Contents
Shri Sankara's Gita Bhashya
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary on the Gita)
CHAPTER -3
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20. Verily, with (through) action alone did Janaka and others abide in (aim at) perfection. Also, with a view to the guidance of men, you should perform action. Verily, with (through) action alone did,[1] in olden times, wise Ksatriyas, Janaka and others, such as Aśvapati, abide in (aim at) perfection, remain in (apply themselves to attaining) liberation (samsiddhi moksa). If they were persons who had attained Perfect Knowledge (of the Self), then the meaning is : they abided in the state of perfection, doing action as a result of prārabdha-karma, i.e., without renouncing action, for the guidance of the world[2]. If, on the other hand, Janaka and others had not attained true Knowledge (of the Self), then the meaning is : they aimed at reaching perfection ultimately, through action which is the means to the purification of the mind. If you think that obligatory works were performed even byJanaka and others of old, because they were not knowers of theSelf, and that therefore they need not perforce be performed byanother who has attained fulfilment (of life's purpose) by possessionof true Knowledge, even then, in accordance with prārabdha-karma,and also simply with a view to the guidance of men, for the purposeof weaning them from proceeding on the wrong path, you should perform action. Who is competent to guide the world and how? The answerfollows : |
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