The Gita according to Gandhi 154

The Gita according to Gandhi -Mahadev Desai

The Four Varnas and Svadharma No, not even an enemy of Gita can misunderstand the content of knowledge. Whoever will misunderstand the famous verse in which St. John declared: The statement that sin does not touch a man of knowledge or that knowledge turns all sin to cinders means in one case that sin dare not approach a seer, and in the other thatsins, or more accurately past karma, will cease to take effect like parched seeds which do not sprout. It is in this sense that the Maitri Upanishad in a beautiful image says: 'As to a mountain that's enflamed Deer and birds do not resort So with Brahman knowers, faults Do never any shelter find. Are there not then any verses in the Gita which have an anlinomian odour ? There are two perhaps three which may be cited, viz. VI. 31, XIII. 23 and XVIII. 17.