[James C. Bennett]

Maybe it's because the Indian religion teaches passivity in the face of violence.

 

  Devoted—with a heart grown pure, restrained

In lordly self-control, foregoing wiles

Of song and senses, freed from love and hate,

Dwelling ’mid solitudes, in diet spare,

With body, speech, and will tamed to obey,

Ever to holy meditation vowed,

From passions liberate, quit of the Self,

Of arrogance, impatience, anger, pride;

Freed from surroundings, quiet, lacking nought—

Such an one grows to oneness with the BRAHM;

Such an one, growing one with BRAHM, serene,

Sorrows no more, desires no more; his soul,

Equally loving all that lives, loves well

Me, Who have made them, and attains to Me.

By this same love and worship doth he know

Me as I am, how high and wonderful,

And knowing, straightway enters into Me.

And whatsoever deeds he doeth—fixed

In Me, as in his refuge—he hath won

For ever and for ever by My grace

Th’ Eternal Rest! So win thou! In thy thoughts

Do all thou dost for Me! Renounce for Me!

Sacrifice heart and mind and will to Me!

Live in the faith of Me! In faith of Me

All dangers thou shalt vanquish, by My grace,

But, trusting to thyself and heeding not,

Thou can’st but perish! If this day thou say’st

Relying on thyself, “I will not fight!”

Vain will the purpose prove! thy qualities

Would spur thee to the war. What thou dost shun,

Misled by fair illusions, thou wouldst seek

Against thy will, when the task comes to thee

Waking the promptings in thy nature set.

There lives a Master in the hearts of men

Maketh their deeds, by subtle pulling-strings,

Dance to what tune HE will. With all thy soul

Trust Him, and take Him for thy succor, Prince!

So—only so, Arjuna!—shall thou gain—

By grace of Him—the uttermost repose,

The Eternal Place!

 

 

- Bhagavad Gita, Ch: XVIII, Lines 182 - 220.

[hoosierham]

Funny how God usually sends aid to the non-violent in the form of a man willing to use force to stop the aggressor.

If good men do nothing then evil will triumph.(At least absent DIRECT divine intervention.)

[whatisthetruth]

Very nice verse my FRiend, but if you’re dead you can’t read it.

[Talisker]

James C. Bennett: Maybe it's because the Indian religion teaches passivity in the face of violence.

JCB's red highlight:
In faith of Me
All dangers thou shalt vanquish, by My grace,
But, trusting to thyself and heeding not,
Thou can’st but perish! If this day thou say’st
Relying on thyself, “I will not fight!”
Vain will the purpose prove! thy qualities
Would spur thee to the war.

hoosierham: Funny how God usually sends aid to the non-violent in the form of a man willing to use force to stop the aggressor. If good men do nothing then evil will triumph.(At least absent DIRECT divine intervention.)

whatisthetruth: Very nice verse my FRiend, but if you’re dead you can’t read it.

With all due respect, you've got the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita absolutely backwards, as well as your derivative conclusion about the "Indian religion."

In the story of the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord (Krishna) is actually telling the warrior Arjuna to FIGHT.

The war is a battle between two families that have been torn apart, and the brave Arjuna sees family members and lifelong friends across the battlefield before the fighting starts, and his heart fails him. He asks Krishna how he could possibly fight his loved ones?

Krishna replies that Arjuna is a warrior, and that a true warrior's fight is not just a job, but a command given to him by God to uphold truth and righteousness in the world. Along the same lines of much of the appreciation of the military on Free Republic, Krishna points out that if there were no true warriors, there would be no peace and no civilization.

In the part you quoted above, James C. Bennett, Krishna is telling Arjuna that if he obeys God's command to fight for the sake of what is right, God will protect him through Grace in this world and the next. But if he refuses to fight, he can't avoid a shameful death. Furthermore, his refusal to fight will be in vain because his very nature is a warrior, so he will end up fighting anyway despite himself, but without trust in God - so he will be destroyed for nothing.

The story is profound, as it teaches courage and faith in God in the face of despair. And it is especially relevent today, as we see so many Americans turning away from the freedoms this country makes possible, and supporting lies and murderous cults instead, while we despair about our own countrymen and women. The Bhagavad Gita teaches that we should stand up to them - that if they are to go down, in whatever way, because they support evil, then that will happen anyway - God is not mocked. But if we don't do our duty by defying their lies, we sin for not refuting them.

There are many religious traditions in India, but the Bhagavad Gita is important to most of them. And because of it, even the most pacifistic yogis acknowledge the importance of the Indian military. Those yogis are not like our liberals - at all. Indians in India do not practice California New Age Progressive crap, as many young people from here travelling there have discovered to their dismay.