Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 10. SPIRITUALISM, RELIGION AND POLITICS
The truth is that a person like Krishna never takes anything for granted; he is uncommitted. He is
neither somebody’s friend nor his enemy. Krishna has no fixed ideas about men or things. He knows
a friend can turn into an enemy and an enemy into a friend; it all depends on circumstances.
But as far as we are concerned, we live differently; we take things for granted. We are friends
with some and enemies to others. And so when circumstances change, we find ourselves in great
difficulty. Then we try to carry on with our old relation ships and suffer. Krishna does not. He allows
life to go its way and he goes with life. Even if Arjuna comes to fight with him, he will not waver. He
will not have any difficulty; Krishna can fight against Arjuna with the same enthusiasm with which he
fights for him.
For Krishna, friendship and enmity are not something permanent, static; they are fluid. Life is a flux,
and so it is difficult to ascertain who is a friend and who is an enemy. Today’s friend can turn into
an enemy tomorrow; today’s enemy can turn into a friend tomorrow. So it is always good to deal
with both friends and enemies with an eye on tomorrow. To morrow is unpredictable, even the next
moment is unpredictable. Everything changes with the changing moment.
Life is always changing; change is its nature. Life is a play of light and shade. Now there is light here
and shade there; the next moment this light and shade will be somewhere else. Observe this garden
where we are meeting now, from morning through evening, and you will find everything constantly
changing; morning turns into evening, day into night, and light into shade. The flower that blooms
with the sunrise withers away by sunset.
It is difficult for you to think how Krishna and Arjuna can encounter each other in a fight, but it is
just possible. Krishna can very well fight with a friend. In this respect, the Mahabharat is a unique
war; it is amazing! Friends are arrayed against friends, relatives against relatives. Arjuna has
been Dronacharya’s student, and he now aims an arrow at his master. He received so much from
Bishma, the eldest of the family, and he is ready to kill him. That way the Mahabharat is a rate war in
all history. It says that in life nothing is permanent; everything is changing. Brother is fighting against
brother, student is fighting against teacher.
Another remarkable thing about the Mahabharat is that when fighting ends in the evening enemies
visit each other’s camps, make inquiries about their well-being, exchange pleasantries and even eat
together. It is an honest war; there is nothing underhand or dishonest about it. When they fight they
fight as true enemies, and when they meet each other they meet without any reservations, without
any bitterness in their hearts. There is nothing deceitful in the Mahabharat. The Pandavas don’t
hesitate to kill Bhishma in the battle, but in the evening they gather together to mourn his death, that
they have lost such a valuable man. This is strange.
The Mahabharat proclaims that even enemies can fight in a friendly way. But it is just the opposite
today: even as friends we are inimical to each other. There was a time when wars were made in a
friendly way, and now even friendship is not friendship; it is just a kind of intimate enmity. Time was
when even enemies were friends, and now even friends are enemies.,
And this is very significant in the larger context of life. It is worth knowing that when my enemy dies,
something in me dies with him. Not only my enemy dies, with his death I too die in some measure.
My being has been bound with the being of my enemy, so with his death a part of me dies at the
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 192 Osho