Gita Rahasya -Tilak
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CHAPTER III
THE SCIENCE OF RGHT ACTION
(KARMA-YOGA-SASTRA) The view-point of the Bhagavadgita is. more exhaustive than this or may even be said to be beyond this. It may be that a particular Action has not been pro- nounced as objectionable by the Sastras ; nay, it may even have been prescribed as proper, e.g., in the case in point, the warrior- religion was the 'prescribed ' (vihita) thing for Arjuna; but on that account, it does not follow that one should always perform that Action, nor also that it will always be certainly beneficial; and the injunctions of the Sastras are very often mutually contradictory, as has been shown in the previous chapter. The subject-matter of the Gita is to show whether or not there are any means for ascertaining what course should be followed by a person on such an occasion and if so, what those means are. It is not necessary for the purpose of this exposition to pay any special attention to the divisions of 'karma' mentioned above. In order to explain to what extent the doctrines laid down by the Mimamsa school regarding the sacrificial ritual etc. prescribed by the Vedas or the other duties prescribed for the four castes are consistent with the Karma-Yoga advocated in the Gita, their theories have been examined in the Gita as occasion arose ; and in the last chapter, the question whether or not a Self -Realised (jnanin) man should perform sacri- ficial ritual has been precisely answered [1] But in as much as the principal subject-matter of the Gita is more exhaustive than this, the word ' Karma ' as used in the exposi- tion made in the Gita must not be taken in the restricted meaning of Actions prescribed by the Srutis or the Smrtis, but in a more comprehensive meaning. In short, all the Actions which a man performs, e.g., eating, drinking, playing, sitting, rising, residing, breathing, smiling, weeping, smelling, seeing, speaking, hearing, walking, giving, taking, sleeping, waking, killing, fighting, meditating or contemplating, commanding, or objecting, giving, performing sacrificial ritual, agriculture or commerce, desiring, deciding, keeping quiet, etc., etc., etc., are all included in the word ' Karma ' as used in the Bhagavadgita, whether those Actions are bodily (kayika) or vocal (vacika) or mental (manasika)[2] In short, even the remaining alive or the dying of the body itself, are Actions, and as occasion arises, it becomes necessary to consider which of the two actions of 'remaining alive ' or ' dying ' is to be chosen. - When this consideration arises, the word ' karma ' (Action) can also be understood in the meaning of Duty (kartavya-karma) or proper action (vihita-karma)[3] We have so far considered the actions of human beings. Going beyond this, the word ' karma ' is also applied to the activities of the moveable and immoveable world, 'that is to say, even of life- less things. But that matter will be considered in the- subsequent chapter on Cause and Effect (karma-vipaka-prakriya).
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