Gita Rahasya -Tilak 121

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER V THE CONSIDERATION OF HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS (SUKHA-DUHKHA-VIVEKA) Hoping that a particular thing which is not within one's control should take place in a particular way, is a sign of madness. But the Blessed Lord has not left even this third thing for inference, and has in the. third quarter of the stanza said : " therefore, do not perform any Action, keeping in mind the hope for the result of the Action";, whatever may be the result of your Action according to the- general law of Cause and Effect, will be its effect ; it is not pos- sible that such result should be more or less, or take place earlier or later, aocording to your desires, and by entertaining any such, desire, it is only you who suffer unnecessary pain and trouble. But here some persons — especially those who follow the Path of" Renunciation — will object : " Is it not better to give up Action ( karma ) altogether rather than engaging in the useless procedure, of performing Actions and giving up the hope of the result ?" And therefore, the Blessed Lord has in the last quarter of the. stanza made the definite statement that " do not insist upon not performing Action," but perform Action according to the- authority which you possess, though without entertaining any hope for the result. These doctrines are so important from the. point of view of Karma-Yoga, that the four quarters of the above stanza may be said to be the four aphorisms (catuh-sutri) of the science of Karma-Yoga or of the Gita religion. If worldly activity is not to be given up, although happi- ness and unhappiness always befall you alternatively in life, and although it is an established fact that the sum total of unhappiness is greater than that of happiness, then some persons- are likely to think, that all human efforts towards the total eli- mination of unhappiness and the acquisition of total happiness- are futile ; and if one considers only Material Happiness, that, is to say, happiness in the shape of the enjoyment of external objects of pleasure through the medium of the organs, this- their objection will have to be admitted to be substantial. Just. as the Moon never comes within the grasp of the little children who spread out their little hands towards the heavens in order to catch hold of it, bo also those persons, who run after Material Happiness in the hope of reaching the highest form of happi- ness, will in any case And it very difficult to reach the highest form of happiness. But as Material Happiness is not the only kind of happiness, it is possible to find out the way of acquiring the highest and the constant form of happiness, even in this difficult position.