Krsna never meant that you could use arm-twisting methods to make others succumb to your ways. He also never asked anyone to coerce others into submission. But when you hear the terms,”I got him to do without beating him,” know that the individual has been blackmailed into doing things by non-violent methods.
Sometimes we hear parents tell you that it is not right for you to beat your children but use other non-violent methods in making them toe your line. There are parents in some parts of the world who use the stick method in teaching their children to do certain things and in other parts of the world there are people who have never even shouted the children down. They have talked them into submission. Which of the methods are right or wrong? None of them are perfect. Even the parent who grounds the child or takes away the privileges for outdoor play or use of television or games pod are using passive threats to get their stuff done. Does it tantamount to non-violent method?
The hoodlums use threats directly and force you to succumb to their ways. But when normal or weak human beings use non-violent means to achieve their objective, they are far greater threat to you than those hoodlums. Do you remember the scene of that man stopping the battle tanks rolling? Do you believe he was using non-violent means of disrupting the nation or was it offensive in nature? Imagine a convict or politician using fasting to get to his objective? Wouldn’t you call it blackmail?
People have misinterpreted Krsna’s words to suit their own means by claiming that Krsna taught us to be non-violent. He never said anything of that kind.
On the contrary when Krsna says that you should use non-violent methods, he is qualifying the same by adding the following words too- action, words and deeds. Your action should never elicit a violent or angry response. It should not lead another person to have ill will against you. There should be amicability between the two parties and both should happily submit to the actions.
Imagine someone doing that to you? Let us see how you succumb to the underlying threat! Let’s say you have something which I want it desperately and I ask you for it but you refuse to give me. So I tell you that it is illegal to have that and if you are caught having it you may go to jail. Only I know about it and I am not going to squeal on you. But if you hand it over to me then you will not get in trouble. Do you see how I ended up extracting that from you by pure non-violent means? But did you like it? I used coercion and subtle threats to get what I wanted. This is not appreciated by anyone. It is not non-violent method but political and absolutely lowest level of deceit.
Politicians using such methods call it spiritual or as advised by Krsna. That is not so. Why would Christ or Krsna ever coerce anyone to do anything or for that matter even Buddha? All these divine beings would use compassion and love to pull you on their side. Check the verse out from the Bhagvad Gita and you will see that Krsna never advises coercion or deceit in getting to your means. He talks about goodness of heart, simplicity, love and compassion to get the job done.
So stop giving examples which glorify unlawful means of underlying threats, coercion, deceit, blatant blackmail and arm twisting methods by using soft-gloves to extricate your pound of flesh. None of the above Great people would do such a thing to reach their destination and end results.
So never hurt anyone in any which way even in the non-violent methods through thoughts, words or deeds. This lesson is for the spiritual only.
The material minded people will use all kinds of methods, right or wrong to achieve their ultimate goal. These are both types- scrupulous and unscrupulous ones too. The driving force in all these is desire alone. They twist Krsna’s words to suit their deceptive purposes.
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