Violence – surely on the increase – is an issue devotees need to have an angle on. The principle of ahimsa is often juxtaposed with the Kuruksetra war setting of the Bhagavad-gita. It’s a deep and philosophically complex issue, but Srila Prabhupada emphasized that violence has ‘a place.’ And in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he even specifies six instances when violence is required: 1)When one is attacked with deadly weapons; 2)When one’s wife is being kidnapped; 3)When one’s property is being stolen; 4)When one’s property is being set fire to; 5)When one’s land is occupied by others; 6)When there is an attempt to poison. Devotees seek to be non-violent, however, due to the gratuitous nature of so much violence these days.
Violence