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Pacifism and conscientious objection to war are unworthy of a student of philosophy. They are ideals which are correct only for monks, hermits, and those who have renounced the worldly life, but quite incorrect for those who remain in the world to serve mankind. During the last war, when we were fighting such devils as the Nazi gangsters, who would destroy all spirituality, all truth, and all religion, pacifism was sheer idiocy. The Bhagavad Gita explains that selfless action is much higher than self-centered renunciation. So philosophy supported the war as a sacred duty but it was done without hatred and simply to teach the Germans and the Japanese that crime does not pay. If they have learned this lesson, we have helped them spiritually.

-- Notebooks Category 6: Emotions and Ethics > Chapter 7 : Miscellaneous Ethical Issues > # 36