FPIF Column |
The Vishnu Strategy
Conn Hallinan | February 1, 2007
Editor: John Feffer, IRC
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 “The Supreme Lord said: I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy.” According to the great Hindu text Bhagavad-Gita, Vishnu delivered that speech to Prince Arjuna before a great battle almost eight millennia ago. Physicist Robert Oppenheimer paraphrased it in 1945 to describe the explosion of the atomic bomb. The latest channeling of the Hindu god can be found in an Israeli commander's evaluation of last summer's war with Lebanon: “What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs.”
The commander was decrying the way Israel, the United States, and Great Britain wage war these days, which has increasingly become an exercise in mass destruction. In the last five years, Vishnu has visited Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. The result has been death and ruin on a biblical—or more aptly, a Bhagavad-Gita—scale.
In Lebanon
During the recent 34-day war, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired some four million cluster munitions at southern Lebanon. According to UN Relief Coordinator David Shearer, “Nearly all of these munitions were fired in the last three or four days of the war.” At least one million of these unexploded bombs are still waiting in ambush for unwary farmers and children.
According to the UN, the IDF destroyed airports, harbors, water and sewage plants, electrical generators, 80 bridges, 94 roads, over 900 businesses, and 30,000 homes. Retreating Israeli soldiers systematically destroyed the infrastructure of villages and deliberately polluted water tanks and wells. According to the Lebanese government, some 1,189 Lebanese were killed, 4,399 wounded, and one-quarter of Lebanon's population—approximately one million in all—were turned into refugees.
Lebanon is hardly unique.
Since 1991, according to Handicap International, the United States and Britain have dropped over 13 million cluster munitions on Iraq and strewn the countryside with more than 500 tons of toxic depleted uranium ammunition. A Johns Hopkins University study found that anywhere from 426,369 to 793,663 Iraqis have been killed since the March 2003 invasion. The war has also driven 1.8 million Iraqis out of their country and created 1.6 million internal refugees.
Since last January, almost 4,000 people have died in Afghanistan, over 1,000 of them civilians. The United States has dropped more than three times the number of bombs on that country over the past six months than it did in its first three-year campaign against the Taliban. B-1 bombers are routinely unloading 19,000 pounds of explosives during bombing runs while AC-130 Spectre gunships spitting 155mm howitzer shells and tens of thousands of 40mm cannon shells, prowl the skies. In September, an AC-130 killed 31 shepherds.
Three of the most powerful armies in the world attacked countries that are only marginally in the same century as Israel, the United States, and Britain. Yet in spite of overwhelming firepower, Israel was fought to a standstill in Lebanon, the Americans in Iraq are in increasingly desperate straits, and British forces in Afghanistan, according its former chief of staff, Field Marshall Peter Inge, face the possibility of outright defeat.
Has the Vishnu strategy met its match?
Sources of Resistance
There was a time when a thin red line of British regulars ruled the Indian subcontinent, when a few brigades of U.S. Marines could keep Central America safe for the United Fruit Company, and when the IDF smashed far larger armies in a week of fighting. But the thin red line faced mostly tribal warriors, and the Marines were up against unarmed peasants. The Arab armies were big, but poorly led and technologically inferior.
All empires—whether they are based on colonies or economic domination—depend on uneven development. There was a time when industrial capitalism was all-powerful, and when the people it conquered often did not even think of themselves as “nations.” When the people in those conquered countries did think of themselves as a nation, the maintenance of empire became a rockier affair. Tiny Ireland tied down more British regulars in the 19th century than did India.
Eventually the emergence of nationalism made it impossible for the colonial powers to retain direct sovereignty over Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, though many of those former colonies are still economic and political vassals. The thin red line withdrew because it suddenly faced hundreds of millions of people who were united in wanting it out, and if push came to shove, would fight to make it so.
The great powers retreated, but they always believed that their superior military power and their willingness to use the Vishnu strategy gave them a final vote in matters concerning their interests. For many, that illusion of superiority held even when reality demonstrated the opposite. Hence, revisionists like Vice President Dick Cheney currently argue that the United States lost the Vietnam War not because of the impossibility of defeating an entire nation but because the U.S. political and military leadership lacked sufficient resolve.
The Bipartisan Vishnu
Unfortunately, the hallucination that war is still a relevant strategy is not confined to the neoconservatives and a few right-wing Republicans. Many Democrats share it as well, even if they happen to disagree with the current White House about the tactics of employing military power.
The Democrats have voted overwhelmingly to support the almost $600 billion yearly military budget, including the unneeded $65 billion F-22 program and the $256.6 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter plane that no one seems to want. Lockheed Martin, which makes both the F-22 and the F-35, has contributed generously to the campaign of Ike Skelton (D-Mo), the new chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a chief supporter of expanding the military. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently endorsed President George W. Bush's proposal to enlarge the military. “I have been calling for such an expansion for several years,” he told the press.
In a recent editorial, the New York Times called such an expansion essential for the kind of “extended clashes” the United States will face in the future from “ground-based insurgents.” But “extended clashes” are exactly the kinds of wars that make military superiority irrelevant. The Bush administration's “surge” of troops into Iraq will make not an iota of difference, any more than the Vietnam escalations did a generation ago.
The cost, however, is extraordinary. The Department of Defense will spend $2.3 trillion over the next five years—actually more if you count nuclear weapons, veterans' benefits, and the cost of the wars themselves. The price tag for Iraq alone is $450 billion and climbing.
All this massive (and expensive) firepower does achieve something: unprecedented death and destruction. The Israelis bombed Lebanon back to the Stone Age, and three-decade old cluster weapons are still blowing up Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians. Iraq may find it harder to recover from its “liberation” than it did from the Mongol invasions. We cannot “win,” but like the Romans of old, we can sow the earth with salt. What we reap will not be acquiescence or compliance, however.
Commenting on the recent Lebanon War, Augustus Richard Norton, a former army officer who served in Southern Lebanon and currently teaches at Boston University, pointed out that previous Israeli invasions and occupations created the conditions for the recent war. “Hezbollah had 20 years to hone their skills and hatred against Israel,” he said. “That hatred was created by Israel; it wasn't there in the beginning.”
Substitute the United States or Britain for Israel. Shift the locale to Iraq or Afghanistan. And that's where the Vishnu Strategy gets you in the end.
Conn Hallinan is a Foreign Policy In Focus (www.fpif.org) columnist.
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Published by Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF), a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS, online at www.ips-dc.org). Copyright © 2008, Institute for Policy Studies.
Recommended citation:
Conn Hallinan, "The Vishnu Strategy" (Silver City, NM and Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, February 1, 2007).
Web location:
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/3958
Production Information:
Author(s): Conn Hallinan
Editor(s): John Feffer, IRC
Production: Chellee Chase-Saiz, IRC |
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Latest Comments & Conversation Area
Editor's Note: FPIF.org editors read and approve each comment.
Comments are checked for content only; spelling and grammar errors are not
corrected and comments that include vulgar language or libelous content are
rejected. |
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| Name: |
Daniel Robicheau |
Date: Feb 01, 2007 |
| Conn Hallinan's recent article "The Vishnu Strategy" mentions, that along with two other countries, Lebanon is only 'marginally in the same century' as Israel, The US and Britain. This comment reminds me of late Dr. Edward Said's concept of "Orientalism", by which he meant the ongoing Western penchant for reducing the Middle East to caricature and stereotype. Lebanon was and is a very modern country, with a cultural sophistication rivaling any of the three other countries he mentions. Though seemingly well-intentioned, he like others in the New West, appears to be lacking in basic knowledge of the Middle East. For that matter, Iraq was and is a very modern country, technologically advanced. If it is now only 'marginally in the same century', it's because it has been subjected to massive bombardment and Sanctions by the US and Britain over the years. |
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| Name: |
Conn Hallinan |
Date: Feb 03, 2007 |
| Mr. Robicheau is quite correct. I should have made it clear that I was refering to the military capabilities of those countries. In that case they are not in the same century as Israel, the U.S or Britain. |
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| Name: |
Ashok Chowgule, Goa, India |
Date: Feb 04, 2007 |
| When Vishnu takes a course of actions he never fails. So, obviously, those who are fighting in Iraq do not know Vishnu properly. Otherwise, they would have wisely followed what Vishnu had to say.
email: ashokvc@chowgulegoa.com |
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| Name: |
Shankaree Ramatas |
Date: Feb 04, 2007 |
This is also a saying from the Geeta..
"If one offers me with love a leaf, fruit, flower, or water, I will accept it."
Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita 9.26
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| Name: |
Satya Dosapati |
Date: Feb 04, 2007 |
| While I approve Mr. Cann's call to notice to public the destruction being caused by mighty powers, he seemed completely misguided in calling it Vishnu strategy. I request him not to theorize philosophies based on partial and even misunderstanding of other religious scriptures. The same Gita out of which Oppenheimer quoted was the complete basis of non-violent life led by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji wrote his own translation of Gita, "The Gospel of selfless action" which he translated into action his entire life.
The same Lord, in the same chapter of Gita also said, "Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, beneficence, fame, infamy - all these different kinds of "qualities of beings" arise from Me alone". (5th verse, Chapter 10). Please do not quote things out of context.
When everything and beyond is not only God, but "is" God, even the power in the matter is also God. In Gita, he is revealing the immense potential of energy for which he is the source. Oppenheimer trust in those words is known to be the faith that helped him carry out the Manhattan project.
Regards,
Satya |
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| Name: |
Sunanda Thali |
Date: Feb 04, 2007 |
I am hurt with the comment of 'Vishnu Strategy' by Ms. Conn Hallinan. Vishnu is representation of preservation quality of the God in Hinduism. It has little to do with violence. The exact verse I understand "If the radiance of a thousand suns, Were to burst at once into the sky
That would be like the splendor of the Mighty one...I am become Death, The shatterer of Worlds."
is referring to the 'Pralaya' the time when worlds (solar systems) etc will be destroyed. It must be opposite of 'Big Bang'. Whatever it is, the fact that there is so much of science (as attested by authors such as Gary Zukav in The dance of Wu Li Master) that must have enamoured Gita to scientific minds such as Oppenheimer.
Please do not derogate such as great scripture or religion. It is not scriputure of Hinduism, it is of all humanity.
Regards,
Sunanda
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| Name: |
kumar |
Date: Feb 04, 2007 |
| conn,
the message is unclear in this documentary. what are you trying to say. why this has to compared with vishnu strategy. are you trying to compare in good or bad way. it has only one thing to do with hindu dharma. each and every time what ever needs to be happend is happening.
Please be reminded, it also says where there are animal slaughters happening there will be slaughtering of humans in the same way. middle east is nothing but that and it wil continue in every places. if society slaughters animals there will definitely be man slaughtering till the end of human race. |
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| Name: |
Shankara Bharadwaj |
Date: Feb 05, 2007 |
| The same lord who said "I am death", also said "I am creation, preservation and destruction" - that is, there is nothing in the Universe that is not Him. You have thoroughly misinterpreted the statement and taken it out of context. While I have no interest in the argument about armies and wars, linking those to the sublime philosophy of Hindu scriptures is unfortunate. What is even more unfortunate is that the article is titled Vishnu strategy.
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| Name: |
Ayush |
Date: Feb 05, 2007 |
| Mr.Hallinan would do well to read the entire Bhagvad Gita and its context so that he does not quote the Gita out of context; the line quoted is only to explain to Arjuna that all that is created is out of Vishnu (Krishna) and all that perishes goes back unto HIM;
Also note that in the Mahabharata Sri Krishna did all that was possible to build peace. he was also committed not to use any arms in the war; He only motivated the Arjuna to act to save Dharma since the Kauravas were greedy and irrighteous; To equate the actions of political entities with that of Sri Krishna is condemnable.
Ayush
Bharat (India)
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| Name: |
Pradeep |
Date: Feb 05, 2007 |
| I think the author doesn't have basic idea of what is Gita. Anybody before quoting statements from Gita they should first read it entire Gita or atleast chapter to understand the exact meaning. If you quote half words, I can explain you how it will be with the below ex: "I got a dream yesterday. In that I killed people without any reason." Suppose you take the 2nd half of the sentence. "I killed people without any reason" The author has taken the words from Gita not the meaning. Pradeep. |
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| Name: |
Vivek |
Date: Feb 06, 2007 |
i agree with Ayush comment . very well explained.
and it is condemnable to equate the hindu lord to some freeky political entities.
Vivek
Hindustan |
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| Name: |
C P Madhusudan |
Date: Feb 06, 2007 |
| The Vishnu analogy used in this context is totally unacceptable and irrelevant. The author needs to spend some time understanding the philiosophy of the Bhagavad Gita before writing on it. |
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| Name: |
guy hawkins |
Date: Feb 06, 2007 |
| sorry but you have just demonstrated why the west is so 'out of it' as for the hindu gods brahma is the creator vishnu is the preserver and shiva is the destroyer as well the people living in lao are called lao not laotians |
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| Name: |
Shawn Goyal |
Date: Feb 06, 2007 |
| You have simply devalued your own article and opened yourself up to ridicule when you misquote and misrepresent the world's most ancient and peaceful religion by misusing Vishnu's name. Your so called Christian religion has been a plague on the world since its inception and brought death and destruction to many civilizations. You have enslaved, raped and massacred millions throughout this world and even committed genocide in Africa, Germany, North and South America. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME. YOUR TYPE OF PEOPLE ARE ANCIENT DINASAURS WHOSE TIME FOR EXTINCTION HAS COME. |
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| Name: |
Ben |
Date: Feb 06, 2007 |
| The central idea is that violence is often self-defeating. "Completely immoral" is how UN official Jan Egeland characterized Israel's cluster bombing of Lebanon. Immaturity in the use of violence will only result in a spiritual devastation to those who perpetrate it. Karmically we are sowing salt into our souls. We still suffer from the delusion of a white-man's burden, and use brutality and terrorism to get what we want. Those cluster bombs -- pure terrorism. Pre-emptive war, the same. Shiva was the god of destruction, Vishnu is the preserver, Brahma the creator -- the Hindu trinity. Krishna represents Vishnu. |
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| Name: |
T P HARI PRASAD |
Date: Feb 07, 2007 |
| WITHOUT ENTERING INTO ANY DISCUSSIONS ON THE ARTICLE, MAY I REQUEST MR HALLINAN TO READ ON THE SUBJECT OF VISHNU. IN THE ABSENCE OF AN ELEMENTARY UNDERSTANDING ON THE SUBJECT, THE WHOLE ARTICLE BECOME WORTHLESS |
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| Name: |
Anirud |
Date: Feb 08, 2007 |
| I fail to see why the author has to invoke Vishnu for making his point. In the first instance, the quote from Gita is out of context and with absolutely no understanding of what it means, when it was said, and as many pointed out, inaccurately cited. And what was the editor doing while this pompous piece with an irrelevant opening was submitted? As Alex of Anthony Burgess would say, if you have the bollocks, why don't you start a piece on the OPEC profiteering with a misquote from the Torah and the word "Jewish Usurers"? Could you? |
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| Name: |
Jayanta |
Date: Feb 08, 2007 |
| So the author, ignoring the My Lai and Auschwitz Strategies has found it necessary to invoke the lofty Bhagavat Gita of the Hindus to justify Judeo-Christianity's most modern bloodlust? Stunning. Simply stunning. I'm sure that Vishnu The Preserver (Shiva is The Destroyer) will forgive him his gross ignorance and bigotry. |
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| Name: |
John Partington |
Date: Feb 08, 2007 |
| Our local newspaper has just given full okay to the Canadian government's statement to give its support to Israel, and dispense with our past supposed evenhandedness. I wondered where I can find reliable information about the poisoning of water in southern Lebanon so that I have a cast iron case with which to argue against the move. I find FPIF a most rewarding site for ideas and thouights concerning today's world. Thank you. |
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| Name: |
karigar@hotmail.com |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| Editors are requested to take action & get this piece re-written, since the "Vishnu" analogy is egergious & faulty.
This article was also re-published by Asia Times Online (www.atimes.com) & retracted after many objected to the mis-characterization.
I was among those wrote a letter to the editor there.
Today they published my letter, with a written statement below it saying they took the article off the website.
So here it is, as published today in Asia Times Online
at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Letters.html [After today, it will be in archives]
THE LETTER
Re Conn Hallinan's preposterously titled The Vishnu strategy meets its match [Feb 7]:
Words fail me to see such an egregious example of crass and out-of-context analogy between "what we did was insane and monstrous: we covered entire towns in cluster bombs" and the Bhagavad Gita, a text revered even by non-Hindus as explaining Hindu philosophy, in the context of Prince Arjuna compelled to decide, on the battlefield, whether he should fight or flee.
All this a part of the story of the millennia-old epic The Mahabharata. It is a text to aid human decision-making, and not for some boasting about who's destroying what, or about some ridiculous "Vishnu strategy".
"The latest channeling of the Hindu god" by this author is a pure figment of his overheated imagination, that of a writer groping for a gripping analogy, and coming upon a gross distortion of this kind. He also needs to understand the context in which the well-read [Robert] Oppenheimer made his original remark. I certainly can't accuse this author of having the faintest idea of the Gita, Lord Krishna, his message, or Hindu philosophy.
Liberally spraying the incorrect "Krishna = destroyer" reference, and a silly notion of a "Vishnu strategy", did it ever occur to the author to do some research? The analogy adds nothing to his points, anyway.
He could have found better analogies closer to home, in the Christian concepts of Armageddon, and evangelical beliefs of Jesus coming back to massacre the "evil ones".
Also, I'm appalled that ATimes editors let this past. This kind of blunder is perhaps innocent, but could attract the label of hate speech against Hinduism. [I] hope editors understand the false positions they put loyal Hindu readers [in] by letting in this kind of writing.
Karigar
USA (Feb 7, '07)
THE RESPONSE
Atimes Editors respond below
We received several letters on this, and the "Vishnu" analogy does seem to have been an unfortunate choice that prevented some readers from getting past the first paragraph (or even the headline) and into the meat of the article, which made salient points. We have taken the article off the website. - ATol
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| Name: |
CONN HALLINAN |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| Dear Editor:
I was frankly distressed to learn that the Asia Times has removed my commentary, "The Vishnu Strategy," from its web site because it received a number of letters suggesting that I was insulting the Hindu religion. I assure you that was not my intention. The title of the commentary came from a remark made by Robert Oppenheimer following the detonation of the first atomic bomb at the Trinity site in New Mexico. His exact quote (from Richard Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb, page 676) was:
"I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him he takes on his multi-armed form and says, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of the worlds." I suppose we all thought that, one way or the other."
In researching the quote I found that Oppenheimer had edited it slightly. The most accepted translation (found in Chapter 11, verse 32) is "The Supreme Lord said: I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy." I also found that the speaker is actually Shiva who takes on the form of Vishnu (the Shiva was dropped in the editing process).
The concept of "destroyer" is a powerful one, and one that many religions use. One letter writer said that I should have used the Christian Armageddon (I assumed the writer thought I was a Christian. I am not.), but Armageddon is not about destruction per se, it is about the great battle to be fought in present day Israel between the forces of Zog and the followers of Jesus. It would supposedly bring on the Second Coming. The suggestion by the letter writer is, I suppose, as casual as my use of the phrase from Oppenheimer. The letter writer is wrong, but I certainly take no offense.
What I was doing was using the words in the context that Oppenheimer used them: What have we done? What have we unleashed upon the world? That is the context that he used it in (he also compared what his team had done to Prometheus). The United States, Israel, Britain, and some other nations have increasingly resorted to being mighty destroyers. I also referred to the ability of those nations to unleash mayhem of "Biblical proportions." I hope that phrase does not offend Christians, but it is a phrase based on the kinds of destruction the Christian Lord rains down on any number of occasions.
I am disturbed that the Asia Times withdrew my commentary based on the fact that people didn't like it. Isn't the idea of commentaries to provoke discussion? Shouldn't the Asia Times have printed the letters and let people debate the question? Granted, the focus of my commentary had nothing to do with religion, but still and all, debate is debate. Maybe there are others out there who happen to have a somewhat different view than most of the letter writers. How will we know this? If we censor ideas because we fear they may offend someone, why have different ideas? There are certainly Christians who would take offense at one writer's casual suggestion of substituting Armageddon, and maybe me using the Bible to describe what the United States does in Iraq and Israel in Lebanon. Do we not run the writer's letter because those people might be offended? What article will be withdrawn next?
Lastly, the tone of the letters directed at the commentary and myself is revealing. There is a whiff of fundamentalism in them that chills me. Debate, disagreement, and correction are what we should be seeking, not attack and denunciation. The last thing this world needs is more sectarianism. It leads to the very kind of policies I was attempting to challenge.
Sincerely,
Conn M. Hallinan
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| Name: |
KV KOLAL |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| Conn,
A comment to point out that the use of Vishnu anology is poorly researched in your article does not tantamount to 'Fundamentalism'. Please understand that if you had indeed made any effort to understand the Gita that you have so loosely quoted, you would'nt have made the comparison you did. It is like saying Nehru was a muslim because he was born in Allahabad! It is precisely this half baked use of anologies and terms from scriptures that is probably close to what you called-fundamentalism. Poor research and use of half truth is probably more dangerous than lack of it. This does not deserve a debate-because no body is questioning the theme of your article but evryone-including me-we are pointing out that your research is flawed as regards Vishnu. There is no sectarianism, fundamentalism or religous jingosim that you suggest there is.. instead it is poor quality of research that is being objected to. Please don't waste anymore time on the issue-accept that it was poor research and the matter is probably over.
Regards
kv kolal |
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| Name: |
karigar@hotmail.com |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| Many thanks for publishing my previous letter. I see the author's rejoinder here, and his insinuation of fundamentalism compels me to respond. I hope editors will note that I'm attempting a measured reaction to the introduction of religion by the author himself. I'd be happy if he plays by the rules of good scholarship & debates the merits of his analogy, instead of painting his readers with derisive labels. His article is fine without this analogy, faulty as it is, & certainly deserves attention.
Prof. Hallinan's distress almost has my sympathy, except of course, that he is ignoring the Power Differential between the Accredited Scholar with access to multiple avenues of publication (FPIF, CounterPunch, San Francisco Chronicle, etc) and readers whose distress is limited to letters to FPIF/ATOL editors.
As a responsible scholar, his defense of "not intentional" is disingenuous, to say the least. He seems to believe he is the underdog here, whereas the underdog is the not so well understood hindu thought that is suffering under his heavy handed approach.
Is he deliberately failing to understand that the reasons for readers' distress are not with the points he is making, but with the casual way he has coined a new phrase in the foreign policy lexicon, that of the "Vishnu Strategy".
Being a PHd in anthropology (his credentials from the UCSC website where he is a provost) he should know the power of the words that Western Scholars use, especially regarding words from a different culture. When they set the context, they force a redefinition of these words. One knows what to think, when one hears "Machiavellian Strategy", "Nazi strategy", "Solomon strategy" "Vietnam strategy" etc, since the context is quite well known to the reader.
By connecting "insane and monstrous" with his own fabrication of a "vishnu strategy" he has provided a radical new context, one completely at odds with the way Sri Vishnu, or the Gita is understood by a billion people. Soon the chatterati will be abuzz with "vishnu strategy" in the meaning that he has singlehandedly provided.
I fail to understand why the ideas of Gita, Krishna, & Vishnu sacred to millions of hindus, should suffer as a "collateral damage" by being dragged into what essentially is a US foreign policy debate.
How difficult is it, especially to a PHd scholar, to do some basic checking before latching onto an analogy just because "Oppenheimer said it" so it makes good press? Any scholar on Gita would know that a governing interpretation of those Gita lines would be "Time am I, destroyer of worlds". [See Philosophy Professor's REFERENCE at end of this letter]
Is it that difficult to grasp the concept of Time as Destroyer? It has been part of Hindu thought for millennia. One can see his nuanced understanding of judeo christian concepts in his comments here. why not the same treatment to hindu thought, if he chooses to use it?
And the question of his "not taking offence" at the Armageddon analogy doesn't arise. I didn't use it to write a major article, I just pointed out that it was less far fetched than his "vishnu strategy" analogy.
The point went home, apparently, with accusations of "fundamentalism" emanating from him. Accusing someone of ignorance & faulty scholarship is a far cry from "fundamentalism". Hindus are not even a party to any of the conflicts he describes! Bottom line- he made a religious issue out of a foreign policy issue, and needs to explain clearly.
The less said about his line "the speaker is actually Shiva who takes on the form of Vishnu" the better. Unfortunately, by adding another ridiculous statement to the mix, he is exhibiting even more glaringly his lack of grasp of basic hindu thought.
Shiva as Rudra (the regeneration/destruction aspect in general) is quite absent in the Gita, and Shiva & Vishnu do not take each others forms.
Finally, I agree, the analysis merits discussion on its own merit, and one wishes the author would rephrase it without the irrelevant "vishnu strategy" bit.
REFERENCES:
With regards to the Gita passage he purports to quote, here's some details:
1. His take:
“The Supreme Lord said: I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy.” According to the great Hindu text Bhagavad-Gita, Vishnu delivered that speech to Prince Arjuna before a great battle almost eight millennia ago. Physicist Robert Oppenheimer paraphrased it in 1945 to describe the explosion of the atomic bomb. The latest channeling of the Hindu god can be found in an Israeli commander's evaluation of last summer's war with Lebanon: “What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs.”
2. The actual shloka (verses) from where he picks it up, and (a) mistranslates, (b) violates the context.
The above said quote is from the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad Gita (verse 32). And Conn Halliman has not taken the entire quote but mutilated it to suit his article.
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.
Kalo’smi lokaksayakrt-pravrddho
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.
From blog-
Wrongly quoting Bhagavad Gita to explain the mass destruction caused by US and its allies
FOR CONTEXT:
[Below from correspondence with Dr Antonio De Nicolas, Philosophy Professor Emeritus, SUNY ]
In my translation of the Gita, The Bhagavad Gita: The Ethics of Decision-Making here is what Chapter 11, v. 32 says:
Time am I, the world-destroyer, grown mature,
engaged here in fetching back the worlds.
Even without you, all the warriors standing over against you
will cease to be.
And in 33,
Therefore stand up, gain glory.
Having conquered enemies,
Enjoy a prosperous kingdom.
By me they are already slain;
Be you merely the occasion, O Savyasaacin (Arjuna)
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| Name: |
Anirud |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| Mr. Hallinan should know that almost everything is lost in translation. It is not Shiva taking on the form of Vishnu. Krishna is a complex character, and even many Hindus do not understand Krishna in various manifestations. More pertinently, in the Gita, Krishna represents the primeval force or what Hindus call "Viswam" (The Universe). Hence, you will find remarks such as "I am death", "I am Time" througout the Gita.
I do not expect Mr. Hallinan to know all this just as a Christian should not expect Hindus to know who Zog is. Put in perspective, however, there are two issues.
First is the usage of the metaphor as if the author wants to create a new catchphrase. That is what the Hindus are concerned about, especially when it is completely inaccurate. Scholarship demands more than a pedestrian and liberal deployment of ill-understood tropes, particularly so when a writer uses his scholarly credentials to advocate and publish his point. One could not be less bothered when a non-scholar rants. I hope I do not have to educate the author Mr. Hallinan about the power of the credentials.
A second issue is that of Research. Reflection and instrospection instead of "research" would have given more accessible metaphors closer home. How about Nixonian Nihilism? Or the Soviet Scorched Earth? Or Kissinger Cunning? I really do not know what kind of research this author conducts (since he uses that word in his rejoinder above). Perhaps he has not gone beyond the Golden Bough and Spengler of his doctoral student days. The writer of this letter, although not a PhD, did perform some research in one of the more venerated institutions of your country. His idea of valid research and good scholarship happens to be at, shall we say, slight variation with the author's perceptions. I do not think any established scholar would call this research.
It is also distressing that Mr. Hallinan invokes the Freedom of Speech bugbear to encircle himself with the wagons against his "native" attackers. How about some reflection on usage of this very freedom?
Mr. Hallinan, indeed your article is chilling, not the ranting of those who enjoined you here. It shows that trace of cultural arrogance which should be a matter of concern to all Asian nations and only confirms the worst stereotypes of America. Indeed the comments here range from intelligent to stupid. But do you realize that your sort of posturing only makes people retreat from coming together?
No one asked for the censoring of your article. People are asking only for you to realize your error. You refuse to do that. Instead you take refuge in the haven of "battle against censorship", a slogan that would immediately galvanize your ilk to rush to your defence.
Indeed, I am appalled that you did not even acknowledge your gross stupidity and lack of research in choosing the metaphor. Instead, you try to stand tall only by mounting the high horse of free speech, hoping against hope that no one is able to see the horse.
Not so Kind Regards
Anirud |
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| Name: |
Sadashiv |
Date: Feb 09, 2007 |
| This is a gimmick by unknown author to get attention and publicity in the name of the dicussion. There is no substance in the article and autor also knows about that. Hence used 'Vishnu stategy' as the title for publicity and improperly making a comparison between Vishnu and US/Britain's policies without understanding both. This is a cheap trick normally used by paid agents of communists for money and as a short cut to fame. |
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| Name: |
Cdr(Retd) Madhukar Nikam |
Date: Feb 10, 2007 |
| The Author of the article needs to have basic understanding of Bhagwat Gita and “Vishnu Rupa Darshana”.
Arjuna the warrior prince had the dilemma of fighting his own cousins, Gurus (teachers) and some of this relatives standing opposite in the battle field. He wanted to give up his legitimate claim and walk away from the battle field unable to control his emotions in fighting his own clan and killing them for winning the war, that’s where the lord Krishna steps in and advices the prince of his duties and responsibilities.
In Bhagwat Gita the conversation between Prince Arjuna & Lord Shi Krishna is depicted in 18 Chapters, at verse 32 Chapter 11 Lord Krishna shows his Divine form to Arjuna. lord Krishna conveys to Arjuna not to deter away from Dharma and get sucked into emotional bondage while fighting for a just and rightful cause. The essence of Hinduism is dharma
The Dharma is described as below:
“Hinduism describes dharma as the natural universal laws whose observance enables humans to be contented and happy, and to save himself from degradation and suffering. Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual discipline that guides one's life. Hindus consider dharma the very foundation of life”
I hope the professor finds time to read and learn to respect Hindu civilization & religion which have survived test of time over several millenniums.
It would be in the interest of the site to remove the offending portions of the text, I have no comments on his views on Lebanon, Iraq, or Afghanistan, and they are essentially political in nature.
The Author’s freedom of expression cannot be at the expense of offending some one else’s sentiments, I think that’s the essence of any living civilization.
madhur_ke@yahoo.com
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| Name: |
Anirud |
Date: Feb 10, 2007 |
| An addendum to my earlier comment. Mr. Hallinan is apparently worried about fundamentalism and censorship, and cites the decision by Asia Times Online (ATOL) to withdraw the article. This is what one calls distortion with malice.
1. The article is back on the ATOL site.
2. It is back because some of those who cooked Mr. Hallinan for his vacuity told the ATOL editor to put it back on line. Many of us feel that it is better to keep it on line so that Mr. Hallinan cannot in the future assert that he never wrote those lines. We are well aware of the advantages of openness and we do not require a lecture from him.
3. The article in the first instance was withdrawn by the ATOL editor because of his own cowardice and not due to any demands made by the critics of the article. After all, the editor must know that if the entire India decides to boycott his online paper for a few weeks, he will be without a job. We do understand how the chattering classes profess freedom of thought and speech while conducting business as usual. China and Singapore, and the US govt in 2003, have more than demonstrated this class's willingness to kneel and cower. The editor of this online journal and the author of the article belong to the same class and are no different.
Upshot? These guys are dependent on soft money so take the issue where the soft money lies. Write to the embassies. |
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| Name: |
P Rai |
Date: Feb 10, 2007 |
| Mr. Hallinan,
Your stubborness to defend your ignorance is appalling; the moral precepts from Lord Krishna has been revered and followed by people of all backgrounds for millennia. You seem to have picked the word "destruction" as it means in Judeo-chrsitian scriptures and applied it to the message of Gita. Here destruction means "transformation", cycle of birth and rebirth. You appear to be an older person with some idea about the world. Right thing for a person like you is to plead ignorance and show willingness to correct the wrong you did in this article; instead you are once again making the blunder of calling the hurt sentiments as "whiff of fundmentalism." Mr.Hallinan, give people their right to defend their Dharma and its teachings against such ignorant and casual references made purely in an attempt to show how knowledgeable you are about the world cultures. You probably are very astute when it comes to foreign policy matters and you seem to be extremely concerned about the outcome of these wars. You are probably a good human being, but please expand your sphere of knowledge, read Gita, go to a Guru who can teach you the real Gita in its sanskrit splendor (not some poor translation!) and then write another article with an enlightened mind. Good Luck! |
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| Name: |
KUMAR |
Date: Feb 11, 2007 |
| CONN, whether your christian or jew or hindu or muslim it is immaterial. it is your attitude towards hinduism like any other racism in EU and US and other continets is this show. any body can quote out of context comment. but against hinduism you can bark anything. no body is going to kill you or threaten you. it is not different ideas, these kind of ideas comes from a crooked mind who wants fame and name. there are thousands who practises silently just consider you type people as ignorants. any person has pre-determination about how is going to accept something you can't digest or not your view. this is just pre-determind likings of dislikings. check ones own life back, do regression tests of your thinking you can see that prejudiced. even before america is born there were killing much bigger than done by america or recent nuclear forces. read history. you can see semitic religion's expansion to this current state is thru killings unlike by hinduism. buddism conqured india thru its scripts but hindusim fought back intellectualy to gain it without a history single blood shed. such non-sense should be deleted that is why site has moderator |
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| Name: |
Prateek Bharadwaj |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| The article shows the lack of understanding of Hindu philosophy by the author. Mr.Hallinan read the entire Bhagvad Gita in its entirity and DO NOT quote the Gita out of context; Vishnu lectured Arjuna to destroy adharma so that there will be lasting peace on earth.
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| Name: |
Radha Vijaykumar |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| It is evident that Conn Hallinan has no understanding whatsoever of the Gita. My sincere advice to the author is - understand first and then distort. Apt title for the article wiould be - "The Mohammad's strategy". Let the author think of the consequenses before changing the title |
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| Name: |
Aravind |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| Please let us know what is your ulterior motive. Are you part of the MINISTRY to spread the so-called word of the Lord Jesus(?) and spread terror as a consequence. What Lord. Krishna said was a message to the world, how world acts, why we are here, what is our purpose, to sum it up everything that we need to know about everything. You just cannot take a message which is put in context for a different situation and use it for a totally different situation. Krishna, is at most times referred to God of love. Please visit Bharat (India) and meet us and then you will realise both the greatness of Hinduism and in turn will realise the real YOU.
Jai Krishna,
Aravind. |
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| Name: |
Sushama Londhe |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
Namaste,
I invite you to visit my site on Hinduism and Indian Culture.
Hindu Wisdom
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/
Please feel free to write in the guestbook or e-mail me any suggestion you may have regarding the site.
Thanks.
regards,
Ms. Sushama Londhe
Hindu Wisdom
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/
moksha@hinduwisdom.info
***
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| Name: |
kumar |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| Guys. he/she(i don't know the gender of this author) is too old to criticised. show him/her some mercy and let him/her bark. nothing we are going to lose. practise hinduism in all aspects. unlike other religions its beauty is in its people who practise it. so practise rest will be taken care by god. hindus are getting powerful. do some good thing back in india religiously and practise hinduism. we don't need to preach and advertise and convert to attract people like semitic religions. |
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| Name: |
rajeev |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| we are critizised by a step father culture of west. ignore it guys.
Tell them to work rectifying family lives in EU and west. then if he writes an article about family lives in west, he may compare infidelity with prostitution |
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| Name: |
Krishan Badrinath |
Date: Feb 12, 2007 |
| It is obvious from the text of Conn Hallinan's article that he has little understanding of the Hindu terms he has so lackadaisically borrowed to lend weight to his arguments. That would be understandable if he was a lay person, but he is not; he is an academician of some standing. Given that, should he not have been a little more circumspect in coining his 'Vishnu Strategy'? His insupportable use of that term demonstrates either:
1. A total lack of hesitation in using terms, in contexts where they are completely unnecessary,
OR,
2. A lack of awareness, or nonchalance, about the distress he might be causing so many people by unjustifiably using those terms,
OR,
3. An almost total ignorance about the religion and philosophy of almost a billion people, most of whom happen to inhabit a country that appears to be of increasing importance to the USA.
Any of the above three reasons would be deplorable, but the last would be appalling in a 'Foreign Policy Columnist'. |
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| Name: |
Rajesh TK |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
The author has used the name Vishnu in a highly inappropriate context. The verse cited appears as an invocation to human beings not to be idle and not to succumb to aggression - and instead strive for justice even at the cost of peril and destruction to oneself. The unfortunate distortion of the content and its malicious interpretation by the author constitutes a perversion of fact besides hurting the sentiments of a billion people on this planet. One also regrets that a responsible publication like yours allowed such an affront to truth to appear on your site. Is it because the plebian Hindu class does not have the economic muscle to challenge the pretensions of the imperial bourgeosie?
Yours sincerely,
T K Rajesh
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|
| Name: |
Aryas |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
| First of all, he uses 2nd sources, and even then, the speaker of the 2nd source is much misunderstood. All the people of the manhatten project from Robert to Einstein were well versed in Bhagwad Gita. In fact, when asked to robert, if this was the first atomic bomb, Robert said, "In modern time, yes." Implying that nuclear fusion has happened in the past, and most likely in mahabharata. If i could be a bit of a help to the author to grow from this mistake, i would highly recommend that he tries to understand Mr. Robert. The following link may be a great help. It doesn't come from a Hindu, who he might pass as fundamentalists because of disagreement. Throwing labels are simply a per-empitive war to discourge the intellectual growth. Anyhow, here is the linke... http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1442/Hijiya.pdf |
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| Name: |
Parmesh, USA |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
Mr Hallinan,
From the responses you have received from all over, it would have become apparent to you that you are now dealing with a different breed. The Hindus, who have down the ages, always been tolerant and peaceful, have now taken on a different mantle. Gone are the days when one could heap insults on Hindus and Hinduism. Their proverbial cup of patience has now run over, and a fierce will to protect themselves from onslaughts is now making its presence felt. If you quote from the Hindu scriptures totally out of context, you can be rest assured there will be no fatwa on your head, or looting and arson in your name, but there will be righteous indignation. If you come forward with an intention to learn, you will find each one of them ready, as you can see from the responses. |
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| Name: |
Dhruba Chakravarti |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
| It was very disappointing to read that Israelis choose to call cluster bombing Vishnu strategy. I always thought of the Israelis as a forward-looking, science-oriented society. But this choice of words of the Israelis is just as hurtful as the the Nazi warmongers who chose Swastika (a symbol of peace) as the symbol of fascist doctrines. I hope the Israeli govt recognizes this and issues an apology. |
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| Name: |
Ramakrishnan |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
| One important fact Halliman missed is that, in the Mahabharat, (Gita is only a part of it) there are rules of engagement. There was never an attack on civilians and there was never a fight between unequal partners. There was never an attack on the enemy in the dark, and in an unexpected time. What we see in middle east is contrary to this civilized and modern rules of Mahabharata war. Hallinan's shody scholarship and his hurry to coin a catchphrase totally ignored these simple but well known facts about Mahabharat war.
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| Name: |
Ari Saja |
Date: Feb 15, 2007 |
| Professor Conn Halinnan proves what I said of his ilk in my article. There is no mistaking the cowardice of such types - first the casual bigoted slander against other religions, then the shrill whine "Oooo! The FUNDAMENTALISTS are after me! So CHILLING!!" The only "fundamental" writing here is Hallinan's. His writing seems to originate from his fundament. USC's standards of scholarship and integrity are evident in Hallinan's article, and his reaction. |
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| Name: |
Dipak Basu |
Date: Feb 16, 2007 |
| Sir,
In the article, "Vishnu Strategy" Conn Halinan made a false statement about the Hindu religion. In Bhagwat Gita Sri Krishna never said, "I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy." I challenge him to quote the specific chapter and the verse. A closely similar verse read, "I am death that carries off all things and I am the source of things to come; of feminine nouns I am fame and prosperity; speech, memory and intelligence, constancy and patient forgiveness." (Ch 10, verse 34; Bhagwat Gita). Another verse (Ch 11, verse 32) says, "I am all powerful Time that destroys all things, and I have come here to slay these men. Even if thou does not fight all the warriors facing thee shall die", which refers to the warriors in Kurukhestra not the whole world. Your author has quoted falsely to denegrate Hindu religion. He should apolosize for his ignorance. Sincerely.
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| Name: |
Nusrat Ali |
Date: Feb 16, 2007 |
| Almost every week holiday I read geeta and every time I observe a new meaning and dimension of life and world in it. Dear Halinan might have understood only one side or phase of Geetas Content which he used though slightly out of context. Dear Halinam plz do read geeta two three times and ponder over it when you are alone. You will enjoy the sat- chit-anand ie trancendentness or elevation in mind. I dont agree with so many hindus posting here. Geeta is an universal book or thought or philosophy, there is nothing of hindu in it, not a single word of hindu in it, and there were no isms like islam, xtianity, communisms, judaisms at that time, 5000 yrs ago. Dara Shikoh s/0 Emperor Shah jahan of india loved and translated geeta in persian languages, but he was killed by Mullas and Moulavis of the then Islam. So we should take a very innoscent view of this article. |
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| Name: |
Hitanshu |
Date: Feb 16, 2007 |
| I am reminded of the saying "an empty vessel makes the loudest noise". The author's lack of understanding of the Hindu religion makes the above saying so true. |
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| Name: |
ganesh |
Date: Feb 16, 2007 |
| MR CONN we all want you to put yourself in our place to see what we see limpidly. you can see but only if you shed the "me." I and feel that a corpse has no "me" nor "i" neither a living man has no conscience of "me" or "I" when he sleeps profoundly. please let your ego fall like a yellow leaf from a tall tree...on a windy day. then only the clouds of ignorance and ego-centic mentality will slide away to let thousand suns of intelligence shine fully... |
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| Name: |
Ashwani |
Date: Feb 20, 2007 |
| How horribly can you be so mis-guided Sir, and still be a columnist in FPIF. Your title is so misguided that I read through the whole article trying to find any context to so-called Vishnu strategy. How about you spend an hour of reading about Vishnu or Mahabharat or Geeta, and then try to quote the scriptures. As able readers have already pointed out, this kind of title maybe sells more eyeballs on your website, but publishing this article under a mystic-sounding title thoroughly tarnishes the good article written by the author. Please either hire a new proof-reader or do some more homework before you write again.
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| Name: |
Inim Aduos |
Date: Feb 23, 2007 |
| You or whereever you got your quote about the Bhagavad-Gita and Vishnu and His purpose on this earth is completely out of line my friend. Vishnu who is the incarnation of Lord Krishna advised Arjuna how to fight the battle of his mind. The battle fought there has no comparison to any of the modern 'explosion of the atomic bomb' or any of the modern day wars. Please stop insulting the Hindu epics; especially if you don't really know its meaning. |
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| Name: |
Sid |
Date: Apr 14, 2007 |
| Firstly, your title is outrageous, and deeply offensive. What Lord Krishna was exhorting Arjun to do on the battlefield of Kurukshetra was to do his duty, and defend his right. What the United States, Britan or Isreal have done over the past four years do not in any way meet Lord Krishna's high ethical standard.
Secondly, your quote is out of context. The full full quote is given below:
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.
As you can see, in the gita, the lord is exhorting Arjun to do what he has already done for him, and saying for this reason it does not matter what he does.
Please, use half a brain in the future and research when you quote gods or people far more intelligent than you may posses |
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| Name: |
Saeed |
Date: Aug 08, 2007 |
| The initial censorship of Conn Hallinan's article on Asia Times and the subsequent irrelevant attacks on it here reveal an ugly truth: the same India that gloats about being the "World's Largest Democracy" is hostile to freedom of speech when it "offends" Hindu religious idols and fundamentalist dogmas.
The rationalizations offered by the Indians here are a mixture of political disingenuousness, smug condescension, and religious zealotry.
Most of these people ignore the critical fact that Conn Hallinan was merely invoking a Hindu quote as a rhetorical trope to discuss the broader issue of war, NOT India per se.
In other words, these Indians are in a fundamentalist lather, aggressively attacking Hallinan's article DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT HAS VERY LITTLE, IF ANYTHING, TO DO WITH INDIA. If this is not "deeply offensive" and outrageous, then nothing is.
The people are very brazen to think they can get away with this attack, and not have anyone call them out or notice their duplicitous evasion of the actual issues addressed by Hallinan's article. This is the arrogance of the Indian (Hindu) nationalist.
This also shows that it's not Islam, but India's noxious brand of Hinduism that is anti-democratic to the core. |
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| Name: |
Asif |
Date: Aug 11, 2007 |
| And here we have a Pakistani indulging in some self righteous bile against Hindus for standing up for their religious text. As an Indian, I am particularly taken with Saaeds term "Indias noxious brand of Hinduism"- if anything, I would say its Pakistans noxious brand of Islam that is the problem and has me and even many Muslims worried. |
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