By K. Balasubrahmanya Ayyar, B.A., B.L.
THE Gita is everyman’s scripture. Its spiritual appeal is not merely to the initiated few or to the specialist but to the common man. It is not a dry metaphysical treatise. But it is a popular poem–the Lord’s Song–a work of art, marvelous in the grandeur of its conception, wonderful in the beauty and delicacy of its design, and magnificent in the charm and dignity of its style, and superb in its spiritual fragrance and wisdom. Hence, it has attracted the master-minds of all ages and of all countries. Learned commentaries have been written on it by our great spiritual giants in India who have established schools of philosophy and systems of thought and worship. It is now read critically by all scholars and thinkers everywhere in the world. In our own country in modern times our greatest men have written on it. They derived their inspiration from it and shaped their lives on its message. Mahatma Gandhi, Lokamanya Tilak, Aurobindo Ghose, K. T. Telang, Professor Rangachariar and Mahadev Desai have given their valuable expositions of the Gita and its teaching. It is also interesting to know how the British reacted to it, at their first contact. Warren Hastings, in his preface to the first English Translation of the Gita observed that “these philosophies will survive when the British Dominion in India shall long have ceased to exist.”
Many western editions of the Gita have appeared
from as early as 1840 up to the present day, in English and other European languages,
the latest being those of Dr. Rudolf Otto, Hill, Swami Prabhavananda and
Christopher Isherwood, and Professor Edgerton. Thus a mass of interesting and
readable literature has grown on the Gita.
One marked characteristic of this vast mass of literature
is the variety of interpretation of the Gita and the divergence of view about
its teaching. Even Sankara complained that, already before his time, the Gita
had been interpreted variously. Again, the ancient Commentators beginning from
Sankara have widely differed from one another. The modern thinkers on the Gita
have also been at variance with them and with each other. Lokamanya Tilak in
the Gita Rahasya is strongly of opinion that the Gita preaches, not the
philosophy of renunciation, but of Energism (Karma Yoga). Mahatma Gandhi
derived his inspiration, comfort and strength from the Gita as the Gospel of
selfless action, Anasakti-yoga. Sri Aurobindo Ghose in his Essays on the
Gita differs from the view that the Gita teaches only the discipline of preparation
for renouncing life and works, and also from the view that the doctrine of
devotion was its whole teaching, putting in the background “its monistic
elements and the high place it gives to quietistic immergence in the one self
of all.” He does not also countenance the tendency among modern thinkers on the
Gita to subordinate its elements of knowledge and devotion, to take advantage
of its continual insistence on action, to find in it a scripture of Karma Yoga,
“a light leading us on the path of action, a Gospel of Works.” In fact, he
declares that “the Gita is not a book of practical ethics but of spiritual
life.” Professor Rangachari, in his very valuable lectures on the Gita confines
himself to the exposition of it, as the true philosophy of conduct in life and
pushes to the background the differences in metaphysical thought among the
schools of Indian philosophy. He expressly states that he does not strictly
follow any of the sectarian interpretations of the Gita.
Hence, the ordinary reader of the Gita, whether he
looks at the ancient commentaries or the modern writings, is bewildered by this
amazing variety of interpretations.
Dr. Radhakrishnan’s book will, therefore, be
welcomed by the Gita-reading public as a valuable contribution to the literature
on the subject by one who has acquired an undoubted world-reputation as an
eminent philosopher and interpreter of Hindu religious life and thought. But he
has, before him, a Herculean task to perform. Those who have already settled
views on the teaching of the Gita as a whole and on the interpretation of many
of its important verses, or have predilection or veneration for the
interpretation of one or other of our great Acharyas, may find in Dr.
Radhakrishnan’s book, material for controversy and disagreement. His criticism
of Sankara’s commentary of verse 6, chap, XVIII and verse 1, chapter VI will,
after careful consideration, not be found to be justified. Indeed, it is
impossible to interpret the Gita without raising controversy. But it is not
right on that account to judge harshly or to put it aside. The student of the
Gita is expected to cultivate that tolerance and synthetic spirit which it
inculcates. The reader will then, find in Radhakrishnan’s work, very valuable
food for thought, sources for inspiration, and words of wisdom for guidance in
the way of life for the pilgrim to the City of God. Dr. Radhakrishnan intends
his work for the general reader “who wishes to enlarge his spiritual
environment rather than for the specialist.” He envisages the teaching of the
Gita not as representing any sect of Hinduism, not even Hinduism as a whole but
religion, as such in its universality, without limit of time or space.
It is with this object and attitude of mind he has
approached the Gita. Our ancient commentators were wholly engrossed with the
problems of metaphysical thought and of spiritual life which were agitating the
minds of earnest seekers after truth in their day. These problems have to be
viewed in a different light at the present day. The Gita has now grown beyond
the proportion of a Hindu scripture and attained the dimensions of a
world-scripture, influencing the minds of the intelligentsia of all nations.
Dr. Radhakrishnan, therefore, rightly views the Gita from this perspective. He
has enriched his book with apt quotations from Greek, Roman and Christian
thinkers and mystics, thus revealing a marked similarity of thought and
expression between them and the Gita. He has also attempted to interpret the
thought of the Gita without the limitations imposed upon it by the
peculiarities of the age and country in which the Gita came into existence.
Among all the Hindu scriptures, the Gita lends itself to such a treatment. The
author of the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is a part, declares that the work is
intended for the instruction of the untrained and un-initiated ordinary person.
It is consistent with this original intendment that the teaching of the Gita
should be viewed, apart from the tenets of any particular religion or sect.
Mahatma Gandhi has said: “The Gita is the universal mother. She turns away
nobody. Her door is wide open to anyone who knocks. It is sometimes alleged
against the Gita, that it is too difficult a work for the man in the street.
The criticism, I venture to submit, is ill-founded.” One of the invocatory
verses on the Gita acclaims it as the mother giving salvation to all from the
ills of life. Dr. Radhakrishnan holds the view that “a restatement of the
truths of eternity in the accents of our time is the only way in which a great
scripture can be of living value to mankind.” The printing of the slokas of the
Gita in the Roman script enlarges its usefulness as the original verses can be
read by a very large number in Europe and America. The form of the poem as a
Samvada or dialogue between Krishna, the Teacher, and Arjuna, the Pupil, can,
in his opinion be lifted from its local colouring and viewed as symbolic of the
communion between the struggling soul and man’s higher self. The battle of
Kurukshetra is as much within his body as outside. He has to fight the forces
of darkness, falsehood, passion, anger, and selfishness which bar the way to
the higher world. “When his whole being is bewildered, when he does not know
the valid law of action, he takes refuge in his higher self,” typified as
Krishna the World Teacher, Jagad Guru and appeals for the grace of
enlightenment.” “The reader need not therefore concern himself with the
question whether the author is a figure of history or the very God descended
into man. The realities of spirit are the same now as they were thousands of
years ago, and the differences of race and nationality do not affect them!”
“The essential thing is truth or significance and historical fact is nothing
more than the image of it.” To those who believe that there was only one unique
revelation he would say that it is inconceivable that the Supreme is concerned
only with one part of one of the smallest of the planets in the universe and
that the infinite God is manifested in finite existence throughout time. “The
theory of Avatar is an eloquent expression of the law of the spiritual world.
If God is looked upon as the saviour of man, he must manifest himself whenever
the forces of evil threaten to destroy human values.”
He poses the real problem facing man, at the
present day. It is to develop “a divine existence in which the spiritual
principle has mastery over the powers of the soul and the body.” The Gita
teaches him the way. According to it, “the soul and the body are aspects of the
supreme.” In slokas 4 and 5 of chapter VII, the Lord states that the Jiva is
regarded as a higher aspect of the Supreme while Nature or Prakriti of which
the body is a part, is its lower aspect. Hence Dr. Radhakrishnan says that the
Gita affirms that we can spiritualise Nature and communicate another quality to
it.
He rightly stresses the Gita as a comprehensive
Yoga Sastra, large, flexible, and many-sided which includes various phases of
the soul’s development and ascent into the divine. “The different Yogas are
special applications of the inner discipline which leads to the liberation of
the soul and a new understanding of the unity and meaning of mankind.”
Dr. Radhakrishnan is of opinion that the Gita is a
mandate for action and that, right through the work, the teacher emphasises the
need for action and recommends “the full active life of man in the world with
the inner life anchored in the eternal spirit.” Those who are of the view that
the Gita advocates primarily Karma Yoga, have also to deal with the question
whether it is a Gospel of violence and fight. If the principle of Upakrama and
Upa-samhara as throwing light upon the fundamental purpose of a work is
insisted upon to its fullest extent for supporting this view, then those who
rely on it have necessarily to come to the conclusion that the Gita is a Gospel
supporting the validity of warfare. But Dr. Radhakrishnan is of opinion that
the ideal which the Gita sets before us is Ahimsa or non-violence. He points
out that, when Krishna advises Arjuna to fight without ill-will, without anger
or attachment, and when such a frame of mind is developed, violence would
become impossible. It is not possible, he says, “to kill people in a state of
absolute serenity or absorption in God.” Hence Karma Yoga cannot be pushed to
its logical extent. We have therefore to realise that the ideal action which
the Gita contemplates is one done by a Gnani for the sake of Loka-Sangraha and
not the Karma Yoga of the person who has not attained complete Gnana or
liberation of soul. The word ‘Loka-Sangraha’ has been interpreted as
‘maintenance of world solidarity’ by Sankara. He puts it in the negative way as
the prevention of the world from going the wrong way. War which entirely
destroys human brotherhood can never be said to be Loka-Sangraha. Hence it is
that Sankara has pointed out that whenever the imperative is used by the
teacher in regard to fighting it is not mandatory but is only a statement of
what is happening in the world. Arjuna had already come with a determination to
fight. H recoiled from that by certain doubts and perplexities which were
removed by the Lord’s teaching. On the whole, I feel it is far more helpful for
the reader of the Gita to remember that the Lord has stated that there are two
well-known ways for the pilgrim to the city of God, and that one of them is the
way of knowledge which leads to the renunciation of works when wisdom is
attained, though that way is a difficult one and restricted to people who are
fully equipped by temperament and nature for it. (Vide Gita III. 3). It is part
of Sankara’s teaching that even after the attainment of wisdom, performance of
work for the sake of Loka-Sangraha may well be continued by the man of wisdom
called the ‘Jivan Mukta,’ till his death. In three different contents, the Gita
gives an illuminating picture of the way in which the man of wisdom lives,
moves and has his being in the world: first, in chapter II verses 54 to 72–the
19 slokas which the Mahatma loved so much to recite during his mass prayers in
India and upon which he based his whole life-work; then, again, in chapter XII,
slokas 13 to 20, where the true devotee of God is described much in the same
manner as before and is said by the Lord to be exceedingly dear to him. Again
in chapter XIV, the man of wisdom is described as Triguna-tita and the
characteristics of his life in the world are beautifully portrayed in similar
terms in slokas 22 to 27. The reiteration of the characteristics of the man of
wisdom during his career in the world three times, in the Gita clearly
indicates that the great teacher lays particular emphasis upon him. The Jivan
Muktas are the salt of the earth and have their place in the world order. They
may abandon all wordly duties in response to the call of the Divine from
within. Their seeming inactivity may be the highest form of activity. The Gita
would never like to send a Buddha back to his father, wife and the government
of the Sakya State, or call the Rishis back from the forest, or condemn
Sankara’s renunciation at the age of seven, or direct a Ramakrishna to continue
to be the priest of the Dakshineswara Temple, or a Sadasiva Brahmendra to be a
pandit in the local Patasala, or bind down Vivekananda to support his family
and follow dispassionately the Law or Medicine, or compel the Mahatma to be a
Barrister, pleading good causes with rectitude and fairness.
Hence, the reader of the Gita will not be wrong in
coming to the conclusion that the ideal action advocated by the Gita is that of
the man of wisdom variously called Sthita-pragna, Bhaktha-tama, and Triguna-thita,
continuing to work for the sake of the maintenance of world solidarity. Dr.
Radhakrishnan states on page 73 of his introduction that Karma-Yoga is an
alternative method of approach to the goal of life according to the Gita and
culminates in wisdom (Vide Gita IV, 33): “Spiritual freedom is not inconsistent
with activity.” But the activity of the liberated or Jivan Muktas is free and
spontaneous and not obligatory. “They act for the sake of the welfare of the
world even though they have attained wisdom.” (Vide Gita III, 20). He truly
observes that the Teacher of the Gita reconciles the differences that were in
vogue and gives us a comprehensive eirenicon which is not local and temporary
but is for all time and for all men. The Gita insists on first principles and
the great facts of human nature and does not emphasise external forms or
dogmatic notions.
Perhaps, the most beautiful portion of the teaching
of the Gita, full of spiritual fragrance, is where the Lord appeals to every
man to believe in God, love him, and to be devoted to Him. Such devotion is its
own reward and such a devotee has in Him the content of the higher knowledge as
well as the energy of the perfect man. (Vide XI, 55). Commenting on it Sankara
says it is the essence of the Gita. According to Dr. Radhakrishnan, the Gita
emphasises both the Impersonal Brahman and the Personal Iswara from the cosmic
point of view.
Finally, in chapter XVIII, verse 66, the Lord
appeals to every man to completely surrender himself to His will and to take
shelter in His love. He asks of everyone total self-giving and gives him in
return, the power of the spirit which changes every situation. When we turn to
Him and lay before Him our whole being, our responsibility ceases. He deals
with us and leads us beyond all sorrows.
The reader of the Gita, with a view to enlarge his
spiritual environment, should concentrate more upon laying to heart the
beautiful thoughts contained in its verses and earnestly try to live up to the
ideals preached by the Gita in actual life rather than concern himself with
many metaphysical puzzles and problems which are necessarily associated with
works on philosophy. The Mahatma said in his characteristic way that though he
lost his mother in his early childhood the Gita filled her place for him and
that he always derived comfort, solace, and inspiration from it during the
period of troubles and tribulations. So will the Gita be to every one if it is
studied earnestly and reverently. I am confident that Dr. Radhakrishnan’s work will
help the reader a great deal in this sacred duty of his.
1 The Bhagavad Gita, With an Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text,
English Translation and Notes, by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. (George Allen &
Unwin Ltd., London. Pages 383. Paper 7sh. 6d. Cloth 12sh. 6d.)