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Shri Bhagavad-Gita 8 страницаHeis verily the thief who eats what is given by them without offering it to them.' Yaiha-bkdvitdhs:Honored or recognized by yajfias,/>., worshipped. ' The devas, of whom / am the soul, shall confer on you whatever enjoyments you may pray for.' This means that whatever good you receive from them shall be such as would enable you to worship the devas again and again. Ifone should enjoy the gifts granted by them with the view that they may be worshipped by you in return, without offering to them beforehand, he is a thief indeed.
1, The lower Gods, the agents of God, with several functions allotted to them in creation.
2. Cp: Sr? Bhdgavata. X]. 2-6):
‘Bhajantiye yatha devan deva api tathaiva tan’. Cp. 7ait: Up: Nardya- mam, 50th Anuvaka:— ‘yajfia iti yajfiohi devainam &c.’
Chaurya is larceny. Its dcBnition is thus:—'It is the intention one forms that property which belongs to others,and for the use ofwhich they havethe right,is his own;and (by depriving them of the same, unlawfully) appropriates it to himself and lives by it' Hence to an individual of this description, there is not only the forfeiture ofthe highestaspiration ofman{moksha) buthe will deserve a journey to the Infernum {nirqya). The same subject is continued:— ' &c. 13. 'The partakers of Yajfla-consecrated food are delivered from all evils. But those who cook for self-enjoyment,—sinners,—incur sin.' Those who prepare food from money earned, with the soleobjectofworshippingthe Supreme Spirit,—Who ensouls Indra^ etc.,(the lower gods),—and who only partake ofsuch consecrated residual food,become absolved from the aeonic accumulation of iniquity, impeding the fulfilment, viz., of the cognition of true atma-nature. But they, the sinful souls, who fancy that what the SupremeSpirit,asthe Indwelling Spiritin Indra etc.,grants, with the view that it may be used for His worship, is for themselves, and prepare and eat offood with this notion, eat of sin itself. Agha=^s\n: is here used to denote the consequences or fruits of sin. Adverse to achieving atma-perception, such people prepare food,eat etc., paving for them the way to infernal regions.
I. The ruler ofSvarga, the material Elysium.
Again it is shown that everything is traceable to Yajfia whether it be viewed from the stand-point ofthe world,or from the stand-point of ^astra^; and it is shown that the observance of Yajfla is a necessity, and that its omission is aftended with evil consequences:— 'TcTTH &c. 14. ' From food comeall beings; by rain^ is produced food ; Yajfla causes rain ; and result of actions is Yajfla,' ^ &c. 15. ' Know that body [braAma) gives forth action ; from akshara (the Imperishable=rt^»«rt) comes body. Hence the all-obtaining body is neces sary for Yajfla.' &c. 16. 'Thus is the wheel made to revolve. Whoso, here,doth not follow it, his is a life ofsin,—he is a reveller in the garden of the senses,—he liveth a vain life, O Partha.' From food,all creaturesspring,and from rain,ofcourse, comes food. That it is so,the world is witness to. As for Yajfla causing rain, we know it so from the authority ofthe Sastras,for it is therein declared:— ' Oblations well delivered into the fire, mount up tothe sun. From the sun is born rain etc,'® And actions,such as the earning of money etc., by an agent, result in Yajfla. And actions proceed from the body {brahmd).
‘I, See note 2, p. 37+
2. Cp. ‘‘ Parjanyo varshati” &c, Tait: Nardyana 50th Anuveka.
3. Manu. III-76; ‘Agnau pras-ta- hutis samyag adityam upatishthate &c.
This is also quoted at end of VI-73, Maitri. Up®. Asiat : Society of Bengal Edtn. p. 284 (Engl :)
The term brahma (here) denotes the body,an aggre gate of material particles. That such denotation is sanc- tioned, may be seen from the Veda-passage:— ' From Him,this brahma(matter=the extended body)name,form,as well asfood are born'^ This use of the term is also found in the Gita:— ' My womb is the extensive brahvici(xiv-3). Hence our interpretation of the passage ^ karma brahmodbhavatti meaning'that actions proceed from the body'—a compound of matter—is correct. Brahm-dkshara sam-udbhavam;theterm akshara (the Imperishable)refers to jivdtma,the individual soul,for it is jivdtma, who informs the body and obtains gratification from food, water etc., and so fortified,is able to engage in action. Hence the body which serves as the instrument of jivdtma for work, is said to spring from it {akshara).^ Thus'the all-prevalentbody,'/>.,the bodythatevery votary of Ydjfla must own,is the inevitable requisite for Yajda. (From Yajfia,rain ;from rain food and so on,again),is the wheel set in motion by the Supreme Spirit. ' From food comes all beings Bhutas are beings or creatures,meaningembodied entities(souls=«/;«<»)orsouls clothed in bodies. Thus food from rain;rain from yajila;yajfia from works,performed by a doer ; works from a living body; living bodies again from food ; is the wheel of ceaseless antecedents and sequences. Whoso that is born here,—be he karma-yogiorjfidna- y• ogi—^follows notthis v/heel,leadsasinfullife by the reason that he omits to nourish orsupport his embodied existence by the leavings of Yajfia-dedicated.food.
1. If brakma as interpreted here by some commentatorses Supreme Spirit, the Supreme spirit Springing from Akshara os Spirit, again, would be meaningless. Some others interpret it as the Vedas. Both are irrelevant here.
Aghdyu}i=Y{^ vhose is a life ofsin: means either he whose life is dfevoted to commision ofsin, or he whose life is born ofsin. It may mean both. Therefore he becomes an indriydrdmah-. or he who has the sensesfor his pleasure-garden,meaning he who indulges in the delights of the senses. And therefore he is no dtmdrdmah ; or he who would revel in the delights of the garden of dtmd(or spiritual transports of bliss). In other words the person {aghdyuK) is one who is exclusivelyaddicted to sensuous enjoyments. Food,not consecrated to yajila before-hand, nourish ing the body and the mind, provokes rajas (passions) and tamts(darkness of intellect etc). A man in whom these dispositions are uppermost, becomes hostile to achieving a/;»<z-illumination, and finds all his pleasures in the gratifi cations ofthe senses alone. (With a necessary body then, which is to be used as an instrument for Divine Worship,and which has therefore to be served with food, let one act and fulfil this object. He who does not do so), albeit his attempt to practice jildna-yoga,is destined to fail. 'He,therefore, Partha 1 lives a useless life'. It is now shown that necessity for works such as the maha-yajfiasS incumbent for the several castes (varna)" and orders(asrama)*,ceases in the case of that person who is a mukia,(the liberated), and therefore he is under no obligation to adopt any Means whatever to accom plish rt/;«<i-vision. &c. 17. ' But naughthath he to do whose delight is dtmd, whose satisfaction is dtmd,and whose content ment is dtmdj
18. 'Here, neither Work nor No-work serves him any purpose. For,naughtis therein creation he hath to depend on.' cfWRBW. ycin &c. 19. 'Hence,unconcerned, work as ifit were a duty to be discharged. The person so unconcerned, verily reaches the Transcendent' The person who is in need of neither the Path of Wis dom nor the Path of Action,is naturally he who is atma- ward. To him 'dtmd is his satisfaction:'i.e., no satisfaction such as he feels in dtmd, has he for food, water etc, nothing in fact,save dtmd. 'His contentment is of dtmd'-. i.e. not ofpleasure-gardens,offlowers,of chandana (sandal wood etc., paste,smeared over the body),of vocal and ins trumental music,dancing etc. To him whose care, whose support, and whose every thing is dtmd,what need is there to do any work to lead him to dtmd-cogmt\on, for to him the nature of dtmd is ever and naturally evident? Hence hestands in need ofno Means to accomplish for him dtmd-cogm\\on nor by practising any Means does he lose anything, for he is no more dependent on any Means, because a/wa-cognition has,for him,become afait accompli Means or Paths are for those whose attention has to be diverted from material objects, but to one who has accom plished this end, he has no need to resort to any help which in the shape ofether(akasa)or other differentiation ofprimordial matter in creation,constitutes the Means;^ for all Means are intended to create an aversion for all that is material(phenomenal).
1. This has reference to what ts known as Praitk-opdsana, or worship of material symbols. Consult Brahma outras: (1) Na pratikena etc. 1V-I-4; and (2) A-pratikalambandt nayati etc. I'V-3-q.
He indeed is liberated {mukta) whose engagement in action is notan engagement with a view that it does consti tute any meansto effectrt^f«a-cognition. Whether one eng ages in actionasa means,or engagesin it as no means,as in the case ofa purejHdna-Yogi,engagenent in action is easy, bereftofdanger,and involvesfundamentally the contempla tion on the true nature ofdtmd(as ^astras inform);and ac tion in all cases is therefore desirable, (In the case of the Jndna-Yogi, action will be showing a good example to the world,like the action ofthe Supreme Spirit Himself,as will be shown further on). Hence always engage in work,disinterestedly, and as a duty to be discharged,until atma is realized, AsaktaJi=y!\^o\xtattachment;kdryam=diduty,bound- en to be discharged. How work may be done without the egotistic notion ofselfasthe actor isfurther illustrated. So practising the individual reaches the Trans- candent(J)aram),i. e., dttnd. &c. 19^, ' By action alone,did Janaka' and others reach the supreme perfection.' As because Karma-Yoga is commended even to those who are qualified forjAdna-Yoga,the Maharshis or Royal SageslikeJanaka and others,—who were leaders ofJftanTs,® reached supreme perfection—viz:realization ofdtmd—by way of Works alone.
1. See Chk: Up° for Janaka’s account. Also Brik: Up. 2. Janaka instructed even Suka, the great Jian], the son of Veda- Vyasa. (Vide: Mahopanishat, 2nd Adhyaya).
Thus it has been shownthat for the moksha-aspirant, who is unfit to tread the Path of Knowledge (/Adna-yoga), whoistherefore fitto walk the Path ofWorks{karma-yogd), thelatter isthe necessarycoursefor him toadopt. It has also been shown,with reasons, that even for the man who is qualihed to pursuethejildna-yogacourse,karma-yoga(work) hassuperior advantages overjflana-yoga. (Knowledge). It will now be shown that karma-yoga has another aspect:thatofbecoming aninevitabledutyto a certain class of persons who are specially distinguished and qualified to practise,(and show)it(to others):— &c. 20. 'Thou hast, besides, need to work, seeing that benefit accrues to the world';(for):— &c. 21. 'What the wise man doth,another doth likewise; what law he may make,the world follows it.' Considering from the stand-point that by one's acts the world is profitted, then oughtest he to act (/. e., act altruistically.) Sreshthah :is a wise man,a worthy man,a man of note and respectability; and is one well versed in Sastras.^ Whatever such a man does, is imitated by all other men. It may be that it is generally known that a certain act is one which ought to be performed,yet all men wait to see how a good man,a leader of society, takes the initiative, and then they will do it, following suit. Hence a man ofspecial distinction or character ought always to show the example to the world, by first playing himselfthe part in all dutiesassigned to his caste (varnay and order in life {dframa).' If he should fail to do so, he commits sin,—the sin ofnot having benefitted the world by example. The consequence to himself will further be that he will slip from the Path ofhis ownjfldna-yoga.
22. 'In all the three worlds,* Partha!* naught is there(binding) for Me to do; naught is there not gained or to gain. Yet I am in work.' In all the three worlds,* where I could,by mere will,be present in the guise of man,ordeva^or anything I choose,® there is no work which I am bound to do, for I am the Lord ofall {Sarvesvarah)* for I havenothing which has not been gained or which I have to gain by working. Hence the sole reason why I have applied myself to work(cease lessly)is for the interests ofthe world. qfl:lit T &C. 23. ' Did I not, for once,out ofindolence,engage in work,all mankind,Partha!'will copy My ways in everyway.' &c. s9 24. ' Did I not Myself perform work,all these worlds* would go to ruin. I would be creating disorder {sahkard) and working the downfall of all those creatures.'
I. See note I, p- 15.
2. The ‘‘three worlds” is a world- conception. Richard Garbe in his address before the Philological Con- " gress at Chicago, 1893, says: ‘‘It may be here remarked, by the way, that the Pythagoreans, and Ocellus in particular, distinguish as parts of the world, the heaven, the earth, and the interval between them, which they term, lofty and aerial.”’.................. ‘© Pythagoras, as after him Ocellus, peoples the middle or aerial region with demons, as heaven with Gods, and the earth with men. Flere again
they agree precisely with the Hindus, who place the Gods above, man beneath, and spiritual creatures flitting unseen, in the intermediate regions.”
3. This alludes to the mystery of Divine Avatars, (read Part I. Occi- dental of my Pagers on Inspiration etc). God has nothing to gain for Himself by his ‘ Descents,’ which are intended as sacrifice and service for others. The three Lokas or kosmic regrons are the Deva, the Pitr,*and the Manushya, Lokas.
4. See note 2, p. 15. This is the 97th name of God.
If I, the Lord ofall, of Will Infallible,and in Whose command lies the phenomenal display of the kosmos in its several scenes ofemanation,continuance and imma- nation ; if I, taking births—seemingly as if it were a com mon event like the births of other (karma-bound) creatures,'—for the purpose of benefitting the world,—did not at any time, out of indifference (say), not act;if I, having been born in the pedigree ofthe famous man-chief Vasudeva® (My father), did not conduct Myself in all seriousness, in the ways and manners adapted to his race (etc.,), why,all mankind would begin to actlikewise,carried away with the notion that My ways are the ways ofvirtue, the worthywaysofthe worthyson ofthe worthyVasudeva®1. They would thus be put on the way to Infernum by the mere omission on My part to do a duty,which amounts to the commission ofthe gravest wrong. Mankind would be put out of the way ofrealizing atma. If I did not Myself the customs of the coun try, mankind would take that as the final verdict as to what is right. They would desist froih all (right) effort, and be lost. If, again,Ifailed to respect the behests of Sastra, by practising them Myself I would be the author ofcausing a mixture or turbidity in the races of pure and holy peo ple.' I would thus be the cause ofsuch men's ruination. [fthou also, Arjuna! thou the son ofPandu,® thou the brother of Yudhisthira,® should betake thyself away to fflana-Yoga(to which class thou belongest),all the worthy rest of men, moksha-aspirants, would likewise follow thy example, not knowing that their own stage is not of that advanced kind as thine is.
1. Cp: Galatians: 4-4:—‘God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under the law.’ 2. Abdout caste, read Lect. 1. 39 t0 44. 3. Vide Gene al: Table at end of Lect : I.
Thus, failing to walk in the Path of Works, mankind must meet ruin. Hence, even for the specially distinguished men(who do not need any action)there is this reason requiring them to act. &c. 25. ' Like the unwise,attached to works,act,Bharata I (but) let the wise,in the interests of the world, also act, but unattached.' ^ &c. 26. 'Let not be unsettled, the mind ofthe unwise, attached to works. Let the wise heartily (jukiah) enter into works,to encourage them.' The unwise(avidvamsah): are the unlearned in all the wisdom concerning atma. Attached to works', are those who wed themselves to works entirely, who lacking knowledge of atma,are unable to take up jfiana ; or those who are but fitted to walk the Path of Works, which to them is the sole Means by which to achieve atma-illumination. Let the wise man also behave like the work-attached person, albeit his possession of full atma-knowledge,and albeit absence ofinterest for him in the result ofworks,and who is fit to walk in the Path ofjHana-yoga. For, He is looked up to by the world as the best pattern for imitation. To profit the world therefore, by dictating to it the principles of right and wrong, he must set a personal example; which is, by himself treading the Path of Works. The unwise are the moksha-aspirants, who ignorant of a thorough knowledge ofatma,are incapable of adopting thejfldna-yoga method.
They are work-attached(karma-sanginah): or those who from the persistence of.past habits of doing works, have inherited the same tendencies, fitting them for that Path(Karma-Yoga.) Let not the Intention ofsuch people be unhinged by preaching to them the existence ofother methods—besides kar»ui-yoga-hy which atma-cognition may beaccomplished. What the wise man has to do in these circumstances, is to seem as if, like the work-attached persons, he is at heAtlWy(yuktahj with them for work,and that Aar- nta-yoga alone, with no extraneous help of Jfldna-yoga-, is sufficient to lead to atma-illumination. By taking the lead thus in the Karma-Path,he must inspire other people with love for good works (so that eventually they may become competent to take higher steps and reach perfection). The difference between how the wise man practices Karma-Yoga,—and how the unwise man—, having been pointed out,the doctrine ofhow one may act,and yet con template on disownment ofresponsibility as actor,is now inculcated.— &c. 27. All kinds of activities are born ofthe gunds^ of matter. Whoso is deluded with the egoistic notion {akahkdra),^ thinks,'I am the doer.' &c. 28. Whereas the truth-knower, O mighty-armed 1 of the nature and work of gui^as,^ knowing thatgunas^ restin gunas/giveth upattachment.'
t. Gunas=qualities of matter, see note 1, p. 79. See also XIII-20 and
29. 2. Means pride, or intumescence of seliness, egolsm or egotism. Ahan- kara, here means the deluded notion
that what is not-self (body) is self (dima).
In respect to the activities which are displayed by the three-fold nature of matter,.satva, rajas and tamasj the man who is blinded by ahahkdra^—fancies that he is the doer or author,(the agent,the cause, theroot,the spring,or the fountain of the activities). .(4^a«^rtra*'=I-ness=the notion ofegoism one feels for his body,or the mistaken notion thatthe non-self,—body,— is the self, dtmd. A man therefore who is under this wrong notion mis takes the doings ofthe body or the^««aj,^ as dtma's doings. He thinks, ' I am the doer.' Tatva-vit or truth-knower:is he who is capable of discerning in work the properties ofthe manifesting themselves. Whoso therefore discovers in the manifestations of the gunasj the gunas^ themselves, will not commit the error ofthinking,'I am the doer.' 29. 'Deluded by maXtet'sgums,^ they find employment in the workings of thegunasX The all-informed wise man shall not disturb the ill-informed igno rant.' The ill-informed people attempt atma-realization, but they are ignorant of the true nature of atma by reason of their connection with matter,the gums of which obstruct him. He is naturally drawn to connect himself with the activities of the gunas and cannot divert these natural tendencies towards the contemplation ofthe distinct atma- nature. Hence they are not competent for the Path of Jndna,but only good enough for that ofKarma. The all-wise man,again,shall,seeing the capacities of these sluggish people and theirslow understanding,though himself a jflana-yogi,shall not try to turn them from their own easy Path of Action, The danger is that they are on the watch to follow the lead of wise men ; while so, when they are not capable themselvesto tread the Path ofJUdna, but when they find their wise man,above necessityofaction, they may mistake the wise man,bygiving up action them selves(and not be able to join the wise man in his ways.) The conclusion thus is that the leading man,the man ofwisdom,shall himselfstay in Karma-Yoga; and though he know from his knowledge ofthe true rt/ww-nature that dtmd is essentially no actor,shall yet persuade men of less knowledgethat«/;««-vision is solely possible by the unaid ed Path of Karma(or action). It wasalso previously pointed outthateven to ajftana- yogi,the harma-course was(for reasonsstated)preferable. Hence men of light and leading {vyapadesjdK) shall themselves tread the karma-YdXh as a measure, beneficent to the masses in the world. The method of practising Karma-Yogahy ascribing all agency to the gunas,—becausedtmd has been shown to be a distinct essence—has now been described. The ascription or attribution of agency to the gunas is thus:— Reflect, that dtmd from its essential nature,cannot be actor,butaction comestoitfrom itsconjunction with matter. (It is actorship not natural but derived or borrowed). Hence in association with matter{prdptaY, there is actor- ship; in the absence ofsuch association {aprdptay,there is no actorship.
1. Prepidzprdpia = agreement and difference; or srdpta, positive pre- miss, corresponding with the universal A proposition ‘All 4 is B.’ The aprapla is negative premiss, corres- ponding with the converted 4 propo- sition ‘ All not 2 is not A.’ Its appli- cation to the present case is thus :— ‘Atma becomes actor when in contact with the ga#as’; ‘not contact with the guzas, is no actorship to atm.’ Atma is thus, ser se, no actor.
It is nextshown how works may be viewed by attribu ting authorship thereof—an attribution hitherto considered with reference to the gunas/—to Bhagavan, the Supreme Spirit,theall-Soul,—a considerationjustified bythefactthat all atmas constitute His body,and are related to Him in the relation ofthe guided and the Guide. &c. 30. ' With mind,a/wa-absorbed,rest all works in Me. Rid ofdesire and' my-ness', and of(mental) fever, fight., ' In Me, the Inner-Soul of all living beings, place all thy acts; with thy mind rt/w«-engrossed, desireless (of fruit for work done), destitute of the vanity of'my-ness, and free from feverish (cankering) care, fi ght,i. e., dis charge all 5>astra-enjoined duties. Ae/hj'dtma-chetasd^with, the mind atma-absorbed i. e., all thought absorbed in the contemplation of the nature of dtmd as proclaimed by hundreds of Sruti-texts, such for example as:— ' Penetrating the interior, the Ruler of all creatures, the all-Soul etc.'^. * Him, the Penetrator into the interior,the Author(or Actor)etc.,®'
1. Vide: note 1, p: 67.
2. ‘Antah pravishtassasta jana- nim sarvatma.’” Zaz/: drag, WI-11-2.
3. ‘*Antah pravishtam kartaram etam.’ Jail: Aran. III-11-2.
4. © Ya atmant tishthann 2tmanoz. ntaro Yam-atm4 na veda, Yasy-atma sarlram, Ya dtmanam antaro yama- yati Sa ta Atmaantarydmy-Amritab.’ Bri: Up. V-7-22, Kanva-patha,
* He, Who is seated in atmi, Whois interior to atma, Whom atma knows not,to Whom atma is body. Who rules in the interior of atma,(He)is thy Indwelling Governor (Guide),and Immortality {i.e.. Giver ofImmortality)etc';* declaring that atma constitutes the body ofthe Supreme Spirit{Pardma-purushay,and is subject to His direction, He being the Director or Guide. Likewise do the Smritis alsodeclare,asfor example:— 'The Supreme Ruler ofall'* &c. The Gita itself will be fbund further on to say:— '{Sarvasyachaz~ham fi 'f.):—In the heart of all,indeed, I am enthroned, and from Me is memory (smriti) and reason (xv-IS). '{Tsvaras-sarva-bhfiidndm —Isvara,Arjuna!dwells in the heart-region of all creatures, whirling them by His mdyd(wonderful power),(as ifthey were) mounted on a machine.'(xviii-6i.) As a necessary inference, therefore,from the consider ation that dtmd constitutes My body,and derives all ener gies(or powers)from Me,do thou surrender all acts to Me, the Supreme Spirit, imagining that they are all done by Myself. In other words,letall acts be done as acts of Wor ship paid to Me. Also, be nirdfih, desireless,i.e., remaining withoutany expectancy offruit for work done. Nirmainah=to be free from the idea of 'my-ness' or owning an act for oneself. Thy (mental) fever thus cured {vSgata-jvarah), do hghting and all the round of duties(that the sacred Edicts make binding on thee). Thus ought thy reflections to run:—'My Soul{Atma) is the Supreme Spirit,and therefore, He, my Atmd, is the Author(or Actor). The Lord of all, the Master of all, it is He,Who causes acts being done—acts of worship to
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