of 20 and it made a deep impression upon him. He quoted it often and used it in his daily prayers. It served as a guiding spirit throughout his life. The Geeta taught him the philosophy of karma, or action. He learnt from it that one must do one’s dharma or the right course regardless of the consequences of one’s actions. He learnt from it to pursue satyagraha or the path of truthfulness - inaction was not an option.

A question frequently asked is how Gandhi reconciled his message of non-violence with Krishna’s message to Arjun to pick up arms and kill those whom he was reluctant to kill? To answer this question one has to know the context in which the message of Geeta was delivered.

The Bhagwad Geeta is not a stand-alone document but a small part of the epic story of Mahabharat. Contrary to the common belief among many, the Geeta does not delve into the morality of war. At the time in the epic when the message of Geeta is delivered, that question has already been settled: Pandavas have exhausted all peaceful means of obtaining justice from their cousins, the Kauravas, who had refused to return to Pandavas their half of the kingdom. As a last resort, Krishna had himself gone to Kauravas as an ambassador of peace but they not only declined to give Pandavas their legitimate share but also refused Krishna’s suggested compromise of giving Pandavas a token of five villages, even five houses. Pandavas were left with no other choice but to fight for their right or give in to their cousins’ tyranny.

The battle of Mahabharat was imposed on them. It was when Arjun, the warrior, developed cold feet on the battlefield and sought Krishna’s approval for his cowardice that Krishna gave his famous sermon. Krishna did not choose Arjun to be a warrior; that was Arjun’s decision; nor did he ask him to be the commander of the Pandava’s army, that too was Arjun’s decision; he merely told him that having chosen to go into a war and be the commander of the Pandavas, he could not simply turn into a conscientious objector on the battlefield; that would be defying his dharma of a warrior and a commander.

It should also be noted that while Krishna’s sermon starts with his imploring Arjun to pick up arms and do battle, it very quickly turns into a philosophical discourse on what is right and what is wrong, the philosophy of karma, the nature of self and the indestructibility of soul. To Gandhi, therefore, the sermon of Geeta was not one of Krishna imploring Arjun to do the battle but one of doing the right thing regardless of the consequences of one’s actions. Moreover, the battle of Mahabharat ends in a catastrophe for all – the Kauravas, the Pandavas and, indeed the end of the civilisation of the period known to the Hindus as the Duaapar Yug. So, in the end, the violence did not benefit any one.

While Gandhi’s fascination with Geeta is well-known, a lesser known fact is that his assassin, Nathu Ram Godse, too claimed to get his inspiration from the very same scripture. He said in his statement at his murder trial that he was an admirer of Gandhi and indeed revered him as a Mahatma. Gandhi was to him what Dronacharya, Arjun’s guru, was to Arjun. Arjun revered Dronacharya, Bheesham Pitamah and other elders who were in the enemy camp, whom he was required to kill in the battlefield and the thought of killing whom was the reason of his despair and his pangs of conscience. Godse, indeed, bowed before Gandhi in reverence before he shot him to death, just as Arjun showed reverence to Bheesham Pitamah while he pierced him with his arrows.

Godse believed that Gandhi was responsible for the vivisection of his beloved motherland, had betrayed the Hindu nation and was the cause of the loss of life and honour of millions. Therefore, he deserved to die. There was no joy in this task for Godse. In killing Gandhi, he was just fulfilling what he believed to be his dharma. In his mind, he was following the same course of action that Krishna had asked Arjun to follow in the Geeta. Having accepted the role of the assassin, he did not let his personal feelings for Gandhi prevent him from carrying out his “dharma”.

So, who was following the message of Geeta in the true sense? Gandhi, Godse or both? If both, should holy scriptures play a role in morality?