The Bhagavad Gita Agamemnon And War Term paper

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The Oxford American Dictionary describes war as a "strife (especially between two countries)" and an "open hostility between people." These definitions give a good perspective on war itself, but do not give an explanation of why wars occur. The dictionary also gives the definition of a pacifist as, "a person who totally opposes war, believing that disputes should be settled by peaceful means." In the novels The Bhagavad Gita and Agamemnon, the authors give not only a story of war, but reasons behind it and the means, which they pursue, it. In The Bhagavad Gita Arjuna does not want to go to war with his fellow peoples. He shows pacifism because he doesn't want to hurt others. Krishna calls Arjuna to arms and explains to him why he can go to war. In Agamemnon, Agamemnon is called to arms by the awesome factor of revenge. This is such a powerful force that Agamemnon cannot overcome it and thinks he must go to war. In the end both Arjuna and Agamemnon learn through their experiences about the costs and benefits of their struggles. From these classic texts we can learn lessons of war and the consequences that come with it.

The call to arms is an important theme in both The Bhagavad Gita and Agamemnon. In The Bhagavad Gita, the omnipotent Krishna, the being of all beings, calls Arjuna to arms. He explains to Arjuna that the souls of those he is about to fight cannot be destroyed, but rather they will live on. He says, "Interwoven in his creation, the Spirit is beyond destruction. No one can bring an end to the Spirit which is everlasting." This quote is a good representation of Krishna's call to arms, which is directed towards Arjuna. In Agamemnon, Agamemnon is called to arms by his thoughts of revenge. His own mind is what gets him to destroy Troy, and with it many other people. When Agamemnon says, "My will is mine, I will not make it soft for you," he shows that his motives were personal and not for any other purpose than to please his thoughts. In each case the call to arms was different, and in each case the benefits and consequences varied as well, according to their calls.

As Arjuna and Agamemnon came to know, there are costs and benefits for every action. In The Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is a pacifist at first. He does not want to kill his own kinsman because he thinks that by destroying them, the cost would be high and the benefits slim. This is why he decides at first to be a pacifist. He would rather let himself be killed than to destroy many of his own people. Krishna comes to Arjuna and tells him that by killing his kinsman he will not be doing a costly act, but rather set their souls free to another life and a chance at becoming supreme. At these words Arjuna is called to arms, but this is where the story ends. In Agamemnon, Agamemnon's own mind takes control of him. He is controlled by...

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