Gita Rahasya -Tilak 53

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER III THE SCIENCE OF RGHT ACTION (KARMA-YOGA-SASTRA) i. e., '" you lament those for whom you ought not to lament and at the same time, tell me big tales about the know- ledge of the Brahman ". I have shown in the last chapter that the doubt by which Arjuna had been beset, was not groundless, and that even great sages are in certain circum- stances, puzzled as to 'what to do and what not to do '. But the starting advice of Sri Krsna to Arjuna is : that it is not. proper to give up Action (karma) on the ground that numerous difficulties arise in the consideration of what should be done and what should not be done; that, a wise man should practise such a 'yoga' or device whereby instead of Actions being done away with in the world, one will only escape their evil effects or binding force, and that: " tasmad yogaya yujyasva" i.e., " therefore, you, should do the same ". This 'Yoga' is the science of 'KARMA-YOGA' ; and in as much as, the circum- stances in which Arjuna found himself were not unique, but every one of us comes across small or big difficulties of the same nature in worldly life, it is necessary that we should all profit by the exposition of this Karma-Yoga science which has been made in the Bhagavadgita. But whichever science is taken, it is necessary to properly define the important words occurring in its exposition so that their meanings are properly understood, and to first precisely explain the fundamental outline of the exposition of that science; otherwise, many misunderstandings or difficulties subsequently arise. Therefore, following this usual practice, I shall first examine and explain the meanings of some of the important words which occur in this science. The first of these words is 'KARMA'. The word ' karma ' comes from the root ' kr ', and means ' doing ', ' affairs ', or 'activity' ; and that same ordinary meaning is intended in the Bhagavadgita. My only reason for explaining this is, that the reader should not he confused by the limited and restricted meanings in which this word has been used in the Mimamsa philosophy or in other places. Whichever religion is taken, it prescribes some Action or other for reaching the Isvara. According to the ancient Vedic religion, this Action was sacrificial ritual ; and the Purva-Mimamsa of Jaimini has been written with the sole purpose of showing how the various different and sometimes apparently contradictory statements which are to be found in the Vedic treatises regarding the performance of this sacrificial ritual can be reconciled with each other. According to Jaimini, the performance of this Vedic or Srauta ( prescribed by the Srutis ) sacrificial ritual was the principal and the ancient religion. Whatever a man does, must be taken to have been done by him for the purpose of the 'yajna' (sacrifice). If he earns money, he must earn it for the sake of the yajna ; and if he collects grain, that also must be understood to have been done for the yajna