Gita Rahasya -Tilak 383

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER XI RENUNCITATION AND KARMA-YOGA Nay, one may even without objection say that as this path of Karma- Yoga was the more ancient one, the writers of the Smrtis had to accept it as an alternative for the Path of Renunciation. This is the Vedic Karma- Yoga. This was practised by Janaka and others before the times of Sri Krsna. But, as the Blessed Lord added the creed of Devotion to that Path, and gave it further circulation, His religion came to be known as the ' Bhagavata Doctrine '. I shall later on consider historically how this Karma-Yoga -again came to be looked upon as inferior, and the Path of Renunciation acquired greater importance, although the Bhagavadgita had in this way declared Karma-Yoga to be superior to Renunciation. All that I have to say for the present is that the Karma-Yoga is not later in point of time than the Path prescribed by the Smrtis, and that it has been in vogue from the ancient Vedic times. My readers will now appreciate the inner reason for the words " iti srimad bhagavadgitasu upanisatsu brahmavidyayam yogasastre ", used at the end of each chapter of the Gita. The Upanisad which has been sung by the Blessed Lord contains the Brahmavidya like all other Upanisads. But, these words mean that it does not contain only the Brahmavidya, and that the principal object of the Bhagavadgita was to support only the Yoga or the Karma- Yoga, out of the two paths of Samkhya and Yoga (the Vedantic Sanmyasa, and the Vedantic Karma- Yoga), which are included in the Brahmavidya. Nay, one may even without objection say that the Bhagavadgitopanisad is the most important treatise on the science of Karma-Yoga ; because, although the Karma-Yoga has been in vogue from the times of the Vedas, yet, except for some few references like "kurvann eveha karmani" (Isa. 2), or "arabhya karmani- gunanvitani " , or, " simultaneously with the Vidya, ritual, such as, svadhyaya etc., should be performed " there is nowhere any detailed explanation of the Karma-Yoga in any of the Upanisads. The Bhagavadglta is the principal* authoritative treatise on that subject ; and it is also proper from the point of view of poetic literature that that Bharata;. which describes the lives of the great heroes in the Bharata- land should also explain the theory of the Karma-Yoga in its relation to Metaphysics.