Therefore do you arise and acquire fame. After conquering the enemies enjoy a prosperous kingdom. Verily by Me have they been already slain; be you merely an instrumental cause, O Savyasachin (Arjuna)! (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 33)
Your good karma, Arjuna, entitles you to fame and the enjoyment of a conquering prince. People will highly regard you as the greatest of heroes. And that is right, for such you are. Who else can I address as Savyasachin, one able to shoot arrows even with his left hand?
You have made yourself a most proficient warrior and therefore I could select you as My instrument for this great cause. Now be happy.
The war will go on anyhow, for My plan must work out. Those who are doomed must perish, if not through you then through someone else. There is no escape for them. Your part in the fight is really very insignificant. You are only a tool in the hand of the master. Remember, I am the real actor; you only appear as such. That privilege I give you. But the war does not depend on you, neither the victory nor the defeat. You cannot save anyone’s life; neither can you take it without My consent. And I know the secret of things. I understand the play. I know that there is no death beyond the body. And you need not fear anything. I will tell you a secret. Victory will be yours. Go ahead and fight.
Here is a great lesson. Nothing can take place without God’s consent. Whatever is done, wheresoever and by whomsoever, it is all a working out of His plan.
The saving of life and taking of life are included in the Universal Scheme.
The man of charity and the robber, the protector of life and the murderer, the saint and the sinner, are all necessary to keep the world-wheel turning.
All are engaged in His service and we are all place where we belong. We all fill the place for which we are fit.
God uses us for that work for which we are fit.
Develop your moral and spiritual purposes. Rob and lie and cheat and kill, and God will use you where there is vacancy for the cheat and the robber. The law is just.
But if we are all God’s workers, what then does it matter what we do? True, it does not matter to those who realize this. But realizing it and not realizing it, that is what matters.
The man of realization works in the spirit of freedom; the ignorant man is a tool and a slave.
The one works because he loves to serve the master; the other is forced into his place, he cannot escape. To the one life is a joy; to the other it is a burden. To the one life means assisting one dearly beloved to complete a great purpose; to the other it means being driven by the whip of destiny. That makes a great difference.
Arjuna did not realize it; therefore he suffered. When he understood it, all sorrow left him. Ignorance unnerved him. Understanding made him a man. Sri Krishna is convincing him.
Source – Reflections on Gita by Swami Atulananda