The Moghul

Captain Hawksworth, without which life no longer matters. No Christian, or Muslim, has ever been able to understand dharma , since it is the order that defines our castes—and those born outside India are doomed to live forever without a caste. Dharma defines who we are and what we must do if we are to maintain our caste. Warfare is the dharma of the Kshatriya, the warrior caste."
    "And I say a pox on caste. What's so honorable about Rajputs slaughtering each other?"
    "Warriors are bound by their dharma to join in battle against other warriors. A warrior who fails in his duty sins against the dharma of his caste." Vasant Rao paused. "But why am I bothering to tell you this? I sound like Krishna, lecturing Arjuna on his duty as a warrior."
    "Who's Krishna? Another Rajput?"
    "He's a god, Captain Hawksworth, sacred to all Rajputs. He teaches us that a warrior must always honor his dharma ."
    Vasant Rao's eyes seemed to burn through the shadows of the cell. From outside Hawksworth heard the distant chantings of some village ceremony.
    "If you'll listen, feringhi captain, I'll tell you something about a warrior's dharma . There's a legend, many thousands of years old, of a great battle joined between two branches of a powerful dynasty in ancient India. Two kings were brothers, and they shared a kingdom, but their sons could not live in peace. One branch wished to destroy the other. Eventually a battle was joined, a battle to the death. As they waited on the field for the sound of the conch shell, to summon the forces, the leader of those sons who had been wronged suddenly declared that he could not bring himself to kill his own kinsmen. But the god Krishna, who was charioteer for this son, reminded him he must follow his dharma . That there is no greater good for a warrior than to join battle for what is right. It's wrong only if he is attached to the fruits of battle, if he does it for gain. It's told in the Bhagavad-Gita, a Sanskrit scripture sacred to all warriors. I was reciting a verse from Chapter Twelve when you woke."
    "What did this god Krishna say?"
    "He declared that all who live must die, and all who die will be reborn. The spirit within us all, the atman , cannot be destroyed. It travels through us on its journey from birth to rebirth. But it's not correct to say merely that it exists. It is existence. It is the only reality. It is present in everything because it is everything. Therefore there's no need to mourn for death. There is no death. The body is merely an appearance, by which the atman reveals itself. The body is only its guardian. But a warrior who turns away from the duty of his caste sins against his honor and his dharma . Krishna warned that this loss of honor could one day lead to the mixture of castes, and then the dharma of the universe, its necessary order, would be destroyed. It's not wrong for a Rajput to kill a worthy foe, Captain Hawksworth, it's his duty. Just as it's also his duty to die a worthy death."
    "Why all this killing in the name of 'honor' and 'duty"?"
    "Non-Hindus always want to know 'why.' To 'understand.' You always seem to believe that words somehow contain all truth. But dharma simply is. It is the air we breathe, the changeless order around us. We're part of it. Does the earth ask why the monsoons come? Does the seed ask why the sun shines each day? No. It's dharma . The dharma of the seed is to bear fruit. The dharma of the warrior caste is to do battle. Only feringhi , who live outside our dharma, ask 'why.' Truth is not something you 'understand.' It's something you're part of. It's something you feel with your being. And when you try to catch it with words, it's gone. Can the eagle tell you how he flies, Captain Hawksworth, or 'why"? If he could, he would no longer be an eagle. This is the great wisdom of India. We've learned it's wasted on feringhi , Captain, as I fear it's now wasted on you."
    The talk left Hawksworth feeling strangely insecure, his mind wrestling with ideas that defied rationality.
    "I know there are things you understand with your gut, not with your head."
    "Then there may be hope for you, Captain Hawksworth. Now we will see if you can die like a Rajput. If you can, perhaps you will be reborn one of us."
    "Then I might even learn to be a bandit."
    "All Rajputs are not the same, Captain. There are many tribes, descended from different dynasties. Each has its own tradition and genealogy. I'm from the north. From the races descended from the moon.