Srimad Bhagavadgita-Rahasya OR Karma-Yoga-Sastra -Bal Gangadhar Tilak
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CHAPTER XIII
THE PATH OF DEVOTION
The two compound words 'raja-vidya,' and 'raja-guhya' are analysed as : 'vidyanam raja' (sovereign of all cults) and 'guhyanam raja' (the sovereign among ail mysticisms) ; and in forming the compound, the word 'raja' is placed first according to the rules of Sanskrit grammar. But instead of this, some people analyse the word 'raja-vidya' as 'rajnam vidya' (the cult of kings), and say that, when in ancient times Rsis (ascetics) used to explain the Brahma- Vidya to kings, as stated in the Yoga-Vasistha [1], this Brahma-Vidya or Knowledge of the Absolute Self came to acquire the names of 'raja-vidya' and 'raja-guhya' ; and that therefore, the Gita must be taken to have used these two words in the same meaning, that is, as meaning not Devotion, but the Knowledge of the Absolute Self. As the path mentioned in the Gita was traditionally followed by kings, such as, Manu, Iksvaku etc, [2], one cannot definitely say that the words 'raja-vidya' and 'raja-guhya' have not been used in "the Gita in the meaning of 'the cult of kings' or the 'mysticism of kings', that is to say, the cult or the mysticism, which was accepted by kings (raja-manya). But, if these meanings are accepted, it has still to be borne in mind that they have not been used in the present context with reference to the Path of Knowledge; because this chapter of the Gita in which this stanza appears is, on the whole, in support of the Path of Devotion [3] ; and although the Brahman to be reached may be the game, yet, in as much as it is clearly stated in the GltS itself [4], that the Jnana-marga to be followed as a means, in the philosophy of the Absolute Self, is 'accessible only to the Intelligence' (buddhigamya), and therefore 'imper ceptible' (avyakta) and 'difficult' (duKkha-karaka), it is not likely that the Blessed Lord can now refer to that same path as 'pratyaksavagamam', that is, 'perceptible', and kartum ‘susukham’ (easy to follow). It, therefore, follows, on the ground of consis tency in the subject-matter of the chapter, as also on the ground of the appropriateness of the words 'pratyaksavagamam and 'kartum susukham', which can apply wholly and on all fours to the Path of Devotion, that the word 'raja-vidya' in this context indicates only the Path of Devotion. |
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