This reading was given by Shailly Gupta Barnes on February 12, 2016 at First Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, at a Mass Meeting held the night before the 2016 Moral March on Raleigh. Leaders from a range of different faiths spoke from their sacred texts, spiritually fortifying us for the next day’s march. Shailly led us in a reading of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the central texts of Hinduism.
“Arjuna, whenever righteousness is on the decline, unrighteousness is in the ascendant, then I am reincarnated.
For the protection of the virtuous, for the extirpation of the evil-doers, and for establishing Dharma [righteousness] on a firm footing, I am born from age to age.”
– Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4: 7-8
[aesop_image img=”https://kairoscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/shailly-reading.jpg” alt=”justice from the bhagavad gita” align=”left” lightbox=”off” caption=”Shailly reading at the Mass Meeting, the night before the 2016 Moral March on Raleigh” captionposition=”left”]
The Bhagavad Gita is a part of a longer epic story of justice and injustice that unfolds, in large part, through a war that polarized every segment of society, including the two families at the heart of this story. In the Gita, one of the warriors, an archer named Arjuna, takes a look at what lays ahead of him. He sees the two families’ armies on the battlefield: on one side, he sees his cousins, teachers and all those who have taken control of the kingdom; on the other side, he sees his brothers, who, even with all their talents, have much smaller forces, and yet face the full brunt of the power, wealth and resources of that society.
In this moment, he sees all that is at stake in this battle – his family, his community, and the kingdom that is in place – and he is paralyzed by the realization that this battle will upend all of this. He is afraid, of his own death and the deaths of those he loves, and of the destruction of the only society, values and order that anyone there has ever known. And, taking this all in, Arjuna puts down his bow and arrow and refuses to fight. He then turns to Krishna for his advice.
Krishna tells him:
First, do not fear death. It is inevitable. Do not grieve over this. Think instead of how you spend your life.
Second, Krishna reminds him this war is not about death, but life. It is about fighting for what is good and right and just in an unjust world. And it is his responsibility, his duty to fight against that injustice. This is not only because of Arjuna’s social position as a warrior, but as is explained later, fighting injustice is what God demands of us all. The remaining dialogue of the Gita presents a series of arguments where Krishna compels Arjuna to commit himself to fighting the battle ahead, knowing that he is not alone.
Indeed, in Chapter 4: 7-8, Krishna tells him: “Arjuna, whenever righteousness is on the decline, unrighteousness is in the ascendant, then I am reincarnated. For the protection of the virtuous, for the extirpation of the evil-doers, and for establishing Dharma [righteousness] on a firm footing, I am born from age to age.“
What Krishna tells him is that when the world is not on the right side of God, when it is unjust and immoral, the ensuing battle for what is right and just is what brings God into the world, to be born from age to age in the fight against evil. This God remains in the world until the world is set right. He then reveals to Arjuna the full glory and power of God – the God that is on Arjuna’s side – and tells him to pick up his bow and fight with him!
What does this reading tell us today?
First, that God intervenes in our lives.
Second, that God is not neutral. God takes sides and God takes sides with those who are oppressed and suffer injustice, because God loves life.
And third, God calls us to action, to fight for what is right and just.
When I think of this story of Arjuna and Krishna, which has been passed down to us from long ago from our ancestors in another time of injustice when people were suffering and calling on God, from my own experience living in today’s unjust world, I can better see where God is in these times:
God is fighting alongside the mothers and families in Flint against the injustice and immorality of poisoned water in their homes and schools.
God is fighting alongside NC NAACP and in states across the country against the injustice and immorality of voter suppression and the disenfranchisement of the poor and dispossessed.
And God is fighting alongside all those who are battling against the injustice and immorality of homelessness, hunger, hospital closures, foreclosures, and rampant inequality in a system that abandons human beings if they cannot pay for their basic needs, while 62 people have the same amount of wealth as 3.6 billion people.
And because God will not leave until righteousness and justice are established on earth, we must continue these battles knowing that God is here with us. And that we will win, moving forward together, not one step back!