The wisdom texts of bhakti-yoga tell the story of a saintly young boy who was the son of an evil king.
The king’s only interest was the acquisition of power. He hoped that his son would be of like mind and, to that end, he instructed his son’s tutors to teach the boy about politics.
But the king’s saintly son rejected the whole idea of politics, going so far as trying to persuade his megalomaniacal father to renounce its basic tenet:
There are many instances where the yoga wisdom tradition characterizes the conception of “friends and enemies” as a duality to be transcended by those who aspire for liberation.
But there are times when yoga wisdom throws us a curveball.
For example, the pre-eminent yoga wisdom text, Bhagavad Gita, also tells us that an enlightened person sees all beings, including friends and enemies, with equal vision.
But the dialogue of the Gita takes place on a battlefield against the backdrop of a political conflict.
And throughout the dialogue, Krishna, the speaker of the Gita, is trying to convince his friend, Arjuna, that he will attain glory by conquering his enemies.
How can Arjuna fight his “enemies” while simultaneously transcending the whole idea of “enemies?”
It sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not: Krishna is teaching Arjuna the art of enlightened political action.
By combining the distinction between friends and enemies that defines politics with the spiritual vision that defines yoga, Arjuna can fight his “enemies” while maintaining a higher consciousness that will keep hatred out of his heart.
Krishna tells Arjuna to infuse his fighting with yoga, which tells us that it’s possible, and sometimes necessary, for a yogi to fight political battles.
When is it necessary? When power-hungry politicians take the friend-enemy distinction to such an extreme that they think cruelty is good and kindness is evil.
As Rev. Benjamin Cremer, a Wesleyan pastor, puts it:
It’s said that a bhakti-yogi is willing to tolerate all manner of mistreatment . . . until that mistreatment is aimed at someone else. The one thing a bhakti-yogi can’t tolerate is the suffering of others.
Upon hearing his saintly son’s wise words, the evil king was so mad that he tried to kill him. But he couldn’t. The little boy didn’t put up a fight; he relied on a higher power to protect him, and his faith was rewarded.
Arjuna, on the other hand, was not just fighting for himself; he was fighting in defense of moral principles. And the same higher power that protected the evil king’s saintly son was instructing Arjuna to breath fire on his foes.
For a spiritual warrior like Arjuna, there is no contradiction between seeing friends and enemies with equal vision and fighting the good fight.
Similarly, we can cultivate the equal vision of spiritual consciousness within our hearts while simultaneously making political distinctions in order to defend moral principles that guide us in our treatment of people, friends and enemies alike.
Wishing you all good fortune,
– Hari-k