Philosophy notes03

Concept of ‘Lokasamgraha’ – Lokmanya Tilak’s Perspe ctive Lokasamgraha is a well-known concept of Bhagvadgita which means welfare of all (society). The leader of the society has to be efficient, effective for the social integration and peaceful society. Bhagvad Gita describes the essential qualities of the effective leader. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, great visionary, political and social leader who was the commentator on Bhagvadgita and always followed the path of action( Karmayog) throughout his life.

The article intends to show the vision of Lokmanya Tilak, as to how the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita are the guiding force for inculcating the value of public good in the modern era. Social integration is a harmonization of individual existence and sustenance in the society. It is highly desirable for good moral life. The answer to today’s social and cultural problems lies in integrating the human fold society. Thus inculcation of free spirit of universal brotherhood is an imperative or the ‘dharma’ i.e. ‘duty’ for each one of us, to preserve and promote peace and harmony in the society. The effective leaders can set their examples before their followers by their own actions. Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow.

The article tries to bring out the concept of Lokasamgha according to Lokamanya Tilak,s perspective.

Introduction: Lord Krishna explains the concept of ‘Lokasangra’ i n Bhagvadgita. Lokmanya Tilak , eminent commentator on Bhagvadgita. In the article it is discussed that how an individual is responsible to protect the social order. The social aspect of dharma is the duty of every individual to protect and maintain the harmony, peace and order in the society. To achieve these objectives the concept of effective leadership is discussed. These concepts are discussed with reference to Lokmanya Tilak’s perspective who justifies the concept of Lokasamgraha by his own behavior and ideal leadership.

The life and work of socio-spiritual leaders and political activists contributed a lot to bring before the people and the thinkers the Gita-message of Loksamgraha. The ideal leadership is expounded mainly in Bhagvadgita’s third chapterKarmayoga.

Swami Vivekananda made ‘social service’ as an integ ral part of the work programme of the Ramakrishna Mission. Tilak explained at length why Lokasamgraha centered karma-yoga was the main teaching of the Gita, and when he acted accordingly for the independence of the country’s independence, leading to his imprisonment, he willingly went through the sufferings. Aurbindo elaborated this further and incorporated the Lokasamgraha-approach (with some modification) in his integral yoga also. Gandhi on the basis of his extensive experiments made non violence – anessential prerequisite for lokasamgraha. In other words, the concept of Lokasamgraha was updated so as to suit the needs of the country.

Bhagavad­Gita proclaims to everybody though nominally to Arjuna, perform lifelong our several worldly duties according to our respective position in life, desirelessly, for the universal good (Loksamgraha). In this context the underlying teaching of the Gita is that mere theoretical knowledge about what is good and real is not enough unless this knowledge is reflected in one’s 1 conduct

Bhagavad­Gita advocates at least three paths of conduct for the seeker of perfection­niskama karma or unselfish work, jnana or knowledge and bhakti or devotion to a supreme being. The main question is of priority, as which one to follow first. Lokmanya Tilak follows the path of action ( karmayog)

The concept of niskama karma is believed to be the central point of teaching of Gita. The concept of niskama karma is based on the Universality of action that no man alive is free from performing his dharma directed towards his own release and the welfare of the world. All human actions are motivated by the desire to attain happiness, whether material or spiritual. Tilak distinguishes between desires of two types: ­ 1) desire for the fruit of our action and 2) desire which motivates us to the right action. Device or skill (kaushalam), of giving up only selfish desire for the fruit which causes unhappiness, and for performing one’s duty (right action) according to one’s status in life, is known as yoga or karma­yoga. The Gita according to Tilak, asks us to give up only selfish desire or attachment to the fruit but not all desires nor all actions.

While nishkama karma provides the technique of performing one’s duty, Lokasamgraha provides the goal, direction and therefore also the content of actions that constitute the duty.

In Manusmruti, it is mentioned about ‘ Rashtra –sam graha’ whisch is an apt parallel for what is called today as national integration.2 Lokmanya Tilak was the first Gita­commentator to have identified and highlighted this important concept which occurs in the third chapter of the Gita­in the verses from 20 to 26.

The Lokmanya looks upon ‘Gita Rahasya’­ h is commentary on Bahagvadgita, as a measure towards fulfilling his duty as a karmayogin in the life that he lived as a political leader.

The compound word Lokasamgraha means social­harmony and welfare as well as world presentation because its two component words loka and samgraha have more than one meaning each. For eg., ‘Loka’ denotes man kind or the world, and ‘Samgraha’ stands for protecting, keeping, regulati ng etc. Lokasamgraha thus epitomizes, in the Gita, the social and universal dimension of Krisna’s teaching.

Tilak is the first commentator on the Gita to write in a detail on the importance of

Lokasamgraha. It is true that Tilak’s interpretation of Lokasamgraha was from 1919 onward, modified by Gandhi in the sense that ahimsa was made an inseparable element therefore. However, Tilak’s conflict with the British authorities had come to head almost a quarter of a century prior to the Gandhi era. And Tilak’s biographers as well as those associated with the English translation of his marathi writings believe that Tilak put into practice what he thought was the real meaning of the Gita. For eg. Sukhtankar who translated Tilak’s Gitarahasya into English says in the translator’s preface:­ ‘The Late Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a spiritual and an intellectual giant. He was a monumental figure in the history of India, and it is a question whether he was more a philosopher than a politician and statesman, in as much as his statesmanship and his political activities would appear to have been based on the karmayoga and the principals of ethics, which he believed to have been expended in the Gita. In fact, the Gita and its teachings would seem to have been the guiding beacon of his life, and if one considers what he did for India and compares it with what he has preached in Gita Rahasya, one will come to believe that he has practiced what he preached, (which few people do) and that his political activities were a concrete example of that ‘Universal Welfare’ (Lokas amgraha), which according to him, was 3 preached by the Gita to be the basis of karmayoga’.

The revolutionary interpretation of the Bhagavad­Gita was primarily the work of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the father of Indian­Nationalism. It fulfilled the urgent need to endow the people as a whole with a new ethic and a message for social action to discover a dynamic doctrine while providing people with modern social ideals, could enable them to transform their society. Thus the philosophy was interpreted by Tilak as a dynamic doctrine for action for the welfare of the world­the Gita Rahasya gave to modern India a scripture which at once orthodox and universality accepted, a handbook of revolution.

Lokasamgraha or the welfare of the world as the motive and object of all actions is special contribution of the Gita to Hindu religious and social thought. It follows naturally from the unattached action (niskama karma) which is the central theme of Krishna’s teaching. If the action is to be selfless and is to be without reference to the fruit thereof (in relation to the actor) then the question naturally arises­why should anyone persists in a course of action?

According to the theories of yajna­the action is to be performed to please the Gods and to derive worldly benefits through them. But as it is not niskama karma, Gita gives answer to this question as­the object of all actions should be Lokasamgraha or the welfare of the world.

The social theory behind the Lokasamgraha doctrine of the Gita is most important. The conception of the world order which is the duty of the individual to uphold by dedicating his activity towards that end runs through all the teachings of the Gita. Bhagavad­Gita emphasizes the welfare of the world as the purpose of all actions. The doctrine of sacrifice is thus given a wholly different meaning in the Gita, where action dedicated to God is called “Brahmayajna”.

Tilak’s elaboration of Lokasamgraha was intended to show to the social reform oriented, educated Indians that their attempts at copying the west arose only because

they had not understood their own scriptures properly. Lokmanya Tilak chooses to awaken the people to their right to freedom and their duty to fight for it. He realizes that Gita offers a ready weapon that is sure to reach out to the people of the country irrespective of caste, creed or even religion.

Tilak was the first Indian leader to initiate the political application of the Gita, to obtain mass support in the freedom struggle. In order to do this successfully, Tilak gave a new interpretation to the overall message of the Gita as well as to many terms and concepts that occur their in. Tilak told his countrymen that Sri Krishna taught the Gita not only to Arjuna but to all of them.

It is well known that when Tilak was imprisoned in Mandalay and thus was cut off from the field of active life in journalism and politics, he engaged himself in preparing this work. The fact that confined to a solitary imprisonment, he could recall the works of various philosophers­Eastern and Western. The constant refrain of his work was that it is the duty of the man of knowledge to awaken the people to their duties in life.

Following the Gita, Lokmanya Tilak insists that it is the duty of the man of knowledge to guide people in raising the level of their lives in terms of social and political good. Lokmanya Tilak asserts that the men of knowledge who have attained the level of Niskama have to serve as the philosopher­guide to people. According to Lokmanya Tilak, it is important to present before people the ideal of the man of action, who is free of personal interests because of his knowledge of fundamental truths. Lokasamgraha i.e. the integration of life forces around the concept of the good is a feature of karmayoga and cuts at the roof of the exclusive claims of sanyasa. Karmayoga does not take a negative attitude either to sanyasa or bhakti. In fact knowledge is the basis and bhakti is universality of feeling, constitutes the spirit of karmayoga. The broad based karmayoga mingled with the essentials of jnyana and bhakti is advocated by Gita as the unexceptional rule of morality for all men under varied circumstances. And the Lokmanya Tilak exerts himself to bring out this truth to serve the 4 interests of the people. This is the Lokasamgraha according to Gita.

It is therefore asserted that, the need for the leader to be sensitive to the physical and mental status of his people, his behaviour must be fine­tuned to their understanding capabilities. That he is focusing on performing karma without getting entangled in the bondage of earthily desires, must be obvious to all so that they can reorient their behaviour towards salvation in emulating him. True salvation is often achieved through work, rarely without. Tilak says, ‘It is an important duty of a man who has become a jnyanin, to remain himself in worldly life for the purpose of 5 Lokasamgraha, in order to give a living example of performing righteous, desire less action’.

Thus a visionary leader must also be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others.

Tilak says, the jnyanis perform all actions according to their dharma for the purpose of universal welfare (Lokasamgraha), looking upon it as an objective of the utmost importance 6 and necessity, and though they may not need to perform such actions for their own benefit.

The despondent position of Arjuna on the first chapter of the Gita is a typical human situation which may come in the life of all men of action sometime or the other. Lord Krishna by sheer power of his inspiring words raised the level of Arjuna’s mind from the state of inertia to the state of righteous action, from the state of faithlessness to the state of faith and self­confidence in the ultimate victory of Dharma (duty). They are the powerful words of courage of strength of self­confidence, of faith in one’s own infinite power, the glory of velour in the life of active people and the need for intense calmness in the midst of intense action. These will enable the individual to acquire not only his own peace of mind but such people will help others also to have a peaceful life.

Interdependence is also a main characteristic of Lokasangrha. It is there not only in the organizations but in the society as well. One is never independent. Others are affected by what he does and vice­versa. If he does not do what is expected from him, his duty, someone else is going to suffer. His freedom is limited by the impact of his actions will have on others.

Even in a position of authority, he cannot do whatever he wants to do. He cannot be arbitrary.

“yadi yahyam na varteyam jatu karmanyat itindritat aha Mama vartanat anuvartante manushyah partha sarvashaha” 7 It means, if I ever failed to engage in carefully performing prescribed duties, certainly all men would follow 8 9 my path. If I do not take part in action, all men will follow in all respects the path followed by me’.

The society cannot thrive without proper work by the individual. Work with sincerity and devotion for the progress of society is true service of an individual towards the unity and welfare of mankind. While endeavoring for the right to work, it is expected of the people that

by working for their own betterment they will strive as well for the noble ideal of social betterment i.e. the Gita’s concept of Lokasamgraha.

All our thinkers, leaders were having their own ideologies but which are based on various ethical ideals. The ultimate goal of everyone was to render a peaceful living for all i.e.

Lokasamgraha.

To quote a few examples – Vivekanand translated Lokasamgraha as ‘working for the good of others’, and added that this is “a very powerful idea­which has become the ideal in India”. 10 Aurbindo translates Lokasamgraha as the “holding to gether of the people”. However as he moves from the status of a karmayoga to that of a purnayoga his concept of Lokasamgraha undergoes a modification.

Radhakrishnan says, “Lokasamgraha stands for the un ity of the world, the interconnectedness of the society, the Gita requires us to lay stress on human brotherhood.” 11 Vinoba interprets Lokasamgraha as “keeping people t ogether and on the right path: He says that Karma Yoga technique of getting rid of selfishness by the method of diffusion. A personal, individual desire may be given a general, social application in order to cross over from attachment to non-attachment.” 12 Since Lokasamgraha means bringing about a unity of purpose and co-operative effort in the society for a just cause, Sri Krishna asks the wise men not to be content by their own actions, but also to encourage others to act as well. “ na bhudhi bhedanam janayed ajnanam jo sayet sarvakarmani vidvan yuktah samacaran” 13 The underlying message here is not to push people around, against their will but it is to perpetuate their ignorance. The place is in favour of a slow and steady effort to educate common people and to encourage them to follow voluntarily the example of the wise.

By adopting the approach of the Gita, Gandhi achieved considerable success in obtaining mass support for his satyagraha movements based on the technique of ahimsa, which for him was a matter of deep conviction and practice.

Tilak has interpreted Gita in such a way as to assert, firstly, that its main message is Lokasamgraha centered karma-yoga, and secondly, that everyone, small or big, should by performing svadharma in accordance with the teachings of the Gita, contribute to one or the other aspect of Lokasamgraha. For him the freedom and upliftment of the Indian people was more important than just the individual liberation. At that time India was under the realm of British rule. To awake the Indian people from their stagnancy to convince them the importance of action and encourage and activate them to strive for the freedom was the urgent need of that time. Tilak tried to meet this need by interpreting the Bhagavad-Gita as the theory of Niskama-Karmayoga. Similarly, with political freedom of India, he also wanted India to be socially mature, progressing, marching towards good values, which can never take place without leaders who act what they preach. Tilak wanted to create such ideals from Indian society only. With these intentions he placed before the society the ideal of karmayogi sthita-pradnya and also an ideal of Lokasamgraha.

The present problem of Bhrashta (corrupted) leadership is due to not going beyond ‘selfish’ goals-creating chain of social evils. Th e solution lies in change in the attitude of both the leaders and the followers. The shift from ‘selfish’ to ‘selfless’ Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Pg-139 Vinoba, “The Steadfast Wisdom-Pg-20-23.

Bhagavad-Gita (3.26)

Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, VolumeIV, Issue-IV, July-Aug 2014 attitude is possible by understanding and practicing the philosophy of swadharma and lokasamgraha. Our society needs such kind of leadership today. With this kind of attitude, personality, freedom and interdependence, the objectives of Lokasamgraha, can be achieved today in all the fields – social, e conomical and political and will lead to the welfare of all.

To perform our duty towards society, i.e. the duty of Lokasamgraha or our duty towards social welfare the attempt has been made to explore the concepts of ‘yajna’, ‘freedom’ with reference to the wellbeing of the so ciety. Bhagavad-Gita provides us effective guidelines to have effective social leadership. Our actions have to be conducive toward maintenance of the social and worldly order.

The fundamental criterion of moral goodness is the promotion of dharma or order, and the result of it is peace, happiness and harmony.

Therefore the political goals if based on ethical goals, always lead to the goal of Lokasamgraha. It is due to the purification of desire, which makes every individual to perform his swadharma and which ultimately will lead to the welfare of the society. It is the need of the hour that our political goals should be firmly based on ethical goals which will not only lead to the welfare of the human beings but of the other creatures on the earth as well, and we can attain the ideal of Lokasamgraha in true sense.

References : Agarwal S.P. The Social Role of the Gita- How and Why, Motilal Banarasidas Publishers, Delhi, 1997 B.G. Tilak, Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya or Karma-Yoga Sastra, Translation by B.S. Sukhtankar, Pune, T.S. Tilak, 1971.

B.G.Tilak, Srimad Bhagvd Gita Rahasya, Tilak Brothers, Pune, 1936 B.K. Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarasides, Delhi, 1987.

Lokmanya Tilak B.G. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya. Pune,1936 M.K. Gandhi interprets "The Bhagavad-Gita', Orient Paperbacks, Navajivan Trust, Madarasa Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006, 1978.

S. N. Gajendragadkar and V.S. Gajendragadkar, Gita-Rahasya of Lokmanya Tilak in essence, Tilak Brothers Publications, Pune S. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Harper and Raw, New York, 1973.

Sri Aurbindo, Essays on the Gita, Arya Publishing House, Calcutta, 1949.

Swami Prabhupada – ‘Bhagavad-Gita as it is’ –The Bh aktivedanta Book Trust-2002 Swami Vivekanand, Karmayoga, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, Seventeenth edition, 1984. ...............

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ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 The Bhagavad Gita – The Politics of Interpretation and its Interpret ation in Politics Ms. Mohua Dutta, Research Scholar Department of Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies, University of Delhi Abstract: The Bhagavad Gita is one of the major sacred texts of Hindu mythology, and is one of the perennial sources of spiritual knowledge. However, during the time of Indian national struggle for freedom, this sacred text was interpreted and re-interpreted numerous times by each prominent nationalist leader, sometimes to justify violence, sometimes to ensure mass participation in the Satyagraha movement. In his interpretation, Tilak found that The Gita teaches the philosophy of activism and energism (Karma yoga). Karma yoga means purging the soul of desires, so that the action performed is free from any materialistic attachments and desireless of its outcome. Gandhi on the other hand, interpreted it as an allegorical representation of the spiritual war going on between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil. Gandhi thus converted the greatest Indian war epic into an elaborate set-up to preach the importance of truth and non-violence. However, to Ambedkar, it was neither a sacred text nor a treatise on philosophy, but a politically motivated “counter-revolution” by the Brahmins to establish their supremacy by defending Chaturvarna, and securing its observance in practice. In my paper, I propose to underline such politics of interpretation of The Gita and understand how each stand has sought justification from the text.

Keywords: The Bhagavad Gita, Karma yoga, Tilak, Gandhi, Ambedkar "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." (Gita, 11.32) These words from The BhagavadGita is what J. Robert Oppenheimer had claimed to have thought when he witnessed the world's first atomic explosion at New Mexico desert at the Trinity test site on 16 July 19451. Oppenheimer, the father of atomic age, had to constantly draw inspiration from the sacred text in order to justify his creation of mass destruction, and believed that it was only a job that he had to do. Is it just a coincidence that his situation paralleled Arjuna’s remarkably? Was The Gita then indirectly responsible for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, just as the Pandavas and Kauravas were directly responsible for the death of thousands on the battlefield of Kurukshetra?

Admittedly being born and brought up in a foreign culture could have clouded his understanding and judgement of the true meaning of the text, but arguably was it more partial than Indian interpretations, which came to be written especially during the nationalist struggle, which were then used to justify violence or to ensure mass participation in Satyagraha, and were they not construed to serve selfish motives? Are we then saying that there is no absolute truth/reality that is applicable at all times? In my paper, I propose Copyright © International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

International Journal of English and Education 334 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 to underline the politics of interpretation of The Gita, and how it had been used in politics during the Indian National struggle for freedom in the early twentieth century.

“Every teacher who wished to claim Vedantic authori ty for his teachings was obliged to write a commentary on it showing that it supported his views.” - Krishna Prem, The Yoga of The BhagavadGita, p. 8 The ancient philosophers like Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Vallabha School interpreted that The Gita teaches the path of renunciation and bhakti (devotion) to attain Moksha; whereas the moderns like Tilak, Aurobindo and Gandhi read it to support Karma yoga and Satyagraha doctrine. The question raised at this point is that had they introduced ideas into The Gita in order to support their own theories, or were the thoughts formed while reading The Gita and thus, The Gita influenced their philosophies? In case of the latter, we ask the question of what does The Gita really preach. Is it action or inaction? Justification of enlightened violence or a call for peace? Is it then a ‘sacred’ book at all, the ‘Word of the Lord’ if we may call it, or only an allegorical work by the great sage Vyasa as a plea for humanistic politics? What we do know is that it acquired an iconic status in the modern times, interrogating the relationship between political thought, religion and modernity, and is thus still applicable as ever due to its limitless possibilities of meanings and interpretations.

Historically, The Gita had always been used as a tool of unification and motivation for the Hindus against foreign governance (Mughals and then the Britishers). Ironically, it was actually made accessible to the larger audience by the efforts of the Orientalists, and by subsequent translations into several Indian languages and dialects. Till then, it had always been read as a philosophical discourse, propagating moral and ethical living. It achieved greater prominence in the beginning of twentieth century, beginning with Tilak’s commentary, Srimad BhagavadGita Rahasya, written in order to strengthen and rationalise his extremist stance and to gain the political support of the Hindu intelligentsia. Prior to his entrance upon the political stage, Indian leadership under G.K. Gokhale had relied upon protests against government policies consisting of thoughtfully worded petitions, made to appeal to the sense of reason and fair play of the British Parliament. Tilak saw little benefit in such methods, and made his official foray into politics by opposing the British policies which didn’t conform to the dictates of Dharamshastras. This attitude won him the support of the orthodox Hindu community, which felt threatened by various reform proposals. He then mobilised the support of the Maratha community through his fiery speeches, pamphlets and his newspapers, Mahratta (published in English) and Kesari (Marathi). To further strengthen Indian consciousness of and pride in Hindu culture and traditions, Tilak was instrumental in establishing ten-day long celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi, and Shivaji as the symbol of Maratha power and glory. Unlike earlier reformers, who had tended to stress religious, social and educational reforms before political ones, Tilak held that Swaraj (Home Rule) was the first priority, and only then other reforms could be effective in any way. He insisted on non-cooperation, the boycott of British made goods and the use of Copyright © International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

International Journal of English and Education 335 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 Swadeshi goods, and for this he enlisted the help of Advaita Vedanta which likened one’s country as the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman, and service of the country was, in effect, service of god.

In his interpretation, he found that The Gita actually teaches the philosophy of activism and energism (Karma yoga), which had earlier being misconstrued as the path of renunciation/asceticism. Tilak agreed that although The Gita points several paths towards Moksha, including that of devotion and samnyasi, he rejected those on the basis of the Shastras which claim that one is bound by duty to save one’s motherland, and the path of renunciation is prohibited in the kaliyug. (Gita, II, 701). Tilak interpreted a Bhakta’s goal as realising the true identity of Brahman and Atman, which was impossible till the soul was bound to the samsara (materialistic world). But for this, mental and physical renunciation was not required. What was instead required was to purge the soul off desires, rather than suppressing them through fasting and excessive austerities, so that the action thus performed was free from any materialistic attachments and desireless of its outcome.

The true samnyasin, then, renounces not action but the desire of its karmic effects by dedicating all actions to Parameshwara. Tilak here referred to the metaphor of senses being the steeds of a chariot, and the charioteer being the Brahman himself who held the reins. (Gita, 1:14) In The Gita, claimed Tilak, Krishna revived the original Bhagavata doctrine, first taught by Nara and Narayana, and characterised by the attainment of knowledge combined with the performance of desireless action – in other words, the ‘ Karma yoga’ doctrine.

“The ultimate resolution of devotion is into knowle dge; devotion is a means for acquiring knowledge, it is not a goal in itself.”

- Tilak, Gita Rahasya2 Thus, for Tilak, the three main paths to liberation, Karman, Jnana, and Bhakti, harmonised in The Gita. He often referred to the thirteenth century Maratha philosopher, Jnanadeva, who had already set the precedent of attacking the quietism and renunciation of Samsara, and blamed the decline of the karma yoga philosophy and the usurpation of its place by the philosophy of renunciation, on the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.

I have already killed these warriors, O Arjuna, become just an instrument. (Gita, 11:33) Tilak most often resorted to this particular quote from The Gita, in order to justify his theory that our Vedas and Shastras actually teach desireless action, rather than inaction, as the most important text in Hindu mythology is woven around Krishna’s persuading Arjuna to take up his arms and fight, because he’s bound by his Kshatriya dharma (duty of a warrior clan) to defend his state and serve justice.

Unfortunately, Tilak’s interpretations has been rejected by scholars and other interpreters as a cynical exercise in political opportunism in his dream of creating a Hindu-only state.

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International Journal of English and Education 336 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 Surprisingly, Tilak’s influence on Gandhi has been most decisive, and in the words of a contemporary, … it is Tilak's mantle that has fallen on Mahatma G andhi and not that of Gokhale, though the Mahatma regards Gokhale as his political guru.

- Collected Works.3 Gandhi accepted Tilak’s view of Karma yoga, but refused the means of violence to achieve the noble end. He felt that Tilak had translated the text too literally, and had missed the point of “wisdom teaching” of Vyasa completely. Gandhi’s authoritative stance emerged out of his conviction of the historical character of the Shastras, “ Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis, Puranas and Itihasas… do not enunciate anew the eternal truths, but show how these were practised at the time to which the books belong.” ( CW) He further added that, “I learnt the art of estimating the value of script ures on the basis of their ethical teaching… any conduct that is contrary to truth and ahimsa is to be eschewed and any book that violates these principals is not a Shastra.” (CW) Consequently, he stated, that it was not surprising that they abound in contradictions, and even worse, that “... there is hardly an immoral practic e for which it would be difficult to find Shastric sanction.” ( CW). This is because they suffer through a “process of double distillation ... First they come through a human prophet, and then through the commentaries of interpreters. None of them comes from God directly.” (CW) Here we touch upon the central nerve of the Gandhian approach: religion is about action, “what cannot be followed out in day to day practice cannot be called religion...” ( CW) and thus, The Gita became the infallible touchstone of the Shastras, because “in a short compass it gives a complete reasoned moral code... [and] the essence of Dharma.” ( CW). Gandhi, the staunch champion of nonviolence, interpreted The Gita as an allegorical representation of “the ceaseless spiritual war going on in the human Kurukshetra” ( CW), commented thus: "I felt that it was not a historical work but that under the guise of physical warfare it described the duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind, and that physical warfare was brought in merely to make the description of the internal duel more alluring." (CW) To substantiate, he further added,

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International Journal of English and Education 337 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 “The poet has seized the occasion of the war betwee n the Pandavas and the Kauravas on the field of Kurukshetra for drawing attention to the war going on in our bodies between the forces of Good (Pandavas) and the forces of Evil (Kauravas) and has shown that the latter would be destroyed and there should be no remissness in carrying on the battle against the forces of Evil, mistaking them through ignorance for forces of Good.” (CW) As to why the poet Vyasa chose the occasion of a battle to preach the value of peace and nonviolence, Gandhi replied in a letter, “Vyasa wrote his supremely beautiful epic to depict the futility of war. What did the Kauravas’ defeat and the Pandavas’ victory avail? How many among the victors survived? What was their fate? What was the end of Kunti, mother of the Pandavas? What trace is left today of the Yadava race?” (CW) In other words, Gandhi converted the greatest Indian war epic into an elaborate set-up to preach the importance of truth (satya) and non-violence (ahimsa). Not only that, he rejected all the references of progressive self-revelation of Krishna as a mere “idiom of common speech”, and completely omitted the passages which distinguished the body-soul-being-different stance. He said that the Atman can only assimilate into the Brahman upon death, and the theory of incarnation was entirely “a matter of imagination a s well as of faith” to which he didn’t ascribe. However, he did ascribe to the message of renunciation, which he boldly claimed to be “... impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form.” He argued that here ‘renunciation’ meant complete mastery over senses, control over feelings of attachments, love, anger and lust, and total indifference towards the performance of tasks of the outside world. Only those who have disciplined their minds and bodies alike could be called as ‘ sthitaprajna’ (like Krishna himself) and deserved god’s grace ( prasada) and eternal knowledge (jnana). The thread of Gandhian logic finally culminated into his political endeavours where he used The Gita to support a mass program of resistive action which demanded participation by all sections of the society. He even found his opposition to untouchability sanctioned by The Gita, and thus calls them “ harijans”: “O Partha, even those who are of low birth, as also women, Vaishyas and Shudras attain to the highest bliss by resorting to me.” (Gita, 1:32).

Unfortunately, Gandhi’s views had been unfavourably received by the scholars who accused him of promoting Hindu nationalism and creating communal disharmony by favouring the teachings of one religion over the other.

One of the strongest critiques of both Tilak and Gandhi’s interpretations had been voiced by Ambedkar. Being a champion of the shudras and atishudras in the society, he naturally

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International Journal of English and Education 338 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 evaluated The Gita in an entirely different way. His comments on The Gita essentially summarised his critique of the Hindu religion and society. According to Ambedkar, The Bhagavad Gita is neither a book of religion nor a treatise on philosophy, but a politically motivated “counter-revolution”. To elaborate, he tr aced the history of the Indian society since Aryans, who had no recognisable code of moral and ethical conduct, and were flourishing under the protection of The Vedas and Manusmriti.

Upon the conversion of Ashoka into Buddhism, the social revolution took upon the political character, and Brahmins were usurped from their privileged position. After the decline of the Mauryan Empire, the Brahmins, whose interests had suffered under the Buddhist kings, initiated a counter-revolution under the leadership of Pushyamitra Sung to restore Brahmanism. The Bhagavad Gita was thus composed to give ideological and moral support to this counter-revolution. Further, Ambedkar even refused to acknowledge the authorship of Vyasa, since the authorship of Puranas and Brahmasutra had also been attributed to him, and it is humanly impossible to have survived the span of several centuries. As Ambedkar saw it, The Gita had originally been composed as a heroic ballad, which later adopted the religious overtones during the Gupta Empire when their family deity (Ishtadevata), Krishna Vasudeva, was accorded the position of the Parameshwara. To support this theory, Ambedkar pointed out several discrepancies in The Mahabharata where Krishna was not accepted as an avatar, but a mere councillor of the Pandavas. Also, Krishna’s role in The Mahabharata has always been understood as that of a master strategist and shrewd politician, and the sudden philosophical defence of war seems to have been added at a later stage, when viewed in its totality. The soul of The Gita seems to be the defence of Chaturvarna, and securing its observance in practice. For this, the two line of arguments in itself seems to stand in quicksand: Arjuna belonged to the Kshatriya caste, and thus it was his duty (dharma) to fight; and humans are mortals and body is perishable, so Arjuna is not committing any sin because he’s not destroying the soul, which is eternal. Ambedkar asked which of these cases could stand in a court of law.

Modern scholars of Jainism and Buddhism found discrepancies in Arjuna’s remorse, since he was worried about committing sin, and preferred to live a life of ascetic than enjoy the fruits of victory smeared with the blood of his own clan; however surprisingly there was no trace of pity on the part of Arjuna, since he was worried about everything else but the pain he would inflict upon those he wounds or kills. It is therefore not appropriate for Krishna to give him an extended answer intended to alleviate worries about the pain he might produce. Extending the argument further, shouldn’t Krishna have convinced Arjuna of the superior worth and righteousness of fighting the war in order to win it? Unless a warrior is fully committed to achieve the goal of winning the war and unless everything was staked for bringing it to a successful conclusion, there is no point in fighting it and no hope for re-establishing dharma on earth. But again, doesn’t it go against the dictates of “desireless action”?

Furthermore, when we cross refer Immanuel Kant’s ‘d uty for duty sake’ philosophy in reference to Shastras and then situate it in the contemporary politics, we are appalled by the results. We have established so far that The Gita sanctions the concept of ‘righteous war’ Copyright © International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

International Journal of English and Education 339 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 (dharma yudha). Are the religious crusades also justified because they are fighting to protect their culture and religion (Hindutva or Islam or Jews)? Or armed revolution (say, the Naxalites or Israel and Palestine) because they are protecting their own lands? Do the war-ravaged countries of Middle East also have the right to avenge its perpetrators? Is there actually any justification for mass murders, destruction, plundering of wealth and property, all for the sake of power-play, sanctioned

by Shastras/ Quran/ New Testament notwithstanding?

END NOTES Hijiya, James A. The “ Gita” of J. Robert Oppenheimer . Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 144, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 123-167. American Philosophical Society. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1515629>. In The Gita, it appears as “shatterer of worlds.”

Tilak, G.B. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya: Karmayoga Shastra. Tr. Bhalchandra Sitaram Sukhthabar. 4th edition, 1980. Print.

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. New Delhi: Publication Division. Pub. 2000. Print. Henceforth abbreviated as ‘CW’.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Stevenson, Robert W. “Tilak and the Bhagavad-Gita’s Doctrine of Karma yoga”. Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad-Gita. Ed. Robert N. Minor. New Delhi: Sri Sat guru Publication, 1991.

Print.

Jordens, J.T.F. “Gandhi and the Bhagavad-Gita”. Modern Indian Interpreters of the BhagavadGita.

Ed. Robert N. Minor. New Delhi: Sri Sat guru Publication, 1991. Print.

Saroja, G.V. Tilak and Sankara on the Gita. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1985. Print.

Betai, Ramesh S. Gita and Gandhiji. Ahmedabad: Gujarat Vidyapith, 1970. Print.

Gandhi, M.K. The Gospel of Selfless Action or the Gita According to Gandhi. Tr. Mahadev Desai.

Ed. John Strohmeimer. Online Edition.

Brown, D. Mackenzie. The Philosophy of Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Karma vs. Jnana in The Gita Rahasya. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Feb., 1958), pp. 197-206. Association for Asian Studies. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2941466> Harvey, Mark. J. The Secular as Sacred? — The Religio-Political Rati onalization of B. G. Tilak.

Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1986), pp. 321-331. Cambridge University Press <http://www.jstor.org/stable/312578>

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International Journal of English and Education 340 ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014 Mathur, D.C. The Concept of Action in the Bhagavad-Gita. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Sep., 1974), pp. 34-45. International Phenomenological Society <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2106599> Pandit, Nalini. Ambedkar and The Bhagavad-Gita. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, No. 20/21 (May 16-23, 1992), pp. 1063-1065. Economic and Political Weekly <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4397889>

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In the Atmajnana Yajnas that Bhagavadpada conducts, he relies on the Bhagavad Gita, as a Moksha Shastra (or traditional source): In his own words:

Page | 1

The Centrality of the Bhagavad Gita in these Yajnas: To bring about this very subtle ‘understanding’ [I prefer this term to ‘realization’, as the latter is already loaded] called Jnana, the Sutras of the Bhagavad Gita will be extensively used, only because the Gita stands out as a Moksha Shastra par excellence, even though, traditionally, it has not been viewed in this particular light by many Hindu acharyas, past & present.

Rather than our present reliance on the Bhagavad Gita, one could have also relied on one or more of the Upanishads, or on the Brahma Sutras, or on the traditional Advaitic texts, such as Vivekachudamani, Vedanta Panchadasi, Tripura Rahasya, Ashtavakra Gita, Ribhu Gita, Yoga Vasishtham, etc; but the Bhagavad Gita was what Sri Sri Bhagavan had initiated me into, rather early in my life and it was also the Shastra, that came to be internalized, after I crossed sixty, so it will eminently serve our present purpose, because it is indeed, also the condensed milk essence of all the Upanishads.

A New Modern Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita: In the traditional Bhashyas [commentaries] on the Bhagavad Gita [and there are a number of excellent Bhashyas each having their own characteristic merits], one rarely ever sees the light from the wonderfully potent teachings of such modern Advaitic Masters of the last century as Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Sri J Krishnamurti - Being used for bringing home the truth of the Bhagavad Gita, in a more lustrous way [none of them is any more on the physical plane].

These Yajnas, not only open new doors for freshly rediscovering the ancient Advaita tradition of Atmavichara & Atmajnana, but will also do full justice, to the teachings of the beloved Advaitic Masters, J Krishnamurti & Nisargadatta Maharaj, as I do not see these priceless modern teachings standing alone, away from the Gita, in spite of such an uncompromising stand having been taken by the two beloved Masters themselves, in the course of their lifetimes.

There are two aspects of the Bhagavad Gita, to which we must be particularly sensitive, by way of preparation for these Yajnas. Firstly, the

teachings of the Gita are sometimes used as a veritable Dharma Shastra, and very rarely as a veritable Moksha Shastra. A good scholar would know when the teaching is running on the Dharma plane and not on the other. When a Mumukshu takes up the Gita, he will be primarily interested in it as a Moksha Shastra. At this point we may note that Dharma Shastras Page | 2 are more widely read,

whereas Moksha Shastras remain in the background, because of their esoteric nature-they appeal only to Mumukshus [seekers after liberation], who are generally a meagre minority. On account of the unwavering dedication of the Hindus[and even many non-Hindus, in fact] to the Gita, ever since Adi Sankaracharya, culled it from the Mahabharata; the Dharma aspect of these teachings has for the reasons mentioned above attracted wider attention than its esoteric Moksha aspect. We have to bear this fine distinction in mind, as we are presently coming home to this teaching, for what it has to offer, as a time honored Moksha Shastra.

Secondly, whenever a seeker, whether Hindu or not, approaches the Gita, he necessarily sees ‘Two Lights’, a brilliant one, emanating from the illustrious Divine personality of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, and certainly, another distinct Light (if he is perceptive at all), but of lesser luminosity-in the eyes of devotees-emanating from the Gita, the teachings of that Bhagavan. Mature devotees, who may be small in number compared to the vast majority, may however see only ‘One Mass of Light’, rather than two, standing more for the teachings or at least for the indivisible unity of Bhagavan Sri Krishna and his teaching, the Bhagavad Gita. The majority of devotees, contrariwise, through their excessive extroversion and consequent excessive devotion may not pay so much attention to the Gita per se, as to His lustrous Divine personality, in which they may get engrossed through their devotional approach. Let us remember that Krishna has himself said: ‘Among all the seekers and devotees, the Jnanis [men of Understanding] are most beloved to Me’.

In the present Yajnas, we are not really obsessed with the Divine personality, as much as we will be with the teachings of that Divine personality, and this clear preference for one aspect of the Gita, over the other must certainly be noted.

3. The Advaita Tradition & the Present Vein of Atmajnana Yajnas: Between the three illustrious Advaitic Masters of the last century, mentioned above, barring Sri Ramana Maharshi, who chose to teach predominantly through the time tested Hindu Advaitic scriptures; the other two, breaking with the traditional line, brought in a radically new approach, each inimitable, each brilliantly original & profound, each direct & radical, yet nevertheless, each also cut away from the main stream of the Vedic tradition, because of the critical stands both took, with respect to the timeless tradition.

After observing closely these three illustrious departed Masters of the last century, and studying the traditional texts carefully, and watching also the course of development of my own Master Sri Page | 3 Bhagavan’s mystical-devotional movement, which is not also overtly aligned with the Hindu tradition; I settled into the unwavering conviction, that I should basically keep walking on the broad highway of the Atmajnana tradition, but at the same time should retain my integrity, by not turning my back, either on the wonderfully potent teachings of the two beloved Advaitic Masters, who chose to decisively break with the traditional line, or on the priceless wisdom communicated to me, directly from his Atma by my beloved Master Sri Sri Bhagavan, through hundreds of hours of upadesa, since my boyhood days.

4. Devotional Adoration & Gratitude to the Four Beloved Masters: To all these four beloved Masters, I will bend my body & head in salutation a million times, again & again, as I still do on a daily basis, only to discharge at their Divine feet, the ever gushing stream of

devotional adoration & gratitude, for providing me that dependable lifeboat of Atmavichara, with which I had, a number of years ago, already made a safe landing on the blessed farther shore of Atmajnana, only to make the paradoxical discovery, that this shore had always been my everlasting Home, from which I had never really strayed - except for those occasional, ‘delirious & mad journeys in thought’, propelled alas, by the Divine Mother’s mandate of Maya, during which periods alone, I naturally felt Homeless, listless and lost!

Advaitic Upadesa & Atma Prasannata: Without the magnificent boat of self-knowledge [Atmavichara] provided by my Master Sri Sri Bhagavan and the upadesa from the three Advaitic Masters Sri J. Krishnamurti, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj & Sri Ramana Maharshi, I would not have reached the blessed shore of Atmaprasannata, within my own bosom.

We may however note in passing that the actual attainment of Atmaprasannata, Atmajnana; and the fruits of Ayurvedic purifications & rejuvenations would depend upon a number of necessary preparations & qualifications, such as the following: (1) Firstly, to have the perception that something is fundamentally amiss in man’s consciousness, which is at the root of all of man’s ills. From such a perception might arise the sincerity, patience & dedication to ‘heal and restore that consciousness’ to its pristine purity. Each seeker must be actually willing to walk on the road himself as no one else can do this introspective enquiry for him.

(2) Devotion to Ishtha devata, either as Atma, or as a Deity, beloved to us, representing Isvara or the Atma [in other words, Bhakti, as it is quite Page | 4 natural to perceive the Atma also as ‘the other’, ‘the Beloved’, rather than as the ‘Self’, especially when Pratyahara has not reached yogic perfection].

Ideally, surrender either to the Atma or to the Ishtha Devata, or to what is [in J. Krishnamurti’s sense], resulting in a readiness to understand and accept what destiny has to say, with regard to the benevolent or malevolent consequences of ‘The Mood of Isvara at the time and place of our birth, as an embodied Atma’ [this is the real meaning of our astrological chart], for the possible fulfillment, or even for the lack of it, in the pursuit of these sublime goals - through either Isvara’s blessings or His wrath, now, or even at any later time in life.

Ideally, detachment from sense-objects [resulting in inner tranquility].

Willingness to renounce the ego, in the day to day transactions with the world.

Serious enough to enter into the process of Atmavichara without any vacillation and come on the path of self-knowing. If we were fickle, and frivolous in our approach, or too restless, we would not be able to get into Atmavichara.

An interest to understand deeply, be introspective and stay with what is-as all these are necessary preludes to self-knowing & Self-Realization.

The Gita is like a summary of the various philosophies existing at the time in ancient India 5000­6000 years ago at the end of the Dwapara Yuga.

Krishna is revered as the Jagadguru or teacher of the world, because he summarised all the different philosophies in conversation with Arjuna.

Interestingly the author of the Mahabharatha in which the Bhagavad Gita is found.. is Veda Vyasa or the one who divided (ordered, collated) all the Vedas. His real name was Krishna Dwaipayana. The other name for Draupadi, the heroine of the Mahabharatha is also Krishnaa.

Mahabharatha is an Itihasa or historical epic. However in writing this, Veda Vyasa wanted to explain all the Vedic and Upanishadic truths to people in a story form because ordinary people can understand stories better than philosophic jargon. It is said that everything that is there in the world is in the Mahabharata.

...........

Jnana and karma, two of the other polarities with which the Gita contends, finally support bhakti towards betterment, not deterioration, if done selflessly and with balance.In the Gita, the devotees' mystical or emotional love of God apprehends their , ~

oneness with the Supreme God and with all beings, and transcends the pitiless segregation of the caste system, and opens the path of salvation to all irrespective of race, color, caste, class or gender in life. In spite of much opposition from orthodoxy, the bhakti movement spread allover India, and bhakti itself rose to the level of orthodoxy and has become the faith of millions of people especially of the south, and surprisingly, of even of those of the so called highest caste.

Etymology and use of the Sanskrit term 'bhakti' (Love) 16 The word Bhagavad comes from

the same root, bhaj, as bhakti.

In Hinduism,

Bhagavan is the gracious Lord of the bhakti cults. The idea of love is expressed by the root 'bhaj' , and its derivative is bhakti.

The concept of love can be used for several

manifestations of love, 1) possession or enjoyment, 2) preference and choice, 3) esteem and honor, 4) attachment and affection, 5) loyalty and devotion.

Similarly bhaj also can

have multiple meanings: to possess, enjoy, enjoy carnally, embrace; to favor, prefer, choose, and elect; to honor, worship, adore, revere, and esteem; to be attached to; to court; to be devoted to, to be loyal. Love can also be secular or religious. ~

As secular love, the Sanskrit word bhaj can be used for grace or devotedness such as faithfulness between equals, friends, spouses, between master and servant, king and subjects, and understood as love a) between parent and child, b) between sexes, c) between master and servant, and d) to guru

As religious love, bhaj may be used for

grace: a) respect and reverence, b) devotion (bhakti) in the worship of God, c) external worship of God, d) love (bhakti) of God, e) God's love for human beings.

Synonyms for bhakti in the Gita The words, " priti", "sneha," "prema," "anugraha," "anurakti" or "ishtam" are also used in the Gita synonymously to express bhakti as emotional and passionate desire. The terms, "dhrti" (satisfaction), ''priti'' (gratification), "tarsa" (desire), raga (passion) sneha (friendship) and anuraga (attachment), and words such as "nam­namra" (reverential

16 I am greatly indebted to Fr. Mariasoosai Dhavamony, S.l., for the analysis of the words and semantics of bhaj and bhakti in Sanskrit, Tamil, in Hinduism, especially in the Bhagavad Gita and comparisons with Christianity in his "Love of God according to Saivasiddhanta: A Study in the Mysticism and Theology of Saivism," (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), which is the first classic of its kind in the subject of love in the

Saiva­Siddhanta, which is a South Indian Hindu Text of dogma and doctrine in Saivism.

xviii bow), "upacara" (respect), and "puj" (showing honor) are combined with bhakti to denote interpersonal relationship with God, the ultimate ground of worship in the Gita In the Gita Bhakti is not developed to convey the full and deep doctrine of the mysticism of love, which we find in the later Hindu religious traditions of Saivism and Vaishnavism. Our purpose in this paper is well served if it is proved that the term "bhakti" implies a personal relationship and has been used in the religious context to signify loving devotion to God and love of God to human beings. 17 ................

THE GITA’S WIDE APPEAL The Bhagavad Gita was first translated into English by Charles Wilkins in 1785 and published by the British East India Company with an introduction by Lord Warren Hastings, the first British Governor-General of India, in which he prophetically wrote: “The writers of the Indian philosophies will survive when the British Dominion in India shall long have ceased to exist, and when the sources which it yielded of wealth and power are lost to remembrance”. He further wrote “I hesitate not to pronounce the Gita’s performance of great originality, of sublimity of conception, reasoning and diction almost unequalled and a single exception amongst all the known religions of mankind”.

The Gita deals with human problems in a human way. That is why it has a tremendous appeal. It has inspired the human mind in India for centuries and today it casts its spell on millions of people across the various parts of the world. It remains the most translated work in the Globe. The modern technology like the Internet has further increased its reputation by carrying its message to every nook and corner of the world.

A mere click on the word ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in the Google search engine throws about 963,000 results. An incredible reach for any scripture!

Among the great and extraordinary people who were inspired and found their outlook changed by the timeless wisdom of the Gita are thinkers, writers, scientists and philosophers like Mahatma Gandhi, B.G.Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Albert Einstein, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Herman Hesse, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Aldous Huxley, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Annie Besant, Robert Oppenheimer Sir Edwin Arnold and Carlyle to name but a few. th

In India it was left to Adi Sankara who lived in the 8 century A.D. to reveal the greatness of the Gita to the world. He retrieved it from the mighty tomes of the epic, the Mahabharata, and wrote a brilliant commentary on it. It is this commentary which prevails as a classic text even today. Later great acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha and others came out with their own commentaries which are popular among their followers. In modern times Sant Jnanesvar, B.G.Tilak, Aurobindo contributed their original thinking on the text.

Despite this enormous popularity, the Bhagavad Gita remains a less understood but a better known text; people know more about it than what is it about. On the analogy of what the Bhagavad Gita says in Chapter 2, Verse 29 some look upon the book as marvelous, a scripture of extraordinary or mysterious value, some others speak of the

book as wonderful. And still others though hearing its teachings do not comprehend its wonderful significance!

Bhagavan Sri Krishna also says in the Gita (7.3) “Among thousands of men , one by chance aspires for perfection; even among those successful aspirants only one by chance knows Me in essence.” A question arises why such enlightened persons are so rare in our midst and why such an achievement is not within the reach of everyone.

Vedanta being a subjective science rarely one tries to know how to remove one's weaknesses and develop inner strength much less one tries to live up to the ideals propounded by it and bring about consequent re-adjustments in one's life. Very few feel this urge to evolve themselves and most of us do not even find the need for self improvement. We grope along by the voice of tradition, authority, herd-instinct and group-mentality. Of those who strive to see the truth and reach the goal, only a few succeed. Of those who gain the sight, not even one learns to live by the sight.

No wonder once a teacher wanting to educate a child about the Gita asked him “Do you know Gita”? The child replied “Yes, I know, that is the name of my next door aunty”. The child obviously heard of Gita and had his own meaning of it in his mind and remained happy about it. That is the case with most of us today including the large mass of modern educated sections. Then where do we go from here? Again, the Gita says by constant learning and practice one can certainly improve oneself. Let us attempt to heed that advice through this series of essays.

WHAT IS THE GITA? The dictionary meaning of the word ‘Gita’ is a song or poem containing an inspired doctrine and the word ‘Bhagavat’ means a blessed or adorable or venerable or divine One. Hence Srimad Bhagavad Gita is variously called as ‘The Song of God’, ‘The Divine Song’, ‘A Song of Fortune’, ‘The Lord’s Song’, ‘The Holy Song of God’, ‘The Song of the Lord’, Gudartha Deepika, Gita Rahasya, Jnaneshwari, Bhavaarthadipika, Sadhaka Sanjeevani and so on. The noted English poet, journalist and a Principal of the Government Sanskrit College at Pune, Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) called his famous poetic version of the Bhagavad Gita as ‘The Song Celestial’. The Bhagavad Gita’s another title is ‘moksha sastra’ or ‘Scripture of Liberation’. However, it is more popularly known as “The Gita”.

The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. It finds a place in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata. It comprises of 18 chapters spread out in 700 verses. Its author is Veda Vyasa, the compiler of the Mahabharata who wrote this epic through the hands of the Lord of Wisdom, Sri Ganesha. Its teachings are considered timeless and the exact time of revelation of the scripture is considered of little spiritual significance.

The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered as a manifestation of God, The Bhagvan, Parabrahman.

The content of the Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra before the start of the war between the two clans of brothers - the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Bhagavan Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Vedantic concepts. This has led to the Gita being described as one of the prasthana traya, the triumvirate of the canons of Hindu Philosophy, the other two being the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras.

It is considered as a concise, practical, self-contained guide to play the game of life.

During the discourse, Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.

OVER-VIEW OF THE GITA The entire Bhagavad Gita can be divided into five topics viz. st

nd

8. Identifying the problem (covered in the 1 and the starting portions of the 2 chapters of the Gita). nd 9. Finding a solution (covered in the major portion of the 2 chapter and th th th reiterated in the 7 , 9 and 13 chapters. rd th th 10. Implementing the solution (This theme is dealt with in the 3 , 5 , 12 and th 18 chapters).

11. Understanding the values of life (stated in many places in the Gita and th particularly in the 16 chapter) and nd th th 12. Achieving perfection (elaborated in the 2 , 5 , and 14 chapters).

Arjunaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s misunderstanding, his inability to see things as they are and consequent grief and self-pity just at the crucial moment of war are the problems. The solution to them can be short term which will only be of temporary nature or long term which will be of permanent nature. The Gita offers a long term solution with which anybody can face any situation in life at any time anywhere. This spiritual solution teaches us to look at life as a whole and live a whole life. Finding a solution is just not enough. We must know how to implement it. The Gita provides us with a practical guidance that helps us to understand how to live according to the guidelines offered.

But living a life according to the guidelines offered is also not adequate unless it is spiced with certain basic vision and values. If a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of life is limited to mundane happiness derived from the senses, he will merely spend his life time in eating, drinking and making merry. His value system will revolve round making money by any means to satisfy his never ending needs. But the value system of a person with a philanthropic bent or an animal lover or an environmentalist or spiritually oriented will be entirely different. The Gita provides us with such an enlarged vision of life laying the foundation for a sense of fulfillment.

Finally, the Gita gives us the vision of a person who has gained the supreme Knowledge and lives anchored in it. One who faces problems and crisis in life gains the vision of Truth, puts it into practice, and lives according to that value system. He becomes a jivan mukta, liberated in this very life. He is called a sthita prajna and the Gita gives us a vivid description of his nature.

Such an analytical understanding of the various topics in the Bhagavad Gita makes it easy for us to study it fruitfully and gives us a ready reference point to check out the slokas (verses) according to our requirement.

Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma, or universal harmony and duty. He begins with the tenet that the soul (Atman) is eternal and immortal. Any 'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, whereas the soul is permanent.

In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes and understanding of the true nature of the universe. He describes the yogic paths of devotional service -Bhakti Yoga, action - Karma Yoga, meditation - Dhyana Yoga or Raja Yoga and knowledge - Jnana Yoga.

Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from going beyond identification with the temporal ego, the 'False Self', the ephemeral world, so that one identifies with the truth of the immortal self, the absolute soul or Atman.

Through detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enters the realm of the Supreme.

Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be abandoned or neglected. Rather, one's life on Earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths; one must embrace one's temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of timeless reality, acting for the sake of service without consideration for the results thereof. Such a life would naturally lead towards stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.

In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna refers to the war about to take place as ‘Dharma Yuddha’, meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. He also states that he incarnates in each age (yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.

The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi "I have an impression that the bulk of the readers of [this] book will be students.... [And] let me make it clear that I lay no more claim to scholarship than does Gandhiji, but I am myself a student—as I hope to remain until my dying day—and it is out of sympathy for the needs of the people of my kind that I have presumed to introduce this additional matter."

--Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's biographer, personal secretary, and father of Narayan, concerning his own introduction and this translation into English of Gandhi's Gujarati version.

1. My first acquaintance with the Gita began in 1888-89 with the verse translation by Sir Edwin Arnold known as the Song Celestial. On reading it, I felt a keen desire to read a Gujarati translation. And I read as many translations as I could lay hold of. But all such reading can give me no passport for presenting my own translation. Then again my knowledge of Sanskrit is limited, my knowledge of Gujarati too is in no way scholarly.

How could I then dare present the public with my translation? ........................

Karma Yoga in Tilak, Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo Introduction The Gita made a profound influence on the nationalist leadership. It influenced Lokmanya Tilak (1856-1920), Mahatama Gandhi (1869-1948), and Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), all as they struggled for india’s independence. Introduced to it at an early age, each one of them had an

occasion to deepen their understanding of it in prison. Of them Tilak was the oldest and he wrote his magnum opus, the Gita Rahasya in 1907 while he was serving a six year prison term in Mandalay. It is interesting that each one of them arrived at different interpretations of karma yoga, the yoga of action.

Tilak was introduced to a Marathi translation of the Gita when he was sixteen years old as the task of reading out a Prakrit commentary on it called Bhasa-vivrtti to his father fell to his lot. Mahatma Gandhi first got acquainted with the Gita when he was studying in England through two English brothers who read it regularly. They asked him to join them which Gandhi did although he did not know Sanskrit at that time. He read its English /translation by Sir Edwin Arnold in 1888-1889. Captivated by its message especially that in the last nineteen verses of the second chapter which deals with karmayoga, he started reading the Gita everyday. At first he read as many Gujarati translations of it as possible and then only in Sanskrit. During his imprisonment he studied it in detail and later translated it into Gujarati. Sri Aurobindo was struck by the Gita’s ‘gospel of action’ before he was even thirty; he wrote several articles on it in Karmayogin. Its idea of “desireless duty” or “nishkama karma” was his guiding principle during his revolutionary days. It was, however, during his year of solitary confinement in the Alipore jail that the Gita became a felt experience on his pulses: “I was not only to understand (Gita) intellectually but to realize what Sri Krishna demanded of Arjuna and what he demands of those who aspire to do his work”. 1 Therefore, these nationalist leaders drew inspiration from Gita especially and naturally from its call to action in spite of all odds and after overcoming all attachments thereby acting with a single minded sense of purpose. The crux of the issue with regard to action was the value to be given to violence. Of the three, neither Tilak nor Sri Aurobindo found any absolute value is nonviolence. To just give one example, the Sedition Committee Report, dealt in detail with the devastation caused by the plague in 1897.2 It led to the institution of house-to-house visitations in Poona and compulsory evacuation of plague-infected houses. This caused much alarm and resentment. Initially Tilak wrote favourably about the Government’s efforts but later he imputed not only to the subordinate officials but to the Government itself a deliberate direction to oppress people. The plague Commissioner, Mr. Rand came to be gradually regarded as tyrannical. Even while the Plague was raging, the sixtieth jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign was celebrated.

Returning from a jubilee banquet at the Government house in Poona, Mr. Rand was shot dead together with Lt. Ayerat on 27th June 1898. Tilak’s articles in the Kesari that followed finally led to his arrest on charges of sedition as he seemed to present an apology for political assassination.3 During Tilak’s trial, references were made to two incriminating articles in the Kesari entitled “Shivaji’s utterances”. Tilak had been instrumental in getting the Ganpati festival and the Shivaji

coronation festival instituted. The latter was held on the 12th of June, 1897. One of the speakers at the festival was reported to have said: Every Hindu, every Maratha, to whatever party he may belong, must rejoice at this Sivaji festival. We all are striving to gain our lost independence, and this terrible load is to be uplifted by us all in combination. It will never be proper to place obstacles in the way of any person, who, with a true mind, follows the path of uplifting this burden in the manner he deems fit. Our mutual dissensions impede our progress greatly. If anyone be crushing down the country from above, cut him off, but do not put impediments in the way of others…..All occasions like the present festival which tend to unite the whole country must be welcome. 4 Another speaker observed: The people who took part in the French Revolution denied that they had committed muirder and asserted that they were only removing thorns from their paths. Why should not the same argument be applied to Maharashtra?

The President at the festival meeting, Tilak himself said: “Did Sivaji commit a sin in killing Afzal Khan (the Muhammadan General) or not? The answer to that question can be found in the Mahabharat itself. Srimat Krishna’s advice in the Gita is to kill even our own teachers and our kinsmen. No blame attaches to any person if he is doing deeds without being actuated by a desire to reap the furits of his deeds. Sri Sivaji did nothing with a view to fill the void of his own stomach. With benevolent intensions he murdered Afzal Khan for the good of others. If thieves enter our house and we have not sufficient strength to drive them out, we should without hesitation shut them up and bopurn them alive. God has not conferred upon the foreigners the grant inscribned on a copper-place of the kingdom of Hindusthan. The Mahareaja (Sivaji) strove to drive them away from the land of his birth. He did not thereby commit the sin of coveting what belonged to others. Do not circumscribe your vision like a frog in a well; get out of the Penal Code and enter the extremely high atmosphere of the Srimat Bhagavad Gita and consider the actions of great men.5 Sri Aurobindo too did not believe that non-violence had any absolute value that had to be followed as the only course of action. In this Gita was a good guide : A certain class of minds shrink from aggressiveness as it is were a sin. Their temperament forbids them to feel the delight of battle and hey look on what they cannot understand as something monstrous and sinful. “Heal hate by love, drive out injustice by justice, slay sin by righteousness’ is their cry. Love is a scared name, but it is easier to speak of love than to love…The Gita is the bet answer to those who shrink form battle as a sin and aggression as a lowering of morality6 In Bande Matram, too, he said: “The choice by a subject nation of the means it will use for vindicating its liberty is best determined by the circumstances of its servitude.7 One of the courses, “open to an oppressed nation is that of armed revolt…This is the old time-honoured method which the oppressed or enslaved have always adopted by preference in the past and will adopt in the future if they see any chance of success; for it is the readiest and swiftest, the most thorough in its results, and demands the least powers of endurance and suffering and the smallest and briefest sacrifices.8 Hence, all these leaders followed the karmayoga of Gita but each in his own way.

Gita as a Seditious Books

One man’s food is another’s poison. The Gita is a sacred text for Hindus but for Justice S.A.T. Rowlett, who was the President of the Sedition Committee (1908), it was an instrument of subversion and sedition. According to him, the Bengal revolutionaries used the teachings of the Bhagawad Gita, as also the teachings of Vivekanand “to create an atmosphere suitable for the execution of their projects”.9 The time was also ripe for it as Justice Rowlett says, “But neither the religious teachings of Bhagavad Gita would have afforded so moving a text to preach from had not the whole world, and especially the Asiatic world, been electrified and amazed by the victories of Japan over Russia…”10 At another place, the report states: For their own initiates the conspirators devised a remarkable series of textbooks. The Bhagavad Gita, the writings of Vivekanand, the lives of Mazzini and Garibaldi, were part of the course; and in the words of Mr. Justice Mukharji: “such principles as the religious principal of absolute surrender to the Divine Will were employed by designing ad unscrupulous men as potent means to influence and unbalance weak-minded persons and thus ultimately bend to become instruments in the commission of nefarious crimes from which they might otherwise recoil with horror.11 Hence, as Michel Danino has pointed out, the revolutionaries of Bengal and Maharashtra drew such inspiration from the Gita that the colonial authorities came to regard it as the ‘gospel of terrorism’ and it became one of the most sought after evidence in police raids. Sir Aurobindo himself is said to have initiated several revolutionaries by making them swear on the Gita that they would do everything to liberate India from foreign yoke. However, in Karmayogin, he took strong exception to the Gita being regarded as a seditious book: We strongly protest against the brand of suspicion that has been sought to be placed in many quarters on the teaching and possession of the Gita – our chief national heritage, our hope for the future, our great force for the purification of the moral weaknesses that stain and hamper our people.12 Tilak and Karmayoga Tilak was convinced that the Gita was essentially a text that preached karmayoga. The commentaries on it that went before him seemed to emphasize spiritual knowledge, devotion and renunciation and this became so dominant that the yoga of action appeared to recede into the background. This puzzled Tilak. He could not understand why so much stress had been laid on the attainment of moksha through Gyana or Bhakti when the whole aim of Krishna’s teachings to the dejected Arjuna was to motivate him to fight. He decided to put all these aside and undertake an independent reading of the Gita. For him its essence was karmayoga, or desireless action.

According to Tilak, the Gita was propounded at a time when “whether to act or renounce’ was considered a question of great importance before deciding whether an action was to be regarded as good or bad. Most commentaries on Gita, he found, highlighted renunciation as the primary teaching and action or karma yoga as secondary. He did not find in the Gita any conflict between knowledge or gyana and right action or karma as imagined by what he called the School of Renunciation. For him the Gita also showed that the fundamental elements in brahmavidya or

the science of Brahman and Bhakti or the path of devotion were the foundation of ethics and good behaviour. Hence, the Gita showed the path to be adopted in life by properly harmonizing Knowledge, Renunciation, Right Action and Devotion. Thus, while it dwelt on Knowledge Renunciation and Devotion, it was essentially in the context of Right or Proper Action. Arjuna had made a clear request to Krishna: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do not confuse me by placing before me several courses of conduct, but point out to me definitely only one course, which is the proper courseâ&#x20AC;?.13 It was clear, therefore, said Tilak, that the Gita had to be in support of one particular opinion. The rest was only arguments that pointed to the right path after dispelling all confusions that different teachings caused.

For Tilak, the Gita explained the most perfect and complete condition of the Self, or what is the ideal of the highest manhood. In doing so it established a logical and irrefutable harmony not only between Devotion or Bhakti and Gyan or knowledge but ultimately between both these and the duties of ordinary life enjoyed by the Shastras. It thus inspired the mind bewildered by the vicissitudes of life to calmly and desirelessly adhere to the path of duty. The conversation between Sri Krishna and Arjuna was essentially about action, the impending war and hence, karma yoga to fight in these circumstances with detachment without looking at the fruits of action. Even individuals who acquired spiritual knowledge had to still perform duties pertaining to their status of life as long as they lived. Tilak gave several examples from the life Vyasa himself, the author of Mahabharata. In spite of being an ascetic, a rishi, a sage and a priest, he had to do his duty at every point in the epic whether he was heeded to or not, whether he failed or succeeded.14 Tilak felt that the great commentators on the Gita who had gone before him had a doctrine or hypothesis into the framework of which they tried to the Gita. He was thinking chiefly of Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. Each he felt was trying to interpret the message of Gita from a preconceived theory but he wanted the doctrinal method to be given up. Citing mimansa writers, he said that in order to interpret a work seven factors had to be taken into account and all had to be considered. The first two were the beginning and the end of the book. Every writer wrote with some motive or aim in mind and when that object was accomplished, he completed his book. Therefore, the commencement and end of the book had to be first examined in determining the purport of the book. Once this had been done, he said, it had to be considered what were things that were repeated or reiterated in the work at several placed and times. This was because whenever a writer thought that it was essential to convey something, he naturally repeated it. The fourth and fifth factors were whether the work had anything new to say and what was the impact of it. Unless the author had something new to say, he usually did not write a new book; at least that was the situation before the event of the printing press. Also, it was important to find out what effect had been achieved because obviously that was what the writer wanted to convey if he was successful. The sixth and seventh factors were the means used to establish or prove a fixed fact. The writer dealt with many things as and when the occasion arose whether by way of illustration or comparison to show similarity or difference so that the principal issue or hypothesis could be established. However, these were only supplementary to the main fact sought to be elucidated. Finally the author refuted all things that would prove contrary to his case and then systemically marshaled arguments to support it.15 The Gita is Krishnaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preaching to Arjuna at the critical moment before the war actually started with the idea of inducing him to perform his duties, that is, to fight. When Arjuna saw whom he would have to battle and kill in order to win the kingdom of Hastinapur, he thought he

was being pushed into greatest of sins as they were his grandfather, uncles, teachers, brothers, friends and al those he held dear. He became dejected. On the one hand his dharma was to fight and on the other was the devotion to his preceptors, family, ancestors, relatives and others. He laid down his arms and he turned to Sri Krishna to put him on the right path. Naturally in such a situation, Sri Krishna could not be explaining to him moksha through devotion or knowledge of the Brahman. He could not be advising renunciation to him. On the contrary, his purpose was to use every means and every argument at his command to make him fight. But if this war had to be it had to be won it had to be fought in a disinterested frame of mind as otherwise Arjuna’s emotional involvement would paralyze him. He could not be also allowed to focus on the end result because Krishna was aware that victory for him would be as bitter and barren as defeat and defeat would of course be the greatest ignominy after which no life was possible. Contemplation of either would make concentration on the battle impossible.

Arjuna’s dilemma is the supreme ethical dilemma and whatever may be the controversy about the Gita being an integral part of the text or a later interpolation, it brings to a head the ethical dilemmas that Mahabharata forces its characters to confront. The Mahabharata within which the Gita is placed is a mine of ethical dilemmas of the kind experiences by Arjuna. It explains to ordinary persons in the simple form of stories how our great ancient personages have behaved in numerous difficult circumstances. The doubts of Arjuna are not groundless and cannot be brushed aside. They are horrifying and Arjuna is a warrior not a rishi. Even great sages in certain circumstances have been puzzled as to what to do and what not to do. But as Tilak points out, the very first advice of Sri Krishna to Arjun is that it is not proper to give up action on the ground that numerous difficulties arise in the consideration of what should be done and what should not be done.

For Tilak, the subject matter of the Gita is to show whether or not there are any means of ascertaining what course should be followed when a person is beset by ethical dilemmas and by what means to resolve them. The word karma comes from the root ‘kri’ which means ‘doing’ ‘affairs’or activity and Yoga in this context, means some special skill, device, intelligent method or graceful way of performing actions. This is because all methods of yoga given in the Gita are not for the ascetic but for one who continues to perform actions so that he can do them in an equitable frame of mind.

The Mahabharata within which the Gita is set, makes it clear that all life is grey. There can be no absolute value given to non-violence or even for that matter to truth. For example, Arjuna in the Mahabharata says, “there are in this world so many micro organisms invisible to the naked eye, of which the existence can, however, be imagined, that merely by the moving one’s eye-lids, their limbs will be destroyed”.16 Hence, absolute non-violence is not possible by the very nature of existence. In any case violence or hinsa does not only mean destroying life but includes harming the minds or bodies of others. Therefore, ahimsa means not harming any living being in any way. “Forgiveness in all cases or warlikeness in all cases is not the proper thing. Therefore, O, my son! The wise have mentioned exceptions to the laws of forgiveness”.17 Although at many places, it is reiterated, “there is no religion higher than Truth” and even “when the respective merits of a thousand asvamedha yajnas and of Truth were weighted in the scale, it was found hat Truth weighed more”.18 But there were exceptions even to this. The sage Kaushik is punished for speaking the truth as it leads to the death of an innocent man at the hands of bandits. In the “Shantiparva”, even Bhishma tells Arjuna, “If you can escape without

speaking, then do not speak under any circumstances, but if it is necessary to speak, or if by not speaking you may rouse suspicion in the mind (of another) then, telling a lie has been found, after mature deliberation, to be much better than speaking the truth”. 19 That is because the law of truth is not confined to speech. That conduct which leads to the benefit of all cannot be looked upon as objectionable merely on the ground that the vocal expression is untruthful. That by which everybody will be harmed is neither Truth nor Harmlessness. Narada say to Shuka on the authority of Sanat Kumar, “speaking the truth is proper thing; but rather than truth, speak that which will lead to the welfare for all; because that in which the highest welfare of all consists is in my opinion the real Truth”.20 Mahabharata continuously pits choices in front of its protagonists. Tilak himself discusses several of them. There is the sage Vishwamitra ready to eat dog’s meat to save his own life.21 There is Chirkari disobeying his father and protecting his mother.22 Yudhishthira when he insults his Gandiva but is prevented by Krishna who says that deprecating Yudhishthira would fulfil his vow because for respectable persons, deprecation is as painful as death. 23 Tilak’s purpose is to emphasize that whatever action is required has to be performed. However, in order to act like this a person has to become a yogi. Tilak explains what is meant at the end of Chapter 6 of the Gita, when Krishna tells Arjuna, “therefore, O Arjuna, become a yogi”. In the given context , he says it has to mean a person who acts skillfully who is a karma yogi but not an ascetic.24 In chapter 2, Arjuna is advised, “perform action, having become a yogi;” and after that, “therefore, take shelter in yoga”. It has to mean karma yoga.25 Chapter 3 of the Gita clearly states, “yogis are persons who perform Actions” ‘Yoga’ is also the name given to equanimity. It is also skill in action. Therefore, yoga that is continually talked about is karmayoga or desireless action. 26 Sri Aurobindo’s attitude to the use ofViolence For Sri Aurobindo, too, non violence could not be an absolute value. His articles from 1905-1910 in the Bande Matram and Karmayogin showed that he admired the sacrifices and the revolutionary fervour of the terrorist youth seized by the government and condemned as criminals. In Bande Matram he said that violence could be used by a nation to free itself but circumstances demanded. He, of course, knew that random acts or terrorism could not bring about the country’s freedom but he blamed the government for driving these patriotic young men to such activities.27 Hence, up to the withdrawal from active politics Sri Aurobindo led a double political life. On the one hand he was the outspoken leader of the Nationalist party and on the other, he was the secret leader and inspirer of the violent, underground terrorist movement designed to utterly demoralize the British. This is because both methods led to the same goal, that is, of an independent India. In the “Doctrine of Passive Resistance”, distinguishing between “Passive or defensive and active or aggressive resistance,” Sri Aurobindo says. that while the method of the aggressive resister is to do something by which he can bring about passive harm to the Government, the method of the passive resister is to abstain from doing something by which he would be helping the Government, the time of attach is different. The passive method is especially suitable to countries where the Government depends mainly for the continuance of its administration on the voluntary help and acquiescence of the subject people 28 He faced the problem of violence squarely:

Unless we have the honesty and courage to look existence straight in the face, we shall never arrive at any effective solution of its discords and oppositions. We must see first what life and the world are…..Our very bodily life is a constant dying and being reborn, the body itself a beleaguered city attacked by assailing, protected by defending forces whose business is to devour each other…..War and destruction are not only a universal principle of our life here in its purely material aspects, but also of our mental and moral existence…It is impossible, at least as men and things are, to advance, to grow, to fulfil and still to observe really and utterly that principle of harmlessness which is yet placed before us as the highest and best law of conduct.29 What struck Aurobindo in his study of Gita was its bold “Gospel of action” and its stress on the kshatriya’s “duty to protect the world from injustice”.

The Christian and Buddhistic doctrine of turning the other cheek to the smiter”, he scribbled in his notebooks, “is as dangerous as its is impracticable. (It is) a radically false moral distinction and the lip profession of an ideal which mankind has never been able or willing to carry into practice. The disinterested and desire less pursuit of duty is a gospel worthy of the strongest manhood; that of the cheek turned to the smiter is a gospel for cowards and weaklings. Babes and sucklings may practice it, because they must, but with others it is a hypocrisy.30 Arrested in 1908, he was sentenced to one year of solitary confinement in the Alipore jail. The imprisonment led to profound spiritual experiences. Soon after his unexpected acquittal in May 1909, in his famous speech at Uttarpara he recounted something of his experience: “He placed the Gita in my hands. His strength entered into me and I was able to do the Sadhana of the Gita”.31 He whose self is harmonized by yoga seeth the self abiding in all beings and all beings in the self; everywhere he sees the same.

He who seas Me every where and sees all in Me; I am not lost to him nor is he lost to me . 33 This realization made him see the Oneness described in the Gita: It transformed the prison for him and the entire experience of imprisonment.

I looked at the jail that secluded me from men and it was no longer by its high walls that I was imprisoned ; no, it was Vasudeva who surrounded. I walked under the branches of the tree in front of my cell bout it was not the tree, I knew it was Vasudeva, it was Sri Krishna whom I saw standing there and holding over me his shade. I looked at the bars of my cell, the very grating that did duty for a door and again I saw Vasudeva. It was Narayana who was guarding and standing sentry over me. Or I lay on the coarse blankets that were given me for a couch and felt the arms of Sri Krishna around me,t he arms of my Friends and Lover….I looked at the prisoners in the jail, the thieves, the murderers, the swindlers, and as I looked at them I saw Vasudeva, it was Narayana whom I found in these darkened souls and misused bodies.

When the case opened…I was followed by the same insight. He said to me, “When you were cast into jai, did not your heart fail and did you not cry out to me, where is Thy protection? Look now at the Magistrate, look now at the Prosecuting Counsel”. I looked and it was not the Magistrate whom I saw, it was Vasudeva, it was Narayana who was sitting there on the bench. I looked at the Prosecuting Counsel and it was not the Counsel for the prosecution that I saw; it was Sri Krishna who sat there and smiled. “Now do you fear? He said, “I am in all men and I overrule their actions and their words.33

In spite of this moving experience, speaking on the Gita at Khulna immediately after his release, he emphasized that a person had to act according to the duties demanded of the position that he found himself in his life.

The virtue of the Brahmin is a great virtue: You shall not kill. This is what Ahimsa means. (But) if the virtue of Ahimsa comes to the kshatriya, if you say, “I will not kill”, there is no one to protect the country. The happiness of the people will be broken down. Injustice and lawlessness will reign. The virtue becomes a source of misery and you become instrumental in brining misery and conflict to the people.34 The teaching of the Gita, he said in his concluding words, “means perfection of action. It makes man great. It gives him the utter strength, the utter bliss which is the goal of life in the world”.35 Gandhi and Non-Violence What, for Gandhi,w as the essential message can be seen in his introduction to his translation of the Gita which he completed in Kosani in Almora in 24th June 1929. It appeared in Young India in August 1931. He categorically stated that it had been his “endeavour, as also that of some companions to practice the teaching of Gita as” he had “understood it”.36 Gita for Gandhi was not a historical work but under the guise of physical warfare , it described the duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind. The physical warfare was only brought in to make the description of this internal duel more alluring. His study of Mahabharata confirmed this to him. The “Adiparva” ascribed superhuman or subhuman characteristics to the chief actors making it a story, a fable rather than a history. Thus Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata he felt was only using these people to drive home his religious theme. The text itself did not establish the necessity of war. It rather showed its futility. Vyasa had made the victors shed tears of sorrow and repentance and had left them with nothing but a legacy of miseries. Hence, for Gandhi, the second chapter of Gita did not teach the rules of warfare but rather elucidated the characteristics of a perfected man. Its whole design was inconsistent with the rules of conduct governing the relations between warring parties.37 Krishna of the Gita was perfection and right knowledge personified, but the picture thought Gandhi, was imaginary.38 It did not mean that Krishna never lived but that his perfection was an imagined one and the idea of a perfect incarnation was an aftergrowth. The belief in incarnation was a testimony to man’s lofty spiritual ambition. Man could not be at peace with himself till he became like God. The endeavour to reach this state was the supreme, ambition of a human being and it was the only ambition worth having. And this self-realization was, for Gandhi, the subject of all Gita. But the author of Gita, conceded Gandhi was not trying to establish this doctrine. His object to show the way to attain self-realization; the matchless remedy being renunciation of the fruits of action. This was the center round which the Gita was woven and around which devotion, knowledge and the rest revolved like planets.

The body had often been likened to a prison because wherever there was body, there was labour as no embodied being was exempt from it. The question then was how could the body be made into a temple of God? That is, how could one be free from action, and thus from the taint of sin?

The Gita thought Gandhi had answered the question in decisively “By desireless action; by renouncing fruits of action, by dedicating all activities to Gods, i.e by surrerndering oneself to Him body and soul”.39

Renunciation however did not mean that the renouncer did not get any fruits of his action. The Gita did not warrant such a meaning. Renunciation means the absence of hankering after fruit.

As a matter of fact, he who renounced reaped a thousand fold. The renunciation demanded by the Gita was the acid test of faith. He who was ever brooding over result often lost nerve in the performance of his duty. He became impatient, gave vent to anger and then began to do unworthy things. He jumped from action to action never remaining faithful to any. He who brooded over results was like a man given to objects of senses, and like him he was ever distracted. He then said goodbye to all scruples, Everything became right in his estimation and he therefore resorted to means fair or foul to attain his end Thinking along these lines, Gandhi felt that if he had to enforce the central teaching of Gita in his own life, he was bound to follow Truth and Ahimsa. When there was no desire for fruit, there is no temptation for untruth or ahimsa. But he freely admitted that the Gita was not written to establish ahimsa.40 It was an accepted and primary duty even before the age of Gita.

The Gita’s message was the renunciation of the fruit of action. This was clearly brought out as early as the second chapter.

Accepting the complexity of the Gita’s message, Gandhi went on to say “Nor is the Gita a collection of Do’s and Dont’s. What is lawful for one may be unlawful for another. What may be permissible at one time, or in one place, may not be so at another time, and in another place.

Desire for fruit is the only universal prohibition. Desirelessness is obligatory”41 But renunciation or sannyasa of the Gita did not mean the cessation of all activity. The sannyasa of the Gita was a paradox: it meant “all work and yet no work”. “Thus the author of the Gita,” said Gandhi, by extending the meanings of words, has taught us to imitate him. Let it be granted, that according to the letter of the Gita its possible to say that warfare is consistent with renunciation of fruit. But after forty years’ unremitting endeavour fully to enforce the teaching of the Gita in my own life, I have in all humility felt that perfect renunciation is impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form”.42 This is an amazing idea to arrive at from a text exhorting war.

Karmayoga and its Diverse Meaning: Hence, it can be seen that three great nationalists all interpreted the karmayoga of Gita in their own ways and arrived at three different interpretations and three different courses of action.

Gandhi took the path of non-violence and led the country to freedom through it. However, neither he nor his followers could prevent the violence of partition and finally he himself met with a violent end. Sri Aurobindo left the national movement and went to Pondicherry declining even Tilak’s requests in 1919 after his return from his long incarceration in Mandalay sent through one of his lieutenants, Joseph Baptista, to return to lead the nationalists. He wrote a long letter in reply declining the offer as he said he was busy in spiritual activity of great import in Pandicherry which he called his “cave of tapsya”43. For him true karmayoga or desireless action could only be achieved after the consciousness had been properly prepared for it. As he explained:

The ordinary life consists in work for personal aim and satisfaction of desire under some mental or moral control, touched sometimes by a mental ideal. The Gita’s yoga consists in the offering of one’s work as a sacrifice to the Divine, the conquest of desire, egoless and desireless action, bhakti for the Divine, an entering into the cosmic consciousness, the sense of unity with all creatures, oneness with the Divine.44 As for Tilak, he was released from the jail in Mandalay in June 1914 and once again plunged into action. He said that six years of separation from the people had not lessened his affection for then and that he had not forgotten the concept of swaraj. There had been a rift in the Congress and he tried to unite the two groups but failed.45 He, then, built his own powerful separate organization the “Home Rule League” with swaraj as its goal. The government was again alarmed by Tilak’s activities. In 1916, Tilak’s sixtieth birthday was celebrated but the government, ironically, demanded a surety of Rs. 20,000 for his good behaviour of one year. His body gradually grew weaker. At this time, a journalist called Valentine Chirol visited India and charged him with being the leader of a violent revolution in India. Tilak claimed that this was an insult to him and asked for damages. He went to England to fight his case and stayed there for thirteen months. Althought he lost the suit, he befriended several leaders of the Labour Party and also intensified the Home Rule movement.46 The Rowlat Act was promulgated and was opposed in India leading to the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. Tilak rushed back to India at once and exhorted his countrymen to continue the movement till their demands had been met. By this time, his health was poor but he undertook tours to awaken the people. In July 1920 his conditioned worsened and on the 1st of August , he passed away. He had truly lived a life as enjoined by the Gita the life of a Karmayogi.

Conclusion: The question arises why and how did the same concept of karmayoga lead to three different paths? The answer, perhaps, lies in the fact that our interpretations are based on our own life’s experiences and the paths that we choose to take in the light of these. Or, to use the words of Sri Aurobindo, All action is determined by the effective state of our being, and the effective state of our being is determined by the state of our constant self seeing will and active consciousness and by its basis of kinetic movement. It is what we see and believe with our whole active nature ourselves to be and our relations with the world to mean, it is our faith, our sraddha, that makes us what we are.47 Hence, the tree great leaders of the national movement, all read, the Gita, were profoundly moved by it especially during their incarceration and inspired by it, chose such different paths from each other.

Endnotes: 2. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism: Selected Writings and Speeches, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1966, rpt. 1996, p.368.

3. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1988.

4. Stanley A. Wolpert, Tilak and Gokhale: Revolution and Reform in the Making of Modern India, New York, Toronto, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.62-102.

1. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1918, p.3.

2. Ibid. pp. 2-3.

3. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism: Selected Writings and Speeches, Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1965, rpt. 1996, p.360.

4. See also Michel Danino, “Sri Aurobindo and the Gita”, Keynote address delivered at a seminar on “Relevance of Bhagavad Gita in the New Millennium” on January 12, 2000 at Kottayam’s Mahatama Gandhi University. ← http://www.bharatvani.org/michel_danino/gita_lecture01.html.

5. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1965, rpt. 1996, p.135.

6. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1918.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Cited by Michel Danino, “Sri Aurobindo and the Gita”.

10. B.G. Tilak, Srimad Gita Rahasya or Karma Yoga, Sastra, trans. B.S. Sukthankar, 10th edu. Parva, 2000 A.D., p.xxvii.

11. Ibid., pp.14-15 12. Ibid., pp.15-32.

13. Ibid., p.44 14. Ibid., p.45 15. Ibid.

16. Ibid., p.47 17. Ibid., p.48 18. Ibid., p.55 19. Ibid., p.58.

20. Ibid., p.53 21. Ibid., p.78 22. Ibid., p.79.

23. Ibid 27. Sri Aurobindo, “The Heart of Nationalism,” On Nationalism, pp. 354-359.

13. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism, p.138.

14. Cited by Michel Danino, “Sri Aurobindo and the Gita”.

15. Sri Aurobindo, On the Mahabharata, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1991, rpt.1996. pp.75-76.

16. Sri Aurobindo, “Uttarpara Speech,” On Nationalism, p.369.

17. The Bhagavadgita, Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation and See also, Sri Aurobindo, “The Core of the Teaching, “Essays on the Gita, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, trust, 1996, p.37.Notes by S.Radhakrishnan, London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd; 1948, rpt. 1953, pp.203-204.

18. Sri Aurobindo, Uttarpar Speech, On Nationalism, p.371.

19. Cited by Michel Danino, “Sri Aurobindo and the Gita”.

20. Ibid.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22

Gita According to Gandhi,â&#x20AC;? http://members.aol.com/jajnsm/anasa.html.

Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Chanda Poddar, Mona Sarkar and Bob Zwicker, compiled and edited, Sri Aurobindo and the Freedom of India: Selections from the works of Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1995, pp.148-149.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga II, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1958, rpt.

1995, p.669.

Ram Gopal, Lokmanya Tilak: A Biography, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, New Delhi: Asia Publishing House, 1956, pp. 339-367.

Ram Gopal, Lokmanya Tilak: a Biography, pp.368-370 See also Stanley Wolpert, Tilak and Gokhale, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.280286.

Sri Aurobindo, Essays on Gita, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1922, rpt. 1996, p.573.