THE BHAGAVAD.-GITA ABRIDGED AND EXPLAINED, SETTING FORTH THE HINDU CREED, DISCIPLINE AND IDEATS BY Cc, RAJAGOPALACHARI Published by Hindustan Times, Ltd, Dethi, for the Federation of International Fellowships, Madras 1935 Six Annas.CONTENTS : Nore wv ‘ Ot ae Intropuctont \ Qa Tre Sour Karwa Gop axp Natore +e Ruger Actrov . THE PRACTICE OF MIND CONTROL MEDITATION -e . Innerirep PROPENSITIES. Horr rOR ALL ,- - BUT NOT GODL}SSNESS TpE4ALS—AUSTERITIES~-Foop SURRENDER (ND GRACE TUE ONE NESS OF EXISTENCF (wvarra anp (94 DISCIPLINE Sesinna Goya. COAL LUias Tspnx OF SLOKAY QuoTeD 36 {1-6}NOTE This is one of 4 series of Study Books which the Federa- tion of International Fellowships is issuing for the use of students The other books in this senes are ‘Studies in the Gospels” by Pather Verner Elwin, of Gond Seva Mandal, Karan- ya, Central Provinces, and “Studies m the Quran by Prof Ishtlaq Hussain Qureshi, of St Stephens College, Delhi Each author has endeayoured to give the positive teach- ings of the religion with whieh he ig coneerned without any effort to accommodate its teachings to those of other rel- gions None of the authors clams authonty to wnte in a re- presentative chatatter, but each mnterprets to the readers his own understanding and appresiation of the religion which he 18 sincerely trying to follow The books are pmmaniy mean. for the students who belong to the religion with which each deals, but itis hoped that, afer understanding the fundamental teachings of thar own rebgions, the readers will endeavour to study and appre- ciate the teachings of religions other than their own, for which also these books may be of help and enable them te under- stand the common elements in all religions with a view to pool- ing their resources In co-operative thinking and action They may also help readers to understand the points of difference between the several religions in order that young men and women following different faitws may come together in an atmosphere of fuller understanding, to the end that each may enrich and be enriched by the experiences of others and thur be enabled more earnestly to seek for the TruthThe Gita is one of the most authori- tative sources of Hindu doctrine and ethics, and is accepted as such by Hindus of all denominations, A study of even selections from it, strengthened by earnest meditation, will enable young men and women to understand the religion of our fathers, which is the background of all the noble philosophy, art, literature and civilisation that we have inherited. There are many excellent translations of the Gita in English and Indian spoken languages. or scholars the works of Sri Sankaracharya and other great religions teachers are mines of knowledge before which any modern notes are but chaff. The following pages ore intended for students who have not the equipment and time for studying the original text with any of these great commentaries. The Gite is a chapter in the Jfahabha- rata. It begins by describing the agitation4 of Arjuna when he saw men arranged on either side for mutual slaughter, and into this scene is fitted the exposition of Hindu Dharma, in terms of what Krishna spoke to Arjuna in order to quell his agitation and clear his doubts. Krishna speaks throughout the Giia as God Himself. In sprte of what is stated in the previous paragraph the student should note that the Gifa as a scripture of Hinduism stands apart from the Mahabharata. The context has tightly dwindled into in- significance, practically disappeared in orthodox Hindu interpretation, To take? the battle of Kurukshetra literally and to interpret all that is said in the Gita in the light of the motive of the particular scene would not only not help the student to understand the Gita aright, but actually Tead him to error, It is true that the teachings in the Gia being of universal validity would bse applicable to the Blaha- bherata scene also and must help to solve Arjuna’s problems and doubts. But it will not serve to help us to understand the teaching aright if we ate obsessed by the5 particular scene and seek to interpret the general by the particular, We should» forget the battle-scene when we-study the Gita as a seripture of Sanatana Dharma. There are eighteen chapters in the Gita and seven hundred slokas in all. In the following pages 227 slokas are quoted. A study of them is enough to give a fairly good grasp of the Bhagavad-Gita. The Bhagavad-Gite purported to give nothing new beyond what had previously been taught by the older ARishis. It contented itself with a conservative synthesis of the older teachings. Neither does this book propose to give any new interpretation of the Bhagavad-Gita, Let the reader not expect to read, in the following pages, any old interpretations controverted or any new- © ly invented explanations offered for ¢on- sumption. This little book sims at a simplification of the Gita-content, and bringing it within a small compass so as to enable the modern student to understand in the midst of his other studies, the faith, discipline and ideals that lighted the path s6 of life for the best of our forefathers, and to which is given the name, Sanatane- Dharma or Hinduism. A little lmowledge of the Jaws of nature and the wonders of science, specially when that knowledge is acquired second-hand, without the chastening influ- ence of effort and investigation, acta as a wine on some natures. Their sense of Proportion is upset. The unknown is not only unknown but ceases to exist for them. Holy hooks and scriptures are to them ancient folly; they aro looked upon as and deliberate devices for tho fraud. But thoso who obtain deeper knowledge of the natural sciences and who, therefore, know enough to retain their sense of Proportion and judgment, know that the vast unknown is over so much more than what is lnown, nay worse, instruments practice of have strugeled to and that while human intelligence may bring under its domain more and more as time goes on, there is R necessary residuum that f ignored or brought under man’s intelligence, These cannot bo .eith tho sway of7 men and women not only preserve their humility, but, on account of their very knowledge of the secrots of nature, bow with inereased humility and roverence in the presence of that which must ever remain outside the pale of human analysis. The cause of al) causes, the law of * all Jaws cannot be seized by the highest effort of human reasoning or investigation. Human reason is so well organised and so perfectly fashioned and rounded off that it has lost the very sense of limita- tion. But the fact remains that the part cammot comprehend the whole, however excellently it may be shaped. The symbol - of the serpent with the tail in its mouth as if swallowing itself illustrates the limitation of the human mind in its efforts to grasp the All. Even a giant cannot: stand on a platform and lift 16 also. We- cannet jump off the ultimate cause on which we stand and on which we depend for every motion of our minds, in order that we may get round it and measure it or attempt to lift it. The stomach cannot digest itself beyond a certain degree,8 at which stage its powers of digestion cease. Likewise, human analysis cannot analyse itself beyond a certain stage. This limitation on human knowledge is a familiar boundary in scientific and philoso- phical investigations. Dive into any truth or investigate any phenomenon oF examine any distinction deep enough, and at a certain point we reach the un- knowable and further progress is stopped; —vwe strike against God, so to say, in every thing. The Dnknowable is all-per- vading. The known and knowable make up but a thin surface-crust over a mystery- sphere of infinite dimensions. Religions and holy beoks, and the sayings and doings of holy men deal with this Infinite Unknown, not as science deals with matter, but in a different and the only possiblo way. It may be asked why any one should worry about tho unknown, of what use is it? The answer is that to ignore the real is foolish, The Unknown is no less real becauso it is unknown, We know this9 much about it,—that it fs there and has profound relation to all that exists inelud- ing ourselves. How then can we ignore it? The gap in human perception, we know, is not a void but filled with the most important Reality; only, we cannot dive into it, analyse it or understand it. The mathematician must and docs deal with quantities that are too great or too small for definifion, and with expressions that are for the human understanding wholly unreal. Yet infinity, zero, and surds and the roots of negative quantities are not neglected mm mathematics, but go greatly to make up a science which actu- ally helps engineera and mechanics to build real and useful constructions. The insoluble and the infinite arc neither un- real nor useless for practical life. To take the simplest cases, we can never work out in arithmetical quantity the oxact pro- portion of the side of the square to the diagonal or of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, but squares and eixeles are drawn to order, and we build and manufacture thereupon. What is said in the Gita, the Upanishads and other10 holy books of the world is often not as precise or clear as we would want it to be. ‘The explanations are not as satis- fying as the proofs we find in the earlier chapters of books on the material sciences or mathematics. This is necessarily 50, because the matter is wholly different and the approach and methods of applica- tion also must differ. Things within the domain of human reasoning can be de- fined and proved. But for the things peyond, faith and meditation come in to function. The scriptures and holy books must bo looked upon as helps to assist reverent meditation by which alone the human mind can get glimpses into the truth beyond. By cultivation of purity of mind and action, and by meditation and prayer, what sounded first but as an empty jingle of qntithetic phrases gets substances and meaning, what was obscure gets a strange and new light by which we may see dimly; though, often, what we sO WO may not even be able to relate to others. Thus it was our fathers saw, and thug again we may algo seo.ll A reverent spirit is necessary to understand any religion. To start with a suspicion that the founders and teachers of Religion in any land were skilful deceivers interested in some scheme of self-advancement or the advan- tage of some particular class, and that the rest of the people were duped to regard these deceivers with unbounded reverence and affection is foolish in‘ tho — extreme. The mass of tho people of an- cient days, from whom, indeed, we havo inherited all the intellect we possess, were as practical as wo are, wero as in- terested in knowing the truth about men and things os we are, and were, if it may be so put, as suspiciotts as we are. They had probably as much intellectual acumen as wo have, and hed indeed more time to examine men and things. To believe that they were duped, and that no body among them was intelligent and bold enough to prevent the mischief js to proceed on a wholly wrong assump- tion. Tho religions that have com- manded the devotion of successive penera- tions of normal human beings in any12 country have done so because by direct personal knowledge first, and experience handed down as tradition from one generation to another, the founders and teachers of the religions were known to be good, sincere and deep-thinking men, worthy of being followed, Tt is not merely foolish to display the C. I. D. mentality when studying a religion. It incapacitates one even to understand it. Undoubtedly personal and class interests have perverted religion ag they have per- verted other institutions, But to confuse the later with the earlier and to impute fraud to the source is an unscientific attitude of mind in the investigation of truth. Tho Rishis of our land, who have bequeathed to us great thoughts, were Rishis and no less. Is is in a spirit of reverent affection that we should approach the study of an ancient Scripture,CHAPTER If THE SOUL The first step in religion is the reali- sation of the existence of an entity behind the apparent body, i.2, the Soul, The visible bedy is not the whole reality, There is within it an unseen but ever active master of the house, the Dehi, a, the possesser of the body, whose exis- tence we should realise before we can live the true life. This entity, the Self, should not be confused with the intan- gible functions of the brain. It is not mere Thought, Perception, Emotion, Will or Discriminative Intelligence. These are all but functions of the physical body. The Soul is an entity apart from and behind ali these functions. It is not. seated in any particular part of the body but pervades the whole of it and all the senses, unaffected by the law of “exten- sion” even as Ether is taken to pervade the whole of space and matter by the physicists. Not only man, but every4 animal and plant, every living thing has a Soul. The body is but the field for action, the Kshetra, which is teken posses- sion of by the Soul, who is the Kehetri, or Kshetrajna. The Soul does not cease to exist when the bedy dies andis buried, burnt or eaten up by wild birds or beasts, Grief over death ia foolish, the Soul being meapable of death. It is the body that is cast off in death even as we cast off old clothes. savargara | UTNTTATAS SETA | MTT Tare | ataTef | fReRT The Lord said You gneve for those that are not to be greved for, yot you speak words of seemmg wis- dom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead ll a Sg wy ae te A tafe 1 aaa Towser et ary goth Verily, at no time was I not, sor thou, nor these chiefs of men, nor shall we ever conse to be herssfter, IL1215 afnistenrmar 23 shart ater ay aa tercortedieat 7 recht As the soul dwelling in the body goes through childhood, youth and old age, soit moves on to another body, the wise arp nof disturbed in mind over tt TI-13 afenft g afefe Ga saline ae Reamer a rfeadagit u Know that to bo indestructhble by which all these are pervaded Nor can any ono work the destruction of that imporishablo ontity, Ti.17 at aad fod ar zafart wear onfar ar ot wrt aa fra areaatsr gaat H wma ee at Tho gsonl 23 not born, nor doth it die, nor having been, ceasoth at any tymoto be unborn, unchanging,over-abiding, primeval, tt 13 not killed when tho body 13 killed 1 20 arate strife omar fear waht genie = atisraftt war wtrafer feera oict- erafs dat als tau As aman, casting off worn-out garments, puta on now ones, so tho soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters inta new bodies Il.2216 HEPAT AAM STATA TT Ca | fea eT MANTRA TAT It 1s uncleavable, 1b 15 incommbustible, 1b can- mot be drenched or be dried, 2t abides for ovor, all pervasive, stable, mmmovable, primeval. TI.24 sear antren Trae rase rea | wena fafecta aaa Pagel ty Tt os declared abont xt that xt 19 unmanifost, incomprehensible and iummnutable, knowing it as such, you should not grieve, If 25 Ret frais BE wae Are t aera yale a we Prarie This dweller m the body of everyone 1a ever- abiding and mvulnerable It 1 mot for you, therefore, to grieve for any creature TT 30 arama PSAs MATA tt eerie wort Whatsoever hfe is born, fixed or moving, Inow that 16 comes te be from the umon between a body and a soul XTIT 27lt aay wdid verararerd Aisferat qaatafeadt 2 aansay ated 0 As the all-pervading other is too subtle to ‘be affected by anything it pervades, se seated everywhere in the bedy the self is un- affected, XUIT-33 mer aerate: Tet Srefid ci: t at aa) war ged seraala ane ny As the ono sun irradistes the whole earth, so the soul irradiates the whole body. XTIT-3419 one or other of these schools. It is serip- ture for all the three schools of Hindu thought. The doctrine of Karma, the law that governs the individual soul, is accepted by all the three schools, The soul’s dwelling place is 2 casing of body and senses and a co-ordinating mind. This casing ig made out of and is estab- lished in the world of matter. When it departs from one such body it takes with it a load of character or Gunas as developed by the activities so far gone through. This makes the start for the next body. The soul takes the earthy Gunas in its passage from one life to another, as the wind takes with it the fragrance from the bowers through which it passes. wate fee sie | aaa naicorifanin sefrentt nif «A fragment of Mine own Self becomes in the world of living things an immortal soul; It attracts to itself the five senses and a con- trolling mind, all six established in matter. XV-720 Toe yea § wearearadieat 1 Bak ans sracterarag 1 The soul, when it takes up lordship over & body and when it leavesit, takes these with it as the wind takes fragrances from bower to bower wherever it rests KV 8 a sq wel e WA oN 7 afer oo area Pawarqaat n Enthtoned in the eat, the 636, and in the otgans of touch, taste and smell, and im the mind also, it enjoys the objects of the senses AV? Man evolves luimself exactly according to lus actions, the process bemg unbroken by death and passing on to the neat life. No explanation or theory m regard to the ul- timate cause of things can be free from objections or difficulties from the rationa- hist pomt of view But on the assumption of an immortal soul as the basts of per- sonality, no theory can be formulated more in conformity with the hnown laws of nature thon the Hindu doctrine of Karma Tins, the most important doctrino in Hindu re- ligion, 1 the apphevtion m= the moral21 sphere of the law of conservation of energy, and indeed may be termed a deduction therefrom. Cause and effect must be equiva- lent. As death is only disintegration of the- body, and not of the soul, the law of cause and effect as far as the soul is concerned takes no account of, but continues to operate beyond death. The death of the body does not operate as a bankruptcy court. The old account is carried over, . The tiniest pebble thrown into water produces a ripple. The effect “may not be perceived by the naked eye, but the dis- turbance is carried onwards in ever-widen- ing circles on the water, One ripple may cut across, add itself to, and he merged in another, increasing or reducing it, but not the tiniest movement can go for naught. . Likewise also do all our acts—and acts include thoughts—produce results, The most transient and secret thought enter- tained in the mind ruffles the calm of the Spirit Universal, and the disturbance has to be worked off. Apart from the effect on others, and22 from any question of reward or punishe ment, every thought or act, good or bad, has at once an effect on oneself Lvery mo- ¢ tion of the mmd deals 5 stroke with clusel and mallet, whether one wants or not, on one’s own charicter, and its evolution 18 made better or worse thereby IfI thmk evil to day, I thimh 1t more readily and per- sstently to morrow, and hhewise 15 it with good thoughts If I control or calm myself, it becomes more spontaneous, more easy next time and this goes on progressively At! death, whatever character has been ham- mered oub by the thoughts and deeds and repentances of the life that 1s closed conti nues to attach itself as the imttial start of character for the Soul m ite next journey Karma is not Fatahem It 1s not an arbitrary and external agency which mokes personal effort of no avul On the contrary, the theory places ones evolution m one’s own hauds completely, and even death does not mterfere with the progress of effort It 1s well known that facil oppearance and certain other physical charactersties and23 some maladies and even mental traits are passed on from parents to children. This heredity does not interfere, however, with any soul being Jodged in any body, in which ithas earned the fitness to function. Bodies are only the lodgments provided for souls even as engincers may build in similar or varying types for citizens to choose and live in, according to their needs. A house may be improved or even damaged by the occupant. The next person who comes into the tenement does so because it suits his own condition. A father may ruin the coming son's bedy, but who comes as that son depends on that soul’s condition. When a son is born to parents, he appears to inherit their physical and mental character- istics, but in reality what he inherits is his own previous life’s accumulation, by reason of which he is born as gon to such parents. The aurasa son is such only in the physical body. *Tn the soul, even an aurasa son is, ao to say, « but an adopted son. The law of heredity does not dispense with or interfere with the opera- tion of the law of Karma. Besides XV. 7, 8 and 9 already quoted,24 the following slolas may he studied m thus connection — meta ger aa frame Tarait | faoreren yresta fafa sahrarTary 1 Krow thet matter and soul are both without begmmng, and that all materal forms, pheno- mens and qualities come out of matter XI 26 arrears ty veld) TR FA AT TTT Qut of material nature are produced causes and effects, but the soul has brought abou} and reaps the pleasure and pain XTUI-21 get malar (ee rateaeyAT arm RoE, ely 1 The soul estabhehed in matter onjoya the qualties born of matter, attachment to this en- yoyment is the cause of ite births m good and avi, wombs KY 22CHAPTER IV GOD AND NATURE Ali the physical elements of nature including the material bodies of animate beings and their sensory and mental functions may be grouped together forming the ever-changing physical aspect of the universe. This is called Prakviti (vgli). Behind the animate is the Soul that dwells within each being and animates if. Behind all again is the Supreme Being whose power it is that holds together all the changing visible in one organic existence. He dwells within and supports and moves everything, but exists apart from all. afrenttsrey ary. @ wT gists 7 1 ada wis 3 fra ssiast n Earth, water, fire, air, ether, thought, reason- ing and consciousness of individuality—these are the eightfold divisions of My nature. Vil20 apafareaat wate fate Frere Paral TeRTg Tee art ome it Ths that T have recounted is My inferior na ture Know My other and higher nature, the hie priaciple by whieh the umverse 1s-upheld VIS meri aah abi ae TRA WT WAT AHITAT Know this to be the seat of birth of all boing: I am the omgn of the whole umrerse and that mto which it dissolves VILG ma Tart aroketerelte gat afr wafke sta et abe aan There is naught whatsoever ligher than Me ‘Tins umrerse hangs together on Me, 23 pearls on @ atrng VILG Tae ahaa wars ah mye way ee Ste A T am the taste im water, I am the radiance m the sun end the moon, the sacred OM m all the Vades, To am sound in uniwersal space, T em virtts in men 7 VIT827 goat mea gfiecar a Serearfer feraradt 1 Wea way aval asf I am the eweet fragranco of the earth and the heat m the fire, the life in all bemgs, the austerity im ascetics. VHS after at edgerar ff ard ere ai aadfanaafs jartattarragn Know Mo, asthe primeval cause of all beings Tam the understanding of tha wise, the splendour of the illustrious. VII lo ae meme srrunfeatary | mifesst qaq amister weedy t I am the strength of the strong, untamted by dese and pasnon In hemgs I am Kame that 18 not immoral VITU 4 da aes wat Usrqreaaes a4 aa gal obafe a cag ag a af The vatures that aro classified as good, pas sronate or deluded, Lnow that these are from Me, not I in them, but they in me VII 1228 falatomteitin aaiez mq) Wika whoa ate cHRETATN All this world, deluded as xt 19 by these na ‘tures, formed out of the thtes qualities, sgnores ‘Me, who transcend these and am ever sodrg: ah cin adh wa AT FATT ane & soest warn axta Ft Tins dinne illusion of Mins, caused by the qualities, 1s hard to overcome but they, who come to Me, cross over this illusion VIE am art | owder AOTTAATT 1 yas antares} aera Not every one sees Me, enveloped os ZI am m the illusion of creative actenity, Tins if norant world does not Lnow Me, whe have heather buth nor ending . VII 28 eeerayeda = ana want whe at oft men Decerved by the opposing foress of attraction and repalmon ell creation lives and moves sm delusion Vir 27 artra) gett AR atest wl Ty ax wail yori geetete wet There are two prneples am this world, the ponsbable and the impotshable the penshable 1s the sum of emmate forms, the indestructible 1s firmly established, unchangeable ZV 1629 STR Tey caged: I m vrereaies frude fat The highest principle is, indesd, another, described as the Supreme Solf, Ho who per. vades and sustains the three worlds, the Eternal Lord. XV-17 Tear strcas == aT: arisen wie Fey fea: ged: u Since I transcend the destructible as well as the indestructible, I am known in common par- lance as well aa proclaimed in the Veda as the Supreme Spirit. , P XYV.18 The wniverse moves according te what are known as the laws of nature. This code of nature is but the manifestation of the Supreme Will. God himself is not seen as such and asa whole. What we see of Him we are content to cal) by the name of physical and moral Jaws, and life proceeds as if whally independent of God. way ovate oad aeererafear t weal wag Tag eased: All this world is porvaded by Me in My manifest aspect; all beings are fixed in Moe, but I stand apart from them. IX-430 aa meena genta Ter aE A AA TW WSK, Ae And yet bemgs ara not rooted in Me, behold the schome of My sovereignty! Myzelf, the angi and the support of bemgs, yet standing apart from them 5 Notwithstanding the fact that God aup- ports and governs all, we are ignorant of it, a8 the process 1s inclusive of ourselves and all our thoughts, reagonmgs and emotions. The laws of nature are the will of God. His willis mamfested im the shape of what we see directly or by investigation, but which we choose to call by the name of Truth or Law of Nature The two are not dfierent, nor can there be a vanation between them Suppose a magician creates a tank of water and by the same magic fills it with fish and other watery ammals with some under- standing though lhmited. The fish must take the water and the tank and alt the condations of ther Ife m the mame tank as “natural” and do not know that 1 1s all but the magician’s will, quite as much as they > themselves are the will of the magician.al Even if he had created, not water and fish, but kerosine and fish living therein, and even if the kerosine changed into water and the water into kerogine on alternate days, the knowing fish would have taken it all as “natnral’’ and made a synthesis of all that they observed and mentally codified it into a body of natural Jaws. They would be incognisant of the real author and controller. In the same way do the laws of physical nature hide God, though they are but the ” manifest embodiment of His will. The following sloka expresses the ever present restrictions of the unchangeable law, though within that limitation, beings are free to move. aarssaraferat far ag: BATT AE I aet wattr yerf ACSIA TT Mh Reflect on this, that as the mighty air every- where moving 1s yet fixed in the Ether, so all bemgs rest on Me, TX.632 The will of God acts asthe natural creative force of the world, Yoga-Maya, as it is termed. in VII-25 quoted before. It is God that works throughout all the sceming diversities of life. gig eres fapni yo yeaa = greta sede tt Using Nature, which ss Mine own, I eroats again and agam all this multitude of beings dependant on and ruled by Nature Tein wp A ATT | ays oa onlfesdt a Under My oversseing eye, Natare brings forth the moving and the ummoving, becanse of tins, the universe revolves 1X8 15-10 aE TRE TT RTEARATTL | arASTERAITATEMIE | ATEN Tam the sacnfico, I am the nte, I am the ancestral offermg, J am the herb, the mantra, the butter, the fre and the offering IX-16 sera sor) are sar fnng ae Tereere RRL aT aT T am the Father of this world, the Mother, the Supporter, the Grandsire, the Holy Qne to be known, the Odf, and also the Rik, Same and Yajur. KY33 nfaiat ey aret rare re YET waa wet era Ara deere it The Path, Protector, Lord, Witness, Abode, Asylum, Fnend, Origin, Drssolution, Foundation, Treasure, Seed unperishable. TX.18 area at imeraephy a age te FET Were I send heat, I hold back and pour down the ram, I am immortahty and I am also death, lam ‘being, and I am also non being. IX 19CHAPTER V RIGHT ACTION Reverence for the Past and the spint of conservatism that charactenze Hindy thought should not be mistaken for unprogressive ngchty In spite of its undoubted conser- vatism, in no other religion 1g there greater elasticity, freedom of thought, op setentific respect for absolute troth Hindmsm has grown and evolved like every other hving aggregate of thought and fath It hag always cisplayed the boldest: vaneties of Conception Variong Hindu scriptures emphasise various aspects of the truth as the Hindu elders gay it The Gite evolves an ethic in advance not only of behef ip mere ceremonial observances, but also of the recluse’s |, fe of mere abstention The Gita emphasises that of the world must go on does the taska to which he which appertain to his Place in 5 his activities he does the activities The good man 18 called and oclety Tn all things hike others35 outwardly; but inwardly, he maintains a spirit of detachment. He does everything without selfish motive and maintains equi- librium of mind in success and failure, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. Purified thus, the good man is qualified for further progress by constant meditation, prayer and devotion, and finally “sees himself in everything and everything in God”. The Yoga of Gila con- sists in living a dedicated life in the midst of worldly affairs. Right action involves true renunciation. What we should renounce is not action but selfish desire. We should liberate our activities from the bondage of selfish purpose. Work should be done in a spirit of duty done, and results should not be permitted to agitate the mind. This unselfish and detached attitude can and should be cultivated even while we are engaged in normal activities. Continual practice of this attitude of mind will lead, in the higher stages of ‘progress, to the elimination of the difference between the way of Yoga and the way of Senyas.36 fF oat Pandit radtsoq Wear at 7H ceemifiy asereat AIST 11 What 13 action, what inaction? Lyon the Wise aro herom perplexed Thorefore I will declare to you that action by knowing which Jott will bo sived from eyil IV 16 wie oo aadeaifr g Tt 7 a genraqg 7 Te Terre y He who perceives inaction mm action and gg tion in maction, he among men hag real hnow ledge, even while performing all action, he 33 domg Yoga IV 1s Ry at wae Sree Tay | art ferarerare for ag qf TT The learned deem lum ta have reahsed the truth whose plans are not shaped by desire, whose actions have been Dunfied mm the furnace of knowledge . Iv 19 Activities free from selfish attachments do not leaye a Karmic residue37 asarermagel = owaritdt = famac | aq faarafadt a araislt a fray Content with whatsoever comes to him of itself having transcended the pairs of opposites free from envy balanced im suceess and failure, though acting he 1s not bound TV 22 The Vedas prescribe sacrifices, but the essence of sacrifice is not ceremonial but the giving up of selfish desires Saen- fices, therefore, may take various forms ac- cording to the true mterpretation of the Vedie terchmg All sacrifices involve activities This, too, 19 a reason why action should not be given up but hberated from the trammels of desire and shaped into sacrifice wakes! wher aa AAA | am aise gdisT FUT What remaims after sacrifice 1s food that gives immortality Thoso who eat xt go to the changoloss Brahma He who doos not sacrafice gams nothing even mm this life no need then to speak about the coming hfe IV-3138 ua azfsey aa Pera wer wa 1 auatale apaaita sar fame ut Many and vanous sacrifices oto thus spread out im the Vedas for tho aspirant to choose Know that all theso amiss mn action, and thus knowing yon shall be free Iv 32 FORMAT TAT 1 wa naif ort ar afar Better than ritualistic sacrafice that is por formed with vanons articles prosonbed therefor as the sacrifice founded on wisdom All pre seribed actiong attain their complete fulfilment im true knowledge TV 33 Jnana-Yagna, “sacrifice by knowledge,” is that sacrifice which results from detach- ment while engaged m hfe’s activities Jnana (art) manifests itself and, therefore, consists the cultivation of a detached stintude in all work Such an attitude results from and at the same time Jeads to progressive realisation of one’s unity with the rest of the world and of the whole world with God Action becomes free and sinless once the motive of achon 1s freed from selfish arms39 . wainta afrdisienteranaeasds 1 anf eanair aereegey ear Burnmg fire reduces the wood to agheg, even so does the fire of knowledge roduce all actions to ashes IV 37 qT fe mt age fasts feat aera oatafse arent farefit There 139 no punfier in this world like Lnow- ledge, he that perfects his practice of self less action finds that knowledge in himself in due Season IV 38 Treat wae aaaTay | arena a waif Greater ets He who even while acting has, by Yoga, learnt to practise renunciation, who hag cloven asunder doubt by knowledge, who 13 ever watchful over himself, actions do not bind him Iv. TATATTTPTS AU AMTeATSAT forta waa aprafreatires ater ti Therefore, with your sword of knowledge destroy this ignorance born doubt that dwells in sour heart, and stand up, estabhshed in Foga IV.42a 40 Thus, there is no real distinction between the way of remmeiation atid the way of duty performed True renunciation and true per- formance of work are identical, the essence of both being the giving up of personal desire. wre year seer a aiteaT | upacafers amadiaat GLU Children, uot those who know, speak of the Sankhya and the Yoga os different, ho who 3s duly established an either, obtams the fruyts of both V-4 aria mint arnt et ett a 1 a garrett att wy frefiat art He, that performs such action ag is lus duty, not looking forward to the frmb of such action, is a Sanya as well aaa Yogr, not he that gives up the household fire and sita inactive VI-1 a werafafa mgt a fafa ges 1 a earreaeet ae wale aera That which is called renunciation, know thou that as Yoga, for no one can become a Yorn who hes not renounced plans and desires VI241 Once personal desire is got rid of, and the unity of all existence 28 realised, and as a result thereof, the correct attitude of detachment is developed, one is a reeluse even though engaged in alf kinds of social activities, areaat fegrea fafeerent faatezr 1 waaaraaaen «ale frat He who has yoked himself to Fogo, whose self 1s purified, whose self has tnumphed and whose sonses have been subdued, whose self has, indeed, become the self of all bemgs, although acting he is not affected thereby. vq was omar dem hadheash y Die wt Tahar ar caeassTTSs Fogis, having abantloned attachment, perform action merely using the body, the mind, tho reason, and even tho senses as struments for the pumfication of the self Ven Tho Gila thus lays reiterated emphasis on the performance of duty as preferable to attempts at renunciation of activities, The eighteenth chapter, which summarises the teaching of tho Gita, though named Sanyasa43 Yoga, starts with the following slohas:— ETAT ATT eT AAT raat faz wiper osTgeaty | feyerT Sages accopt ag Aenyaea the renouncing of works that are motived by desire The relnqinsh- ang of the fruit of all actions is called T'yaga by then XVI roe wae roa Ara wanna = fea uv Renunciation of duties that are proscribed 1s not propet ib is declared that such relinquish- ment 13 due to delusion ind a2 a sign of Tamane nature XVII 7 erifieds werd fon | fraasia t UT aR Ha aa aT aaPeeAY Aa The performance of prescribed duty ont of the sense that st ought to be done, not canng for or desumg the frat thereof is regatded as pure Tyaga XVID af tare em aq mierda 1 agate = anitierrdtaa ny Nor, indeod, can embodied beings ever completely relinginsh action he who sneceedsin relnquish- ang the fro of action 1s known as Tyags XVOD43 This is restated with a stress on complete surrender to the Divine Wil and unqualified dependence on Grace, in the following slobas vamntaly gar papi seer | TETRA «= AR TRE Though ever engaged in perfortung all the actions appertaining to his station he who takes refuge in Mo by My grace attains the eternal imperishable abode XVIII 56 Saar aqeaife ah waar AAT t afgaagiree abet ase er it Ronouncing mentally all works mm Me lost im the contemplation of Mo and resorting to Buddht Yoga ever fill your mmnd with Mo AVITI $7 The Lnowledge and contemplation of the true nature of Soul, Matter and God 15, no doubt, the way to seremty of mind But the practice of a detached attitude, while perform. ing our duties, 3s a necessiry step to this gerenit} 5M am, Jnana-Joja, which 1s the practice of seremty of mind by contemplation of the Truth, and ay an, Karma-Yoga, whieh is44 he practice of an attitude of detachment in ormal activities, are really complements of ach other. There 31s no real difference etween successful effort in either direction. Seremty of mind eannot come by at- ampting prematurely to withdraw from the orld, The ment of abstention from action 2s in the absence of personal motive or amre, and this is aftaimed in the pertor- ance of duty unaffected by personal desire. hus Sanyase and Karmayoga are the same, aaa eereay FTF FT mo oSigetaied F wiser 1 Your business 1s with achon only, never with resulta, 80 Jeb not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let yourself be attached to m- action T47 ames ge wil wT ca sas fexaiegay wa agar amet aT yeas Engage yourself in sctivitiss, established in Yoga, renouncing attachments and balanced aven- ly mm succass and faitura equilibrium ts called Yoga. 114845 miasfeatgiaay freer gr qa HATS 1 arattt arena ataida airy at Men can follow either of the two paths, as J said Thit of Yoga by knowledge, of the Sanlhyas, and that of Yoga by action, of the Yoga Its « 4 * ™ 7 Sea | geTeTy a waceamer fale anfareeta a Man does not reach freedom from action by abstaming from activity, nor by mere renuncia. tion does be attam perfection Til-4 afte afrecemmf ag foeaarmina 1 ame cara et ad sah 1 Nor can any one, even for an instant, remun reilly actionless, for helplessly 13 evory one pro polled to action by the qualities born of nature IIt-5 ratmoft arr 7 ATA AAA AT t staarifansenr frat a sect tt Who sits, resttuming the organs of action, but dwolling in his mad on the objects of the sgnses, deludos himself and 13 called a hypocrite nrc46 rari pay fracas | wiht whims a faferory tt But he ag worthy who Controls the senseg by Ins mind, useg his organs of action without attachment towards — sense objects and thus performs the Yoga of action TIL-7 Cs ae wi Sri} wre what ¢ gx wawigesiy yy Engage Yourself in ng better than Inaction tenance of your body he activities action 1s Mactive ven the main 18 not possible UI 8 aT SE Ws Ha | Tet mt athig Ta array Men suffer the bondage of Karma only when the activity 1s otherwise than for the sake of sac Tificee to that end, free from attachment engage yourself ip action III $ 4 religious mind 18 and, 78 displayed a leaning towards abstammg from ing the world = The Gita, rejected — thig solution Wit tendencies, 1t emphasized, Action 29 3 Repression causes the mind to 1 on, even while externally restramed from finding47 expression im action, and leads to hypocrisy of perversion; whereas the practice of the method of detachment trains the soul to liberate itself from the load of inhented qualities, sed faa at weiit wae weerauara «Faisal = werd ri All actions are wrought by the proponsities of material nature only, Doluded by self con- sciousness, the soul considers itself the doer. TIT 27 araling aeraal quadfanmet | mr Ty ae aft a a aad But he, who knows the truth about propen- sities ond action, understanding that propensities express themselves, keeps his soul unattached TI.28 weet Set eae gyaairaaly | safs aft amt frag fe afeafe yn Even tho man of profound knowledge bohaves mconformity with lug own mater nature Be- ings follow ther own nature Hew will m- prossion aval? ITE-33 Now comes a chnehing argument. You cannot set for yourself the plan of48 renunetation and expect others to carry on tho normal work of socicty while you stand out Social life must go on; and what you do, others must be expected to copy The cthie of the Gite 18 pre- emnently o somal one What was good for great Janaka, 1 says, 19 good enough for all ming f afaferfeoat wea | wareias wruerads oy danaha and others indesd attained perfection through performance of dutms locking to the wolfare of society also, you should worh . IIT 20 Tr | teat a qa Te Mea Whatsoover a great man does, other men also da the standard be seta up ws followed by tha people TE 2 The co operation of all 1s needed for the world,—cf the wise as well as of the ignorant ‘The ranks of the wise may increase, but meanwhtle the co operation of the ignorant may nob be neglected disturbed, or49 watt adogfaarat wet gah ATE pilercnsmaaniairaey it fhe mformed should tor with the motive of the social welfare without attachmont, oven as the umnformed toil, moved by desire for results TIT 25 a wate cade winfiary y seteraaiiy feeryet AAT | Let no man who has attamed Lnowledge unsettle the mind of ognorant people who aro moved by attachment to the results of action, but himself following the rule of Yoga let him rendox all action attractive. WT 26 Terivaye «a Gy ange wenger frarstg y Thoso on whom the qualities of mattor havo wrought their illusion are propelled to action bi tho attachments so generated, tho man whose hnowledga 1s completo should not unsottle the noperfect undorstanding of the weah minded TI-29