After the Trinity nuclear test in the New Mexico desert of United States in July 1945, Robert Oppenheimer is said to have silently pondered (and later intoned on TV) Vishnu’s lines from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds …” It is only a fraction of the verse... the entire verse is never quoted by the various media.
There are two quotes similar in the Bhagavad Gita –
Chapter X Verse 34
म्र्त्युह
सर्वह्रास्चाहमुद्भावास्चा
भाविश्यतम
किर्तिही श्रीवाकिचा नारीणँ स्मृतिँमृधा
Mrtyuh sarvahras-ca-ham-udbhavas-ca bhavishyatam
Kirtih sririvakca narinam smrtir-medha
I am the all-embracing Death, and the Source of things to
be, and of Women, the Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, Intelligence. (Verse 34) –
(the source of born and unborn.)
Chapter XI Verse 32
I am death,
The mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy.
Even without your participation all the warriors
Standing arrayed in the opposing armies
Shall cease to exist.
Lokan smahartum-iha pravrttah|
rte’pi twam na bhavisyanti sarve
ye’vasthitah pratyanikesu yodhah||
The term used for death in the verse is ‘Kal’ which also
means ‘Time’ so the verse also means -
Time am I, that comes to destroy worlds, grown mature,
engaged here in subduing the world. Even without thee, all the warriors
stationed in the opposite ranks shall not be. (Translated by Shakuntala Rao
Shastri)
Krishna is here removing the ignorance of Arjuna by pointing out that ‘Time’ or ‘death’ will anyway consume all those that you are worrying for. When Krishna says ‘Time am I’ he is saying that he is Brahman or the ultimate truth - the one without a second.
Krishna did not ask Arjuna to kill innocent people but
asked to fight for his existence – do his dharma (duty). Shying away from
defending one's existence is against the law of nature. Every living being has
the right to live in nature until nature consumes it. Often human beings out of
his/her ignorance do not perform the required duty. Krishna was removing
the ignorance of Arjuna which was acting as an impediment from him performing
his duty - a warrior of truth and protector of dharma.
In the modern world, everyone talks about rights but no one
talks about duty. Along with rights we need to perform our duties for the world
to exist in its natural state.
The world is in such a bad state and on the verge of
collapse because we have shied away from our duty. We never stood up against
the wrongs committed in the name of progress (progress were water, air and food is polluted and sold). We never raised our voice when
nature was being plundered. We never stood up for all the living beings that
were put down in the name of religion and development.
The duty of Arjuna as a warrior was to protect the weak and protect
dharma. He was shying away from his responsibility and Krishna only reminded
him of his duty.