Gita Rahasya -Tilak 52

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER III THE SCIENCE OF RGHT ACTION (KARMA-YOGA-SASTRA) tasmad yogaya yujyasra yogah karmasu kausalam I * If a man is not actuated by the desire of acquiring the- knowledge of a particular science, he is unfit to study that science, and explaining such a science to such an unfit person is like pouring water on an obverse vessel. Not only is the disciple not benefited by it, but even the preceptor wastes his labour, and both waste their time. Therefore, the aphorisms "athato dharmajijnasa, " and "athato brahmajijnasa " appear at the beginning of both the Jaimini and the Badarayana- Sutras. Just as the teaching of the Brahman is best imparted to a 'mumuksu' (one who is desirous of Release) or as the teaching of Law or justice is best imparted to one who seeks that knowledge, so also is the teaching of the Science of Right Action (Karma) most properly given to the person who has been inspired with the ' jijnasa ' ( desire of knowing ) how to rightly perform Action while leading a worldly life ; and that is why I have disposed of the ' athato ' in the first chapter and have outlined the nature of ' karmajijnasa ' and the importance of the science of Karma-Yoga in the second chapter. Unless a man has by experience found where his difficulty lies, he does not realise the importance of the science of getting over that difficulty ; and if this importance is not realised, a science which has been learnt merely by rote, is later on found difficult to remember. Therefore, good teachers first ascertain whether or not the disciple has been inspired with, desire for the knowledge, and if there is no such inspira- tion, they attempt to rouse the desire. The Science of Right Action (Karma-Yoga) has been expounded in the Gita on this basis. When, being beset with the doubt whether or not he should take part in a war in which he would be responsible for the slaughter of ancestors and preceptors 'and also of all kings and brethren, Arjuna was inspired by the desire to give up the- war and renounce the world, and when he was not satisfied by the ordinary arguments that abandoning a duty which had befallen him was a foolish and weak act and that by doing so, far from obtaining heaven he would on the other hand, suffer disgrace, Sri Krsna preached to him the science of Karma- Yoga, after in the first instance seeming to ridicule him by saying : " asocyan anvasocas tvam prajnavadams ca bhasase"