Sambodhi 1989 Vol 16

Author(s): Ramesh S Betai, Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 15

from within. It is on these lines that the Gitā develops its philosophy of karmayoga, which has the soundness of scientific thinking and the validity of practical utilization. The discovery of the Gita is that the desire to get returns from the action done, and not the action itself, is man's enemy that chains him down to a low life. The conquest of such desire and performance of action without expectation of any reward or profit liberate man from the bondage of life. In addition, when actions are further done as a dedication to God, considering oneself as an instrument through whom God has chosen to work, one reaches the vicinity of God Himself.
The answer that the Gitā gives to the problem of action and right conduct is "the traditional answer of Hindu religion", but we cannot miss the new emphasis in the Gita's statement. Dr. Radhakrishnan says:
“The whole setting of the Gitā points out that it is an exhortation to action. Work is inevitable till we attain spiritual] freedom. We have to work for the sake of freedom, and when we attain it, we have to work as instruments of the divine." (Indian Philosophy, Vol. I, p. 568).
In other words, "the truc ideal is lokasarigraha, or the solidarity of the world. The spirit of the whole works in the world. The good man should co-operate with it and aim at the welfare of the world..... The best people have the largest burdens to bear". (Ibid., p. 567).
Dr. Radhakrishnan, thus, sces in the Gitā's exposition of karman a close relation between the transcendental and empirical orders of reality. According to the Gitā, the two orders cannot be divorced. To do so would be to divide man into outer desire and inner quality, and to violate the integrity of human life. "Good work is that which helps us to the liberation of the individual and the perfection of spirit. Right conduct is whatever expresses our real unity with God, man, and nature; wrong conduct is whatever does not bring out this essential structure of reality”. (Indian Philosophy, Vol. I, p. 566). Of course, the common man needs help to work his way to the reality of union with the spirit. It is here that right action, yogic discipline and religious devotion help him. But once he is liberated, has attained unity with the supreme self, his contact or responsibility with the world does not really end. While the philosophical ideal of mokşa and the infinite destiny of the individual apart from human society must be recognised, the insistence of the Gita on social duties and obligations has also to be recognised. And it means that the ascetic ideal of the sainyasin is not favoured by the Gitā.