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694
GITĀ-RAHASYA OR KARMA-YOGA
my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew, 12. 46-50). It follows from these statements in the Bible itself, that the Christian religion, like the Jainism or Buddhism, originally advocated the giving up of worldly life, that is, supported Renunciation; and if one considers the ancient history of the Christian religion, it is seen that consistently with the preaching of the Lord Christ to his disciples that: “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in your purses", the earliest of Christian preachers used to live in a state of Renunciation. The practice of Christian preachers or of followers of Christ, of taking up the state of householders and leading a family life, is the result of the reform which came afterwards; that was not the original Christian religion. Even in these days, people like Schopenhauer maintain that worldly life is full of pain, and on that account discardable; and I have mentioned before that the question whether it was better to spend one's life in philosophical contemplation, or 'to spend it in diplomatic activity for public welfare, had arisen in Greece in ancient times. In short, this Western philosophy of the Abandonment of Action and our philosophy of Renunciation are to a great extent similar to are well known; and there is a statement in the Buddhacarita (Life of Buddha) by Aśvaghosa (6.45) that Buddha had said : “krāham matuh kva să mama" (i. e., "what am I to my mother, what is she to me?"__Trans.)
* See Paulsen's System of Ethics (Eng. trans) Book, I, Chap. 2 and 3; esp. pp 89-97. "The new (Christian) converts seemed to renounce their family and country... their gloomy and austere aspect, their abhorrence of the common business and pleasures of life, and their frequent predictions of impending calamities inspired the pagans with the apprehension of some danger which would arise from the new sect". Historian's History of the World, Vol. VI. p. 318. The German poet Goethe has, in his poem Faust said: Thou shalt renounce; that is the eternal song which rings in everyone's ears; which our whole life long, every hour is hoarsely singing to us" (Faust. Part I lines 1195-1198). I can quote many other authorities in support of the position that the original Christian religion was renunciatory.
