1. Matthew Arnold Help Received: see last slide
Hinduism on War
Matthew Arnold
Help Received: see last slide

2. World Religions
Like most of the larger world religions there are teachings and texts that condemn the use of violence and others that promote it

3. Rig Veda
“May your weapons be strong to drive away the attackers, may your arms be powerful enough to check the foes, let your army be glorious, not the evil-doer.”
This is a quote from the Rig Veda, one of their sacred texts, on one of the Hindu’s view of conflict

4. Ancient Rules of War
Hinduism goes so far as to set up what we in the modern world would call rules of war; they are:
Do not poison the tip of your arrow
Do not attack the sick, old, children, or women
Do not attack from behind

5. Arjuna’s Story
The Story of Arjuna is similar to what many people could have experienced during the Civil War with the split in the country and relatives fighting on both sides of the conflict
The story goes that he was going into battle and found out that many of his relatives were fighting against him
This caused him to question whether or not to go to battle; he was eventually swayed by Krishna to fight

6. Krishna’s Influence on Arjuna
What swayed Arjuna was the argument that it was his dharma (duty), being born a warrior
Also, that violence only impacts the body, and not the soul
This means that his karma would essentially be unimpacted

7. Ahisma & Nonviolence
Ghandi is known mainly for his nonviolent protests and sayings
However, Ghandi’s view is that killing and violence is accepted as part of one’s dharma
This holds true as long as this violence is done without anger or selfish motives

8. Help Received
"Hinduism and War." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015