Radhanath Swami on Bhisma's Surrender

Why in the world would Bhisma want to take the side of, fight and give his life for irreligion? Since time immemorial, this has been a very perplexing and bewildering question. Many people say he was obliged to do so due to his position. But would such a great soul as Bhisma be afraid of going against such superficial principles of social morality at the cost of shooting arrows into the pure devotees of the Lord? On a very superficial level, it is true that he fought on the side of the Kurus because he was obliged to them socially. But the internal reason was that Bhisma was a completely surrendered soul. He was completely pure and had no ambition other than the pleasure of Krishna. His only motivation was to execute the will of God. Therefore, although Bhisma knew that he would be criticized and misunderstood for taking the wrong side for all time to come, he did not care at all for his own reputation. He knew that Krishna had a plan - He wanted to show that anyone who is not on the side of God would be vanquished. And this is the most important instruction for all humanity.