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GITA, TRANSLATION & COMMENTARY, CH. XII 1101
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the matter a little, it will be seen that there is no sense in this objection. Stanza 12 does not preach that the Abandonment of the Fruit of Action should be carried out at a stroke'. But, one has first to adopt the KarmaYoga preached by the Blessed Lord; and, tatah'. that is, 'thereafter', that practice has to be gradually made successful. And when this interpretation is accepted, no inconsistency remains. It has been stated in the previous chapters that not only a little practice (G. 2. 40) of the Fruit of Action* (this is a mistake for KarmaYoga-Trans.), but even the desire to perform it (See GI. 6. 44 and my commentary on it), drags a man towards ultimate perfection, as if he had been put into a grinding-mill. Therefore, taking shelter in the Karma-Yoga, that is, getting into one's mind the desire to follow that path, is the first means or step towards acquiring success in that path; and who will say that this means is not easier than continued practice, or Spiritual Knowledge, or Meditation? And the same is the import of stanza 12. Not only in the Bhagavadgitä, but even in the Süryagita, it is stated that :
jñānād upūstir utkrstā karmot krstam upāsāt iti yo veda vedantaih sa eva purusottamaḥ li
(Sürya-Gl. 4. 77) that is," upasana' i. e., Meditation or Devotion is better than Spiritual Knowledge, and Karma, that is, necessarily Desireless Action, is better than 'upasana'; one who realises this principle of Vedanta should be looked upon as the best man (purusottama)". In short, it is the firm doctrine of the Bhagavadgita that the Yoga in the form of Abandonment of the Fruit of Action, that is to say, the Desireless Karma-Yoga, which includes both Spiritual Knowledge and Devotion, is the most superior path of all; and the argument in stanza 12 is not only consistent with that opinion, but is in support of it If persons belonging to a particular school of thought do not find this conclusion palatable or acceptable, they should give it up; but, they
The word used here in all editious of the author's text is Larma-phala', (that is. Fruit of Action); but evidently 'KarmaYoga' or 'karma-phala-tyga' and not Larma-phala' is meant-Trans.
