Krishna Explains Karma to Arjuna

On the battlefield, before the Bhagavad Gita fully unfolded, Arjuna asked about karma.

Arjuna: "You speak of karma, Krishna. But I am confused. If I kill these men, won't that karma bind me? If I don't kill them, they will kill others — isn't that also karma? Every path seems to lead to sin."

Krishna: ""You're thinking of karma like a ledger — good deeds and bad deeds, adding and subtracting. That is child's understanding. Let me explain the deeper truth."

Karma is not about action. Karma is about attachment to the fruit of action. A doctor cuts open a body — is that violence? A butcher cuts open a body — is that violence? The action is identical. The karma is different. Why?"

Arjuna: "Because... the intention is different?"

Krishna: ""Closer. Because the attachment is different. The doctor acts for the patient's welfare, not for personal gain. If the patient dies, the doctor grieves but doesn't feel guilty because he acted out of duty, not desire. The butcher acts for money. He is bound to the result. His peace depends on whether he gets paid."

Now apply this to war. If you fight because you WANT to kill, because hatred burns in your heart, because you desire victory for glory — you will be bound by karma. Every death will stain your soul.

But if you fight because it is your DUTY, because dharma demands it, because innocent people will suffer if evil wins — and you do this without hatred for your enemies, without craving for the kingdom — you are free even as you act."

Arjuna: "How can I kill without hating?"

Krishna: ""Do you hate the disease when you cure a patient? Do you hate the weeds when you clear a field? The Kauravas are a disease in the body of dharma. Removing them is surgery, not murder. A surgeon doesn't hate the tumor — he simply removes it so the body can live."

Your enemies are not 'evil' in the way you imagine. They are souls who made wrong choices, caught in their own karma. They were destined to stand where they stand, just as you were destined to oppose them. You are all actors in a cosmic play. Play your part fully, but don't forget it's a role.

The wise one acts like fire — fire burns whatever is placed in it, not out of anger but out of its nature. Fire doesn't create karma because fire has no attachment. Be like fire. Do what your nature demands, without clinging to what happens next."

Arjuna: "But surely the families of those I kill will hate me. Their children will grow up wanting revenge. Doesn't that create karma?"

Krishna: ""You cannot control what others feel. You can only control what you feel. If you kill with a pure heart, their hatred binds them, not you. They will carry the weight of their anger; you will walk free."

But here is the deepest secret: in the end, you are not the doer. NATURE acts through you. The sun doesn't decide to shine — it shines because that is its nature. You don't decide to be a warrior — you ARE a warrior. When you align your actions with your nature and offer the results to the Divine, you become a flute through which God plays music. The music is not yours. The karma is not yours. You are just the instrument."