“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.3)

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क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ
yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

“Have you ever stopped to wonder why people fight? Both in the verbal sense and also the physical confrontation. I get it that sometimes men need to prove their strength, that they need to show they can dominate. Even that is a little sketchy, as there usually isn’t sufficient justification for raising hostilities. I also get it that there are bad people in this world, who might be under negative influences such as greed, envy, and intoxicants.

“But in the broader sense, everyone is struggling. At least that is the case from my experience. Why should we hate one another? Why do people take up arms in the hopes of ending someone else’s life? Why is there so much competition? To see who has the biggest residence. To show who earns the most money from their job. Who has children that are well-behaved or excelling in educational institutions.

“I really don’t care about any of those things. That is because wherever we go, people are struggling. The rich person. The poor person. The young. The old. Why can’t people realize this and calm down a little? Why is it that every day we find a new mob incited from some incident they see on the news? You cannot reason with these people, either. They have made up their minds. They want the perpetrator, as they identify it, punished, and severely at that.”

One way to explain the tendency is to understand the very real situation of difference. An appropriate Sanskrit word is vishesha. This refers to distinctions or varieties. We find in sacred texts that Shri Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, is known as visheshajna. He is the knower of distinctions. This is a merit. We credit Rama for this attribute since it benefits Him in surveying the landscape. He must draw distinctions when carrying out His work. That work is in the model of a kshatriya, which literally refers to one who protects against injury.

तस्य पुत्रः प्रियो ज्येष्ठस्ताराधिपनिभाननः
रामो नाम विशेषज्ञः श्रेष्ठ स्सर्वधनुष्मताम्

tasya putraḥ priyo jyeṣṭhastārādhipanibhānanaḥ
rāmo nāma viśeṣajñaḥ śreṣṭha ssarvadhanuṣmatām

“The eldest son to that king was named Rama. He was very dear, had a face resembling the moon, was a knower of distinctions, and was the best among all wielders of the bow.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 31.6)

There are distinctions based upon work, which align with the qualities of an individual. The Sanskrit words are karma and guna. Not everyone is the same; at least on the outside. On the inside, as well, there are differences. One person is generally peaceful and quiet. They can sit in an empty room, all by themselves, with no television, smartphone, or radio. Another person cannot sit still for more than five minutes, even with plenty going on around them. One person is brave and proceeds directly into a burning fire, to rescue others, while another person is more analytical and considers long-term consequences to actions.

If everything is working well, there is no issue. If each person follows their karma based on gunas, then society is like a well-oiled machine. This system of division has divine origins; it descends from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is always above the divisions, since duality does not apply to Him. We are living in duality, and so we have to navigate distinctions in order to make it through a single lifetime successfully.

चातुर्-वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं
गुण-कर्म-विभागशः
तस्य कर्तारम् अपि मां
विद्ध्य् अकर्तारम् अव्ययम्

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.13)

Despite the distinctions based on work, the individual is always the same in quality. This is the basis of the science of self-realization. We mentioned previously that Shri Rama is a knower of distinctions. He is also a knower of the individual. Rama is the same Krishna who speaks Bhagavad-gita. There, we find that the Supreme Lord is the knower inside of all bodies.

The bodies look different, while the individual inside is always the same in qualitative makeup. The individual is also a knower of the body, but only at the local instance. They are not the knower inside of a different body. Because the bodies look different, the local knower forgets that the quality of other knowers is the same. They recognize differences only based on the field. This is the reason for the struggle. This is the cause of the conflict.

If we understand that God is the knower inside of everyone, we see that we are all linked to the same person. We are like His children, and so a feeling of universal brotherhood should result. To give further assistance, there is the very formula for peace provided in the form of a shloka from Bhagavad-gita. Just know three things about God to turn the hostilities around.

भोक्तारं यज्ञ-तपसां
सर्व-लोक-महेश्वरम्
सुहृदं सर्व-भूतानां
ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिम् ऋच्छति

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.29)

In Closing:

Distinctions important to know,
For into proper work to go.

But also equality showing,
As field of play knowing.

Position for both you and me,
But God inside everything can see.

Meaning that a link everyone sharing,
Peace formula Gita declaring.

Categories: questions

Tags: bhagavad-gita, conflict resolution, dailyprompt, life, peace, poem, poems, poetry