The difference between Arjun and Duryodhan was highlighted by the leela (Divine pastime) of what happened when they went to Dwarika to ask for Shree Krishna’s help in the war.
Shree Krishna said, “I’ll help both of you. But since I saw Arjun first”, because Arjun was humbly standing at the feet of Shree Krishna’s bed when He woke up, whereas Duryodhan was standing by His head, “Arjun, you get first-pick. I’m giving you two choices. One of you will get My entire army, and one of you will get Me. The other one gets My army, and the other gets Me, but under one condition: I will not raise a weapon in this war. So now, Arjun, you choose.”
Duryodhan was relieved, and he thought Arjun was very foolish when he chose Shree Krishna. Now, unless Arjun knew who Shree Krishna was, who in their right mind would make that choice? Even if someone thought Shree Krishna was a great man, not God, who would choose one unarmed person, who was not even going to fight, over His entire army with millions of warriors? Who in their right mind would make that choice? Only someone who knew who Shree Krishna was. Arjun knew He was Bhagwan (the Supreme God), and that is why he chose Him.
Later on, Shree Krishna went personally to Duryodhan in one last effort to avoid the war, one last peace proposal, one last chance to work things out. Imagine God Himself going to a soul and pleading with him,
“Please do the right thing!”
People say that God is all-kind, all-knowing and all-powerful, so why does evil exist in the world? Why does bad exist?
The answer is right there in that leela of Shree Krishna going to Duryodhan. God Himself went to someone and said,
“I am trying to convince you to do the right thing. Don’t do the wrong thing.”
Duryodhan didn’t just disobey or ignore Shree Krishna’s advice. He insulted Him and even tried to throw Him in jail. At that point, Shree Krishna revealed His Almighty form to Duryodhan. He revealed His Divine almightiness right there in front of him!
And Duryodhan simply said, “Oh, He’s some kind of magician showing some tricks. Catch Him and throw Him in jail!”
See, what can God do? If a soul is not willing to accept the right thing, what can God do? All He can do is guide us and try to help us go in the right direction.
But the rest is up to us.
