Chapter 1 : 36
In this verse, Arjuna says, “If we kill our own kith and kin, what kind of happiness will we get?” Arjuna is worried about losing his relatives and the emptiness that may follow. However, he forgets an important truth – a country can survive only when it is guided by good-hearted, cultured, and value-based people.Even if such people are alive, what kind of happiness can exist if they are uncultured and unethical? Uncultured people, even when alive, can make life miserable for society. So Arjuna is questioning happiness, but he is not seeing that mere survival of people does not guarantee true happiness. Happiness comes from values, culture, and righteous conduct.Ideally, when people behave wrongly, they should first be guided, instructed, and given an opportunity to change. If they refuse to change and continue with wrong actions, then some form of discipline or punishment becomes necessary. Just as in a family, parents first warn a child when the child behaves badly; but if the child remains stubborn and continues misbehaving, stricter discipline may be required. Otherwise, ignoring such behaviour only encourages negativity.In the same way, Arjuna misunderstands the situation. Instead of correcting the negative attitude of the Kauravas, he ends up emotionally pampering their wrongdoing. This war is not meant to kill anyone out of hatred. It is a war fought for values, culture, ethics, and the overall well-being of humanity. This crucial truth has been forgotten by Arjuna at this moment.What we must understand from this is that we should never compromise on core values. We should not justify negativity merely because it comes from close relatives. Emotional attachment should not make us overlook injustice or wrongdoing. True compassion lies in upholding dharma, not in supporting negativity.