Philosophy Notes03

Concept of Lokasamgraha Lokmanya Tilaks Perspe ctive
Lokasamgraha is a well-known concept of Bhagvadgita which means welfare of all (society). The leader of the society
has to be efficient, effective for the social integration and peaceful society. Bhagvad Gita describes the essential qualities
of the effective leader. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, great visionary, political and social leader who was the
commentator on Bhagvadgita and always followed the path of action( Karmayog) throughout his life.
The article intends to show the vision of Lokmanya Tilak, as to how the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita are the guiding
force for inculcating the value of public good in the modern era. Social integration is a harmonization of individual
existence and sustenance in the society. It is highly desirable for good moral life. The answer to todays social and
cultural problems lies in integrating the human fold society. Thus inculcation of free spirit of universal brotherhood is an
imperative or the dharma i.e. duty for each one of us, to preserve and promote peace and harmony in the society. The
effective leaders can set their examples before their followers by their own actions. Whatever the excellent and best ones
do, the commoners follow.
The article tries to bring out the concept of Lokasamgha according to Lokamanya Tilak,s perspective.
Introduction:
Lord Krishna explains the concept of Lokasangra i n Bhagvadgita. Lokmanya Tilak , eminent commentator on
Bhagvadgita. In the article it is discussed that how an individual is responsible to protect the social order. The social
aspect of dharma is the duty of every individual to protect and maintain the harmony, peace and order in the society. To
achieve these objectives the concept of effective leadership is discussed. These concepts are discussed with reference to
Lokmanya Tilaks perspective who justifies the concept of Lokasamgraha by his own behavior and ideal leadership.
The life and work of socio-spiritual leaders and political activists contributed a lot to bring before the people and the
thinkers the Gita-message of Loksamgraha. The ideal leadership is expounded mainly in Bhagvadgitas third chapter-
Karmayoga.
Swami Vivekananda made social service as an integ ral part of the work programme
of the Ramakrishna Mission. Tilak explained at length why Lokasamgraha centered
karma-yoga was the main teaching of the Gita, and when he acted accordingly for the
independence of the countrys independence, leading to his imprisonment, he
willingly went through the sufferings. Aurbindo elaborated this further and
incorporated the Lokasamgraha-approach (with some modification) in his integral
yoga also. Gandhi on the basis of his extensive experiments made non violence
anessential prerequisite for lokasamgraha. In other words, the concept of Lokasamgraha was
updatedsoastosuittheneedsofthecountry.
BhagavadGitaproclaimstoeverybodythoughnominallytoArjuna,performlifelongourseveral
worldlydutiesaccordingtoourrespectivepositioninlife,desirelessly,fortheuniversalgood
(Loksamgraha). In this context the underlying teaching of the Gita is that mere theoretical
knowledgeaboutwhatisgoodandrealisnotenoughunlessthisknowledgeisreflectedinones
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conduct
BhagavadGitaadvocatesatleastthreepathsofconductfortheseekerofperfectionniskama
karmaorunselfishwork,jnanaorknowledgeandbhaktiordevotiontoasupremebeing.The
mainquestionisofpriority,aswhichonetofollowfirst.LokmanyaTilakfollowsthepathof
action(karmayog)
TheconceptofniskamakarmaisbelievedtobethecentralpointofteachingofGita.The
conceptofniskamakarmaisbasedontheUniversalityofactionthatnomanaliveisfree
fromperforminghis dharma directed towardshis ownreleaseandthe welfare ofthe
world.Allhumanactionsaremotivatedbythedesiretoattainhappiness,whethermaterial
orspiritual.Tilakdistinguishesbetweendesiresoftwotypes:1)desireforthefruitof
our action and 2) desire which motivates us to the right action. Device or skill
(kaushalam),ofgivinguponlyselfishdesireforthefruitwhichcausesunhappiness,and
forperformingonesduty(rightaction)accordingtoonesstatusinlife,isknownasyoga
orkarmayoga.TheGitaaccordingtoTilak,asksustogiveuponlyselfishdesireor
attachmenttothefruitbutnotalldesiresnorallactions.
While nishkama karma provides the technique of performing ones duty, Lokasamgraha
providesthegoal,directionandthereforealsothecontentofactionsthatconstitutetheduty.
InManusmruti,itismentionedaboutRashtrasamgrahawhischisanaptparallel
forwhatiscalledtodayasnationalintegration.2
Lokmanya Tilak was the first Gitacommentator to have identified and highlighted this
importantconceptwhichoccursinthethirdchapteroftheGitaintheversesfrom20to26.
TheLokmanyalooksuponGitaRahasyahiscommentaryonBahagvadgita,asameasure
towardsfulfillinghisdutyasakarmayogininthelifethathelivedasapoliticalleader.
The compound word Lokasamgraha means socialharmony and welfare as well as world
presentation because its two component words loka and samgraha have more than one
meaningeach.Foreg.,Lokadenotesmankindortheworld,andSamgrahastandsfor
protecting,keeping,regulatingetc.Lokasamgrahathusepitomizes,intheGita,thesocialand
universaldimensionofKrisnasteaching.
TilakisthefirstcommentatorontheGitatowriteinadetailontheimportanceof
Lokasamgraha. ItistruethatTilaksinterpretationofLokasamgrahawasfrom1919
onward,modifiedbyGandhiinthesensethatahimsawasmadeaninseparableelement
therefore.However,TilaksconflictwiththeBritishauthoritieshadcometoheadalmost
aquarterofacenturypriortotheGandhiera.AndTilaksbiographersaswellasthose
associatedwiththeEnglishtranslationofhismarathiwritingsbelievethatTilakputinto
practice what he thought was the real meaning of the Gita. For eg. Sukhtankar who
translatedTilaksGitarahasyaintoEnglishsaysinthetranslatorspreface:
TheLateLokmanyaBalGangadharTilakwasaspiritualandanintellectualgiant.Hewasa
monumental figure in the history of India, and it is a question whether he was more a
philosopherthanapoliticianandstatesman,inasmuchashisstatesmanshipandhispolitical
activitieswouldappeartohavebeenbasedonthekarmayogaandtheprincipalsofethics,
whichhebelievedtohavebeenexpendedintheGita.Infact,theGitaanditsteachingswould
seemtohavebeentheguidingbeaconofhislife,andifoneconsiderswhathedidforIndia
andcomparesitwithwhathehaspreachedinGitaRahasya,onewillcometobelievethathe
haspracticedwhathepreached,(whichfewpeopledo)andthathispoliticalactivitieswerea
concreteexampleofthatUniversalWelfare(Lokasamgraha),whichaccordingtohim,was
3
preachedbytheGitatobethebasisofkarmayoga.
The revolutionaryinterpretation of the BhagavadGita was primarily the work of Bal

GangadharTilak,thefatherofIndianNationalism.Itfulfilledtheurgentneedtoendow
thepeopleasawholewithanewethicandamessageforsocialactiontodiscovera
dynamicdoctrinewhileprovidingpeoplewithmodernsocialideals,couldenablethemto
transform their society. Thus the philosophy was interpreted by Tilak as a dynamic
doctrineforactionforthewelfareoftheworldtheGitaRahasyagavetomodernIndiaa
scripturewhichatonceorthodoxanduniversalityaccepted,ahandbookofrevolution.
Lokasamgrahaorthewelfareoftheworldasthemotiveandobjectofallactionsisspecial
contributionoftheGitatoHindureligiousandsocialthought.Itfollowsnaturallyfromthe
unattachedaction(niskamakarma)whichisthecentralthemeofKrishnasteaching.Ifthe
actionistobeselflessandistobewithoutreferencetothefruitthereof(inrelationtothe
actor)thenthequestionnaturallyariseswhyshouldanyonepersistsinacourseofaction?
AccordingtothetheoriesofyajnatheactionistobeperformedtopleasetheGodsandto
deriveworldlybenefitsthroughthem.Butasitisnotniskamakarma,Gitagivesanswerto
thisquestionastheobjectofallactionsshouldbeLokasamgrahaorthewelfareoftheworld.
The social theory behind the Lokasamgraha doctrine of the Gita is most important. The
conceptionoftheworldorderwhichisthedutyoftheindividualtoupholdbydedicatinghis
activity towards that end runs through all the teachings of the Gita. BhagavadGita
emphasizesthewelfareoftheworldasthepurposeofallactions.Thedoctrineofsacrificeis
thusgivenawhollydifferentmeaningintheGita,whereactiondedicatedtoGodiscalled
Brahmayajna.
TilakselaborationofLokasamgrahawasintendedtoshowtothesocialreformoriented,educated
Indiansthattheirattemptsatcopyingthewestaroseonlybecause
theyhadnotunderstoodtheirownscripturesproperly.LokmanyaTilakchoosestoawakenthe
peopletotheirrighttofreedomandtheirdutytofightforit.HerealizesthatGitaoffersa
readyweaponthatissuretoreachouttothepeopleofthecountryirrespectiveofcaste,creed
orevenreligion.
TilakwasthefirstIndianleadertoinitiatethepoliticalapplicationoftheGita,toobtainmass
support in the freedom struggle. In order to do this successfully, Tilak gave a new
interpretationtotheoverallmessageoftheGitaaswellastomanytermsandconceptsthat
occurtheirin.TilaktoldhiscountrymenthatSriKrishnataughttheGitanotonlytoArjuna
buttoallofthem.
ItiswellknownthatwhenTilakwasimprisonedinMandalayandthuswascutofffrom
thefieldofactivelifeinjournalismandpolitics,heengagedhimselfinpreparingthis
work.Thefactthatconfinedtoasolitaryimprisonment,hecouldrecalltheworksof
variousphilosophersEasternandWestern.Theconstantrefrainofhisworkwasthatitis
thedutyofthemanofknowledgetoawakenthepeopletotheirdutiesinlife.
FollowingtheGita,LokmanyaTilakinsiststhatitisthedutyofthemanofknowledgeto
guidepeopleinraisingtheleveloftheirlivesintermsofsocialandpoliticalgood.Lokmanya
TilakassertsthatthemenofknowledgewhohaveattainedthelevelofNiskamahavetoserve
asthephilosopherguidetopeople.AccordingtoLokmanyaTilak,itisimportanttopresent
beforepeopletheidealofthemanofaction,whoisfreeofpersonalinterestsbecauseofhis
knowledgeoffundamentaltruths.Lokasamgrahai.e.theintegrationoflifeforcesaroundthe
conceptofthegoodisafeatureofkarmayogaandcutsattheroofoftheexclusiveclaimsof
sanyasa.Karmayogadoesnottakeanegativeattitudeeithertosanyasaorbhakti.Infact
knowledge is the basis and bhakti is universality of feeling, constitutes the spirit of
karmayoga.Thebroadbasedkarmayogamingledwiththeessentialsofjnyanaandbhaktiis
advocated by Gita as the unexceptional rule of morality for all men under varied
circumstances.AndtheLokmanyaTilakexertshimselftobringoutthistruthtoservethe
4
interestsofthepeople.ThisistheLokasamgrahaaccordingtoGita.
Itisthereforeassertedthat,theneedfortheleadertobesensitivetothephysicalandmentalstatus
ofhispeople,hisbehaviourmustbefinetunedtotheirunderstandingcapabilities.Thatheis
focusingonperformingkarmawithoutgettingentangledinthebondageofearthilydesires,must
beobvioustoallsothattheycanreorienttheirbehaviourtowardssalvationinemulatinghim.True
salvationisoftenachievedthroughwork,rarelywithout.Tilaksays,Itisanimportantdutyofa
man who has become a jnyanin, to remain himself in worldly life for the purpose of
5
Lokasamgraha,inordertogivealivingexampleofperformingrighteous,desirelessaction.
Thusavisionaryleadermustalsobeamissionary,extremelypractical,intensivelydynamic
andcapableoftranslatingdreamsintoreality.Thisdynamismandstrengthofatrueleader
flowsfromaninspiredandspontaneousmotivationtohelpothers.
Tilak says, the jnyanis perform all actions according to their dharma for the purpose of
universalwelfare(Lokasamgraha),lookinguponitasanobjectiveoftheutmostimportance
6
andnecessity,andthoughtheymaynotneedtoperformsuchactionsfortheirownbenefit.
ThedespondentpositionofArjunaonthefirstchapteroftheGitaisatypicalhuman
situationwhichmaycomeinthelifeofallmenofactionsometimeortheother.Lord
KrishnabysheerpowerofhisinspiringwordsraisedthelevelofArjunasmindfromthe
stateofinertiatothestateofrighteousaction,fromthestateoffaithlessnesstothestate
of faith and selfconfidence in the ultimate victory of Dharma (duty). They are the
powerfulwordsofcourageofstrengthofselfconfidence,offaithinonesowninfinite
power,thegloryofvelourinthelifeofactivepeopleandtheneedforintensecalmnessin
themidstofintenseaction.Thesewillenabletheindividualtoacquirenotonlyhisown
peaceofmindbutsuchpeoplewillhelpothersalsotohaveapeacefullife.
Interdependence is also a main characteristic of Lokasangrha. It is there not only in the

organizationsbutinthesocietyaswell.Oneisneverindependent.Othersareaffectedby
whathedoesandviceversa.Ifhedoesnotdowhatisexpectedfromhim,hisduty,someone
elseisgoingtosuffer.Hisfreedomislimitedbytheimpactofhisactionswillhaveonothers.
Eveninapositionofauthority,hecannotdowhateverhewantstodo.Hecannotbearbitrary.
yadiyahyamnavarteyamjatukarmanyatitindritataha
Mamavartanatanuvartantemanushyahparthasarvashaha7
Itmeans,ifIeverfailedtoengageincarefullyperformingprescribedduties,certainlyallmenwouldfollow
8 9
mypath. IfIdonottakepartinaction,allmenwillfollowinallrespectsthepathfollowedbyme.
Thesocietycannotthrivewithoutproperworkbytheindividual.Workwithsincerityand
devotionfortheprogressofsocietyistrueserviceofanindividualtowardstheunityand
welfareofmankind.Whileendeavoringfortherighttowork,itisexpectedofthepeoplethat
byworkingfortheirownbettermenttheywillstriveaswellforthenobleidealofsocial
bettermenti.e.theGitasconceptofLokasamgraha.
Allourthinkers,leaderswerehavingtheirownideologiesbutwhicharebasedonvarious
ethical ideals. The ultimate goal of everyone was to render a peaceful living for all i.e.
Lokasamgraha.
Toquoteafewexamples
VivekanandtranslatedLokasamgrahaasworkingforthegoodofothers,andadded
thatthisisaverypowerfulideawhichhasbecometheidealinIndia.10
Aurbindo translates Lokasamgraha as the holding to gether of the people. However as he moves from the status of a
karmayoga to that of a purnayoga his concept of Lokasamgraha undergoes a modification.
Radhakrishnan says, Lokasamgraha stands for the un ity of the world, the interconnectedness of the society, the Gita
requires us to lay stress on human brotherhood. 11
Vinoba interprets Lokasamgraha as keeping people t ogether and on the right path: He says that Karma Yoga technique
of getting rid of selfishness by the method of diffusion. A personal, individual desire may be given a general, social
application in order to cross over from attachment to non-attachment. 12
Since Lokasamgraha means bringing about a unity of purpose and co-operative effort in the society for a just cause, Sri
Krishna asks the wise men not to be content by their own actions, but also to encourage others to act as well.
na bhudhi bhedanam janayed ajnanam

jo sayet sarvakarmani vidvan yuktah samacaran 13
The underlying message here is not to push people around, against their will but it is to perpetuate their ignorance. The
place is in favour of a slow and steady effort to educate common people and to encourage them to follow voluntarily the
example of the wise.
By adopting the approach of the Gita, Gandhi achieved considerable success in obtaining mass support for his
satyagraha movements based on the technique of ahimsa, which for him was a matter of deep conviction and practice.
Tilak has interpreted Gita in such a way as to assert, firstly, that its main message is Lokasamgraha centered karma-yoga,
and secondly, that everyone, small or big, should by performing svadharma in accordance with the teachings of the Gita,
contribute to one or the other aspect of Lokasamgraha. For him the freedom and upliftment of the Indian people was
more important than just the individual liberation. At that time India was under the realm of British rule. To awake the
Indian people from their stagnancy to convince them the importance of action and encourage and activate them to strive
for the freedom was the urgent need of that time. Tilak tried to meet this need by interpreting the Bhagavad-Gita as the
theory of Niskama-Karmayoga. Similarly, with political freedom of India, he also wanted India to be socially mature,
progressing, marching towards good values, which can never take place without leaders who act what they preach. Tilak
wanted to create such ideals from Indian society only. With these intentions he placed before the society the ideal of
karmayogi sthita-pradnya and also an ideal of Lokasamgraha.
The present problem of Bhrashta (corrupted) leadership is due to not going beyond selfish goals-creating chain of
social evils. Th e solution lies in change in the attitude of both the leaders and the followers. The shift from selfish to
selfless
Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Pg-139
Vinoba, The Steadfast Wisdom-Pg-20-23.
Bhagavad-Gita (3.26)
Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, Volume-
IV, Issue-IV, July-Aug 2014
attitude is possible by understanding and practicing the philosophy of swadharma and

lokasamgraha. Our society needs such kind of leadership today. With this kind of attitude,
personality, freedom and interdependence, the objectives of Lokasamgraha, can be achieved today
in all the fields social, e conomical and political and will lead to the welfare of all.
To perform our duty towards society, i.e. the duty of Lokasamgraha or our duty towards social
welfare the attempt has been made to explore the concepts of yajna, freedom with reference to
the wellbeing of the so ciety. Bhagavad-Gita provides us effective guidelines to have effective social
leadership. Our actions have to be conducive toward maintenance of the social and worldly order.
The fundamental criterion of moral goodness is the promotion of dharma or order, and the result of
it is peace, happiness and harmony.
Therefore the political goals if based on ethical goals, always lead to the goal of Lokasamgraha. It is
due to the purification of desire, which makes every individual to perform his swadharma and
which ultimately will lead to the welfare of the society. It is the need of the hour that our political
goals should be firmly based on ethical goals which will not only lead to the welfare of the human
beings but of the other creatures on the earth as well, and we can attain the ideal of Lokasamgraha
in true sense.
References :
Agarwal S.P. The Social Role of the Gita- How and Why, Motilal Banarasidas Publishers, Delhi,
1997
B.G. Tilak, Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya or Karma-Yoga Sastra, Translation by B.S. Sukhtankar,
Pune, T.S. Tilak, 1971.
B.G.Tilak, Srimad Bhagvd Gita Rahasya, Tilak Brothers, Pune, 1936
B.K. Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarasides, Delhi, 1987.
Lokmanya Tilak B.G. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya. Pune,1936
M.K. Gandhi interprets "The Bhagavad-Gita', Orient Paperbacks, Navajivan Trust, Madarasa Road,
Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006, 1978.
S. N. Gajendragadkar and V.S. Gajendragadkar, Gita-Rahasya of Lokmanya Tilak in essence, Tilak

Brothers Publications, Pune
S. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Harper and Raw, New York, 1973.
Sri Aurbindo, Essays on the Gita, Arya Publishing House, Calcutta, 1949.
Swami Prabhupada Bhagavad-Gita as it is The Bh aktivedanta Book Trust-2002
Swami Vivekanand, Karmayoga, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, Seventeenth edition, 1984.

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International Journal of English and Education 333
ISSN: 2278-4012, Volume:3, Issue:4, October 2014
The Bhagavad Gita The Politics of Interpretation and its Interpret ation in Politics
Ms. Mohua Dutta, Research Scholar

Department of Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies,
University of Delhi
Abstract: The Bhagavad Gita is one of the major sacred texts of Hindu mythology, and is one of the
perennial sources of spiritual knowledge. However, during the time of Indian national struggle for
freedom, this sacred text was interpreted and re-interpreted numerous times by each prominent
nationalist leader, sometimes to justify violence, sometimes to ensure mass participation in the
Satyagraha movement. In his interpretation, Tilak found that The Gita teaches the philosophy of
activism and energism (Karma yoga). Karma yoga means purging the soul of desires, so that the
action performed is free from any materialistic attachments and desireless of its outcome. Gandhi on
the other hand, interpreted it as an allegorical representation of the spiritual war going on between
the forces of Good and the forces of Evil. Gandhi thus converted the greatest Indian war epic into an
elaborate set-up to preach the importance of truth and non-violence. However, to Ambedkar, it was
neither a sacred text nor a treatise on philosophy, but a politically motivated counter-revolution by
the Brahmins to establish their supremacy by defending Chaturvarna, and securing its observance in
practice. In my paper, I propose to underline such politics of interpretation of The Gita and
understand how each stand has sought justification from the text.
Keywords: The Bhagavad Gita, Karma yoga, Tilak, Gandhi, Ambedkar
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." (Gita, 11.32)
These words from The BhagavadGita is what J. Robert Oppenheimer had claimed to have thought
when he witnessed the world's first atomic explosion at New Mexico desert at the Trinity test site on
16 July 19451. Oppenheimer, the father of atomic age, had to constantly draw inspiration from the
sacred text in order to justify his creation of mass destruction, and believed that it was only a job
that he had to do. Is it just a coincidence that his situation paralleled Arjunas remarkably? Was The
Gita then indirectly responsible for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, just as the Pandavas
and Kauravas were directly responsible for the death of thousands on the battlefield of Kurukshetra?
Admittedly being born and brought up in a foreign culture could have clouded his understanding
and judgement of the true meaning of the text, but arguably was it more partial than Indian
interpretations, which came to be written especially during the nationalist struggle, which were then
used to justify violence or to ensure mass participation in Satyagraha, and were they not construed
to serve selfish motives? Are we then saying that there is no absolute truth/reality that is applicable
at all times? In my paper, I propose
Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

to underline the politics of interpretation of The Gita, and how it had been used in politics during
the Indian National struggle for freedom in the early twentieth century.
Every teacher who wished to claim Vedantic authori ty for his teachings was obliged to write a
commentary on it showing that it supported his views. - Krishna Prem, The Yoga of The
BhagavadGita, p. 8
The ancient philosophers like Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Vallabha School interpreted that The
Gita teaches the path of renunciation and bhakti (devotion) to attain Moksha; whereas the moderns
like Tilak, Aurobindo and Gandhi read it to support Karma yoga and Satyagraha doctrine. The
question raised at this point is that had they introduced ideas into The Gita in order to support their
own theories, or were the thoughts formed while reading The Gita and thus, The Gita influenced
their philosophies? In case of the latter, we ask the question of what does The Gita really preach. Is
it action or inaction? Justification of enlightened violence or a call for peace? Is it then a sacred
book at all, the Word of the Lord if we may call it, or only an allegorical work by the great sage
Vyasa as a plea for humanistic politics? What we do know is that it acquired an iconic status in the
modern times, interrogating the relationship between political thought, religion and modernity, and
is thus still applicable as ever due to its limitless possibilities of meanings and interpretations.
Historically, The Gita had always been used as a tool of unification and motivation for the Hindus
against foreign governance (Mughals and then the Britishers). Ironically, it was actually made
accessible to the larger audience by the efforts of the Orientalists, and by subsequent translations
into several Indian languages and dialects. Till then, it had always been read as a philosophical
discourse, propagating moral and ethical living. It achieved greater prominence in the beginning of
twentieth century, beginning with Tilaks commentary, Srimad BhagavadGita Rahasya, written in
order to strengthen and rationalise his extremist stance and to gain the political support of the Hindu
intelligentsia. Prior to his entrance upon the political stage, Indian leadership under G.K. Gokhale
had relied upon protests against government policies consisting of thoughtfully worded petitions,
made to appeal to the sense of reason and fair play of the British Parliament. Tilak saw little benefit
in such methods, and made his official foray into politics by opposing the British policies which
didnt conform to the dictates of Dharamshastras. This attitude won him the support of the orthodox
Hindu community, which felt threatened by various reform proposals. He then mobilised the
support of the Maratha community through his fiery speeches, pamphlets and his newspapers,
Mahratta (published in English) and Kesari (Marathi). To further strengthen Indian consciousness of
and pride in Hindu culture and traditions, Tilak was instrumental in establishing ten-day long
celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi, and Shivaji as the symbol of Maratha power and glory. Unlike
earlier reformers, who had tended to stress religious, social and educational reforms before political
ones, Tilak held that Swaraj (Home Rule) was the first priority, and only then other reforms could
be effective in any way. He insisted on non-cooperation, the boycott of British made goods and the
use of

Swadeshi goods, and for this he enlisted the help of Advaita Vedanta which likened ones country as
the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman, and service of the country was, in effect, service of god.
In his interpretation, he found that The Gita actually teaches the philosophy of activism and
energism (Karma yoga), which had earlier being misconstrued as the path of
renunciation/asceticism. Tilak agreed that although The Gita points several paths towards Moksha,
including that of devotion and samnyasi, he rejected those on the basis of the Shastras which claim
that one is bound by duty to save ones motherland, and the path of renunciation is prohibited in the
kaliyug. (Gita, II, 701). Tilak interpreted a Bhaktas goal as realising the true identity of Brahman
and Atman, which was impossible till the soul was bound to the samsara (materialistic world). But
for this, mental and physical renunciation was not required. What was instead required was to purge
the soul off desires, rather than suppressing them through fasting and excessive austerities, so that
the action thus performed was free from any materialistic attachments and desireless of its outcome.
The true samnyasin, then, renounces not action but the desire of its karmic effects by dedicating all
actions to Parameshwara. Tilak here referred to the metaphor of senses being the steeds of a chariot,
and the charioteer being the Brahman himself who held the reins. (Gita, 1:14) In The Gita, claimed
Tilak, Krishna revived the original Bhagavata doctrine, first taught by Nara and Narayana, and
characterised by the attainment of knowledge combined with the performance of desireless action
in other words, the Karma yoga doctrine.
The ultimate resolution of devotion is into knowle dge; devotion is a means for acquiring
knowledge, it is not a goal in itself.
- Tilak, Gita Rahasya2
Thus, for Tilak, the three main paths to liberation, Karman, Jnana, and Bhakti, harmonised in The
Gita. He often referred to the thirteenth century Maratha philosopher, Jnanadeva, who had already
set the precedent of attacking the quietism and renunciation of Samsara, and blamed the decline of
the karma yoga philosophy and the usurpation of its place by the philosophy of renunciation, on the
rise of Jainism and Buddhism.
I have already killed these warriors, O Arjuna, become just an instrument. (Gita, 11:33)
Tilak most often resorted to this particular quote from The Gita, in order to justify his theory that
our Vedas and Shastras actually teach desireless action, rather than inaction, as the most important
text in Hindu mythology is woven around Krishnas persuading Arjuna to take up his arms and
fight, because hes bound by his Kshatriya dharma (duty of a warrior clan) to defend his state and
serve justice.
Unfortunately, Tilaks interpretations has been rejected by scholars and other interpreters as a
cynical exercise in political opportunism in his dream of creating a Hindu-only state.

Surprisingly, Tilaks influence on Gandhi has been most decisive, and in the words of a
contemporary,
it is Tilak's mantle that has fallen on Mahatma G andhi and not that of Gokhale, though the
Mahatma regards Gokhale as his political guru.
- Collected Works.3
Gandhi accepted Tilaks view of Karma yoga, but refused the means of violence to achieve the
noble end. He felt that Tilak had translated the text too literally, and had missed the point of
wisdom teaching of Vyasa completely. Gandhis authoritative stance emerged out of his
conviction of the historical character of the Shastras,
Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis, Puranas and Itihasas do not enunciate anew the eternal truths, but
show how these were practised at the time to which the books belong. ( CW)
He further added that,
I learnt the art of estimating the value of script ures on the basis of their ethical teaching any
conduct that is contrary to truth and ahimsa is to be eschewed and any book that violates these
principals is not a Shastra. (CW)
Consequently, he stated, that it was not surprising that they abound in contradictions, and even
worse, that ... there is hardly an immoral practic e for which it would be difficult to find Shastric
sanction. ( CW). This is because they suffer through a
process of double distillation ... First they come through a human prophet, and then through the
commentaries of interpreters. None of them comes from God directly. (CW)
Here we touch upon the central nerve of the Gandhian approach: religion is about action, what
cannot be followed out in day to day practice cannot be called religion... ( CW) and thus, The Gita
became the infallible touchstone of the Shastras, because in a short compass it gives a complete
reasoned moral code... [and] the essence of Dharma. ( CW). Gandhi, the staunch champion of non-
violence, interpreted The Gita as an allegorical representation of the ceaseless spiritual war going
on in the human Kurukshetra ( CW), commented thus:
"I felt that it was not a historical work but that under the guise of physical warfare it described the
duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind, and that physical warfare was brought in
merely to make the description of the internal duel more alluring." (CW)
To substantiate, he further added,

The poet has seized the occasion of the war betwee n the Pandavas and the Kauravas on the
field of Kurukshetra for drawing attention to the war going on in our bodies between the forces
of Good (Pandavas) and the forces of Evil (Kauravas) and has shown that the latter would be
destroyed and there should be no remissness in carrying on the battle against the forces of Evil,
mistaking them through ignorance for forces of Good. (CW)
As to why the poet Vyasa chose the occasion of a battle to preach the value of peace and non-
violence, Gandhi replied in a letter,
Vyasa wrote his supremely beautiful epic to depict the futility of war. What did the Kauravas
defeat and the Pandavas victory avail? How many among the victors survived? What was their
fate? What was the end of Kunti, mother of the Pandavas? What trace is left today of the Yadava
race? (CW)
In other words, Gandhi converted the greatest Indian war epic into an elaborate set-up to preach the
importance of truth (satya) and non-violence (ahimsa). Not only that, he rejected all the references
of progressive self-revelation of Krishna as a mere idiom of common speech, and completely
omitted the passages which distinguished the body-soul-being-different stance. He said that the
Atman can only assimilate into the Brahman upon death, and the theory of incarnation was entirely
a matter of imagination a s well as of faith to which he didnt ascribe. However, he did ascribe to
the message of renunciation, which he boldly claimed to be ...
impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form. He argued that here
renunciation meant complete mastery over senses, control over feelings of attachments, love,
anger and lust, and total indifference towards the performance of tasks of the outside world. Only
those who have disciplined their minds and bodies alike could be called as sthitaprajna (like
Krishna himself) and deserved gods grace ( prasada) and eternal knowledge (jnana). The thread of
Gandhian logic finally culminated into his political endeavours where he used The Gita to support a
mass program of resistive action which demanded participation by all sections of the society. He
even found his opposition to untouchability sanctioned by The Gita, and thus calls them harijans:
O Partha, even those who are of low birth, as also women, Vaishyas and Shudras attain to the
highest bliss by resorting to me. (Gita, 1:32).
Unfortunately, Gandhis views had been unfavourably received by the scholars who accused him of
promoting Hindu nationalism and creating communal disharmony by favouring the teachings of one
religion over the other.
One of the strongest critiques of both Tilak and Gandhis interpretations had been voiced by
Ambedkar. Being a champion of the shudras and atishudras in the society, he naturally
evaluated The Gita in an entirely different way. His comments on The Gita essentially summarised
his critique of the Hindu religion and society. According to Ambedkar, The Bhagavad Gita is neither
a book of religion nor a treatise on philosophy, but a politically motivated counter-revolution. To
elaborate, he tr aced the history of the Indian society since Aryans, who had no recognisable code of
moral and ethical conduct, and were flourishing under the protection of The Vedas and Manusmriti.
Upon the conversion of Ashoka into Buddhism, the social revolution took upon the political
character, and Brahmins were usurped from their privileged position. After the decline of the
Mauryan Empire, the Brahmins, whose interests had suffered under the Buddhist kings, initiated a
counter-revolution under the leadership of Pushyamitra Sung to restore Brahmanism. The Bhagavad
Gita was thus composed to give ideological and moral support to this counter-revolution. Further,
Ambedkar even refused to acknowledge the authorship of Vyasa, since the authorship of Puranas
and Brahmasutra had also been attributed to him, and it is humanly impossible to have survived the
span of several centuries. As Ambedkar saw it, The Gita had originally been composed as a heroic
ballad, which later adopted the religious overtones during the Gupta Empire when their family deity
(Ishtadevata), Krishna Vasudeva, was accorded the position of the Parameshwara. To support this
theory, Ambedkar pointed out several discrepancies in The Mahabharata where Krishna was not
accepted as an avatar, but a mere councillor of the Pandavas. Also, Krishnas role in The
Mahabharata has always been understood as that of a master strategist and shrewd politician, and
the sudden philosophical defence of war seems to have been added at a later stage, when viewed in
its totality. The soul of The Gita seems to be the defence of Chaturvarna, and securing its
observance in practice. For this, the two line of arguments in itself seems to stand in quicksand:
Arjuna belonged to the Kshatriya caste, and thus it was his duty (dharma) to fight; and humans are
mortals and body is perishable, so Arjuna is not committing any sin because hes not destroying the
soul, which is eternal. Ambedkar asked which of these cases could stand in a court of law.
Modern scholars of Jainism and Buddhism found discrepancies in Arjunas remorse, since he was
worried about committing sin, and preferred to live a life of ascetic than enjoy the fruits of victory
smeared with the blood of his own clan; however surprisingly there was no trace of pity on the part
of Arjuna, since he was worried about everything else but the pain he would inflict upon those he
wounds or kills. It is therefore not appropriate for Krishna to give him an extended answer intended
to alleviate worries about the pain he might produce. Extending the argument further, shouldnt
Krishna have convinced Arjuna of the superior worth and righteousness of fighting the war in order
to win it? Unless a warrior is fully committed to achieve the goal of winning the war and unless
everything was staked for bringing it to a successful conclusion, there is no point in fighting it and
no hope for re-establishing dharma on earth. But again, doesnt it go against the dictates of
desireless action?
Furthermore, when we cross refer Immanuel Kants d uty for duty sake philosophy in reference to
Shastras and then situate it in the contemporary politics, we are appalled by the results. We have
established so far that The Gita sanctions the concept of righteous war

(dharma yudha). Are the religious crusades also justified because they are fighting to protect their
culture and religion (Hindutva or Islam or Jews)? Or armed revolution (say, the Naxalites or Israel
and Palestine) because they are protecting their own lands? Do the war-ravaged countries of Middle
East also have the right to avenge its perpetrators? Is there actually any justification for mass
murders, destruction, plundering of wealth and property, all for the sake of power-play, sanctioned
by Shastras/ Quran/ New Testament notwithstanding?
END NOTES
Hijiya, James A. The Gita of J. Robert Oppenheimer . Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, Vol. 144, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 123-167. American Philosophical Society.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/1515629>. In The Gita, it appears as shatterer of worlds.
Tilak, G.B. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya: Karmayoga Shastra. Tr. Bhalchandra Sitaram
Sukhthabar. 4th edition, 1980. Print.
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government
of India. New Delhi: Publication Division. Pub. 2000. Print. Henceforth abbreviated as CW.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stevenson, Robert W. Tilak and the Bhagavad-Gitas Doctrine of Karma yoga. Modern Indian
Interpreters of the Bhagavad-Gita. Ed. Robert N. Minor. New Delhi: Sri Sat guru Publication, 1991.
Print.
Jordens, J.T.F. Gandhi and the Bhagavad-Gita. Modern Indian Interpreters of the BhagavadGita.
Ed. Robert N. Minor. New Delhi: Sri Sat guru Publication, 1991. Print.
Saroja, G.V. Tilak and Sankara on the Gita. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1985. Print.
Betai, Ramesh S. Gita and Gandhiji. Ahmedabad: Gujarat Vidyapith, 1970. Print.
Gandhi, M.K. The Gospel of Selfless Action or the Gita According to Gandhi. Tr. Mahadev Desai.
Ed. John Strohmeimer. Online Edition.
Brown, D. Mackenzie. The Philosophy of Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Karma vs. Jnana in The Gita
Rahasya. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Feb., 1958), pp. 197-206. Association for
Asian Studies. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2941466>
Harvey, Mark. J. The Secular as Sacred? The Religio-Political Rati onalization of B. G. Tilak.
Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1986), pp. 321-331. Cambridge University Press
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/312578>
Mathur, D.C. The Concept of Action in the Bhagavad-Gita. Philosophy and Phenomenological
Research, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Sep., 1974), pp. 34-45. International Phenomenological Society
Pandit, Nalini. Ambedkar and The Bhagavad-Gita. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, No. 20/21
(May 16-23, 1992), pp. 1063-1065. Economic and Political Weekly
.......................
In the Atmajnana Yajnas that Bhagavadpada conducts, he relies on the Bhagavad Gita, as a Moksha
Shastra (or traditional source):
In his own words: Page | 1
The Centrality of the Bhagavad Gita in these Yajnas:
To bring about this very subtle understanding [I prefer this term
to realization, as the latter is already loaded] called Jnana, the Sutras of the Bhagavad Gita will be
extensively used, only because the Gita stands out as a Moksha Shastra par excellence, even though,
traditionally, it has not been viewed in this particular light by many Hindu acharyas, past & present.
Rather than our present reliance on the Bhagavad Gita, one could have also relied on one or
more of the Upanishads, or on the Brahma Sutras, or on the traditional Advaitic texts, such as
Vivekachudamani,
Vedanta Panchadasi, Tripura Rahasya, Ashtavakra Gita, Ribhu Gita,
Yoga Vasishtham, etc; but the Bhagavad Gita was what Sri Sri Bhagavan had initiated me into, rather
early in my life and it was also the Shastra, that came to be internalized, after I crossed sixty, so it will
eminently
serve our present purpose, because it is indeed, also the condensed milk essence of all the Upanishads.
A New Modern Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita:
In the traditional Bhashyas [commentaries] on the Bhagavad Gita
[and there are a number of excellent Bhashyas each having their own characteristic merits], one rarely
ever sees the light from the wonderfully potent teachings of such modern Advaitic Masters of the last
century as Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Sri J Krishnamurti - Being used for
bringing home the truth of the Bhagavad Gita, in a more lustrous way [none of them is any more on the
physical plane].
These Yajnas, not only open new doors for freshly rediscovering the ancient Advaita tradition
of Atmavichara & Atmajnana, but will also do full justice, to the teachings of the beloved Advaitic
Masters, J Krishnamurti & Nisargadatta Maharaj, as I do not see these priceless modern teachings
standing alone, away from the Gita, in spite of such an uncompromising stand having been taken by the
two beloved Masters themselves, in the course of their lifetimes.
There are two aspects of the Bhagavad Gita, to which we must be particularly sensitive, by
way of preparation for these Yajnas. Firstly, the
teachings of the Gita are sometimes used as a veritable Dharma Shastra, and very rarely as a veritable
Moksha Shastra. A good scholar would know when the teaching is running on the Dharma plane and not
on the other. When a Mumukshu takes up the Gita, he will be primarily interested in it
as a Moksha Shastra. At this point we may note that Dharma Shastras Page | 2 are more widely read,
whereas Moksha Shastras remain in the
background, because of their esoteric nature-they appeal only to Mumukshus [seekers after liberation],
who are generally a meagre minority. On account of the unwavering dedication of the Hindus[and even
many non-Hindus, in fact] to the Gita, ever since Adi Sankaracharya, culled it from the Mahabharata;
the Dharma aspect of these teachings has for the reasons mentioned above attracted wider attention than
its esoteric Moksha aspect. We have to bear this fine distinction in mind, as we are presently coming
home to this teaching, for what it has to offer, as a time honored Moksha Shastra.
Secondly, whenever a seeker, whether Hindu or not, approaches the Gita, he necessarily sees
Two Lights, a brilliant one, emanating from the illustrious Divine personality of Bhagavan Sri Krishna,
and
certainly, another distinct Light (if he is perceptive at all), but of lesser luminosity-in the eyes of
devotees-emanating from the Gita, the teachings of that Bhagavan. Mature devotees, who may be small
in number compared to the vast
majority, may however see only One Mass of Light, rather than two,
standing more for the teachings or at least for the indivisible unity of Bhagavan Sri Krishna and his
teaching, the Bhagavad Gita. The majority of devotees, contrariwise, through their excessive
extroversion and consequent excessive devotion may not pay so much attention to the Gita per se, as to
His lustrous Divine personality, in which they may get engrossed through their devotional approach. Let
us remember that Krishna has himself said: Among all the seekers and devotees, the Jnanis [men of
Understanding] are most beloved to Me.
In the present Yajnas, we are not really obsessed with the Divine personality, as much as we
will be with the teachings of that Divine personality, and this clear preference for one aspect of the Gita,
over the other must certainly be noted.
3. The Advaita Tradition & the Present Vein of Atmajnana Yajnas: Between the three illustrious Advaitic
Masters of the last century,
mentioned above, barring Sri Ramana Maharshi, who chose to teach predominantly through the time
tested Hindu Advaitic scriptures; the other two, breaking with the traditional line, brought in a radically
new approach, each inimitable, each brilliantly original & profound, each direct & radical, yet
nevertheless, each also cut away from the main
stream of the Vedic tradition, because of the critical stands both took, with respect to the timeless
tradition.
After observing closely these three illustrious departed Masters of the last century, and
studying the traditional texts carefully, and
watching also the course of development of my own Master Sri Page | 3 Bhagavans mystical-devotional
movement, which is not also overtly
aligned with the Hindu tradition; I settled into the unwavering conviction, that I should basically keep
walking on the broad highway of the Atmajnana tradition, but at the same time should retain my
integrity, by not turning my back, either on the wonderfully potent teachings of the two beloved Advaitic
Masters, who chose to decisively break with the traditional line, or on the priceless wisdom
communicated to me, directly from his Atma by my beloved Master Sri Sri Bhagavan,
through hundreds of hours of upadesa, since my boyhood days.
4. Devotional Adoration & Gratitude to the Four Beloved Masters:
To all these four beloved Masters, I will bend my body & head in salutation a million times,
again & again, as I still do on a daily basis, only to discharge at their Divine feet, the ever gushing
stream of
devotional adoration & gratitude, for providing me that dependable lifeboat of Atmavichara, with which
I had, a number of years ago, already
made a safe landing on the blessed farther shore of Atmajnana, only to make the paradoxical discovery,
that this shore had always been my everlasting Home, from which I had never really strayed - except for
those occasional, delirious & mad journeys in thought, propelled alas, by the Divine Mothers mandate
of Maya, during which periods alone, I naturally felt Homeless, listless and lost!
Advaitic Upadesa & Atma Prasannata: Without the magnificent boat of self-knowledge
[Atmavichara] provided by my Master Sri Sri Bhagavan and the upadesa from the three Advaitic
Masters Sri J. Krishnamurti, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj & Sri Ramana Maharshi, I would not have
reached the blessed shore of Atmaprasannata, within my own bosom.
We may however note in passing that the actual attainment of
Atmaprasannata, Atmajnana; and the fruits of Ayurvedic purifications & rejuvenations would depend
upon a number of necessary preparations & qualifications, such as the following:
(1) Firstly, to have the perception that something is fundamentally amiss in mans
consciousness, which is at the root of all of mans ills. From
such a perception might arise the sincerity, patience & dedication to
heal and restore that consciousness to its pristine purity. Each seeker must be actually willing to walk
on the road himself as no one else can do this introspective enquiry for him.
(2) Devotion to Ishtha devata, either as Atma, or as a Deity, beloved to
us, representing Isvara or the Atma [in other words, Bhakti, as it is quite Page | 4 natural to perceive the
Atma also as the other, the Beloved, rather
than as the Self, especially when Pratyahara has not reached yogic perfection].
Ideally, surrender either to the Atma or to the Ishtha Devata, or to what is [in J. Krishnamurtis
sense], resulting in a readiness to
understand and accept what destiny has to say, with regard to the benevolent or malevolent
consequences of The Mood of Isvara at the time and place of our birth, as an embodied Atma [this is
the real meaning of our astrological chart], for the possible fulfillment, or even for the lack of it, in the
pursuit of these sublime goals - through either Isvaras blessings or His wrath, now, or even at any later
time in life.
Ideally, detachment from sense-objects [resulting in inner tranquility].
Willingness to renounce the ego, in the day to day transactions with the world.
Serious enough to enter into the process of Atmavichara without any vacillation and come on
the path of self-knowing. If we were fickle, and frivolous in our approach, or too restless, we would not
be able to get
into Atmavichara.
An interest to understand deeply, be introspective and stay with what is-as all these are
necessary preludes to self-knowing & Self-Realization.
TheGitaislikeasummaryofthevariousphilosophiesexistingatthetimeinancientIndia50006000yearsagoattheendof
theDwaparaYuga.
KrishnaisreveredastheJagadguruorteacheroftheworld,becausehesummarisedallthedifferentphilosophiesin
conversationwithArjuna.
InterestinglytheauthoroftheMahabharathainwhichtheBhagavadGitaisfound..isVedaVyasaor
theonewhodivided(ordered,collated)alltheVedas.HisrealnamewasKrishnaDwaipayana.The
othernameforDraupadi,theheroineoftheMahabharathaisalsoKrishnaa.
MahabharathaisanItihasaorhistoricalepic.Howeverinwritingthis,VedaVyasawantedtoexplainallthe
VedicandUpanishadictruthstopeopleinastoryformbecauseordinarypeoplecanunderstandstories
betterthanphilosophicjargon.ItissaidthateverythingthatisthereintheworldisintheMahabharata.
...........
Jnanaandkarma,twooftheotherpolaritieswithwhichtheGitacontends,finally
supportbhaktitowardsbetterment,notdeterioration,ifdoneselflesslyandwith
balance.IntheGita,thedevotees' mysticaloremotionalloveofGod
apprehendstheir
,
~
oneness with the Supreme God and with all beings, and transcends the pitiless
segregationofthecastesystem,andopensthepathofsalvationtoallirrespectiveof
race,color,caste,classorgenderinlife.Inspiteofmuchoppositionfromorthodoxy,
thebhaktimovementspreadalloverIndia,andbhaktiitselfrosetotheleveloforthodoxy
andhasbecomethefaithofmillionsofpeopleespeciallyofthesouth,andsurprisingly,
ofevenofthoseofthesocalledhighestcaste.
EtymologyanduseoftheSanskritterm'bhakti'(Love)16
ThewordBhagavadcomesfrom the sameroot, bhaj, as bhakti. InHinduism,
BhagavanisthegraciousLordofthebhakticults.Theideaofloveisexpressedbythe
root'bhaj',anditsderivativeisbhakti. Theconceptoflovecanbeusedforseveral
manifestationsoflove,1)possessionorenjoyment,2)preferenceandchoice,3)esteem
andhonor,4)attachmentandaffection,5)loyaltyanddevotion. Similarlybhajalsocan
havemultiplemeanings:topossess,enjoy,enjoycarnally,embrace;tofavor,prefer,
choose,andelect;tohonor,worship,adore,revere,andesteem;tobeattachedto;tocourt;to
bedevotedto,tobeloyal.Lovecanalsobesecularorreligious.
~
Assecularlove,theSanskritword bhaj canbeusedforgraceordevotednesssuchas

faithfulnessbetweenequals,friends,spouses,betweenmasterandservant,kingand
subjects,andunderstoodaslovea)betweenparentandchild,b)betweensexes,c)
betweenmasterandservant,andd)toguru Asreligiouslove,bhajmaybeusedfor
grace:a)respectandreverence,b)devotion(bhakti)intheworshipofGod,c)external
worshipofGod,d)love(bhakti)ofGod,e)God'sloveforhumanbeings.
SynonymsforbhaktiintheGita
Thewords,"priti","sneha,""prema,""anugraha,""anurakti"or"ishtam"arealso
usedintheGitasynonymouslytoexpressbhaktiasemotionalandpassionatedesire.The
terms,"dhrti"(satisfaction),''priti''(gratification),"tarsa"(desire),raga(passion)sneha
(friendship)andanuraga(attachment),andwordssuchas"namnamra"(reverential
16IamgreatlyindebtedtoFr.MariasoosaiDhavamony,S.l.,fortheanalysisofthewordsandsemanticsof bhajand
bhaktiinSanskrit,Tamil,inHinduism,especiallyintheBhagavadGitaandcomparisonswithChristianityinhis"Love
ofGodaccordingtoSaivasiddhanta:AStudyintheMysticismandTheologyof Saivism," (Oxford:ClarendonPress,
1971),whichisthefirstclassicofitskindinthesubjectofloveinthe
SaivaSiddhanta,whichisaSouthIndianHinduTextofdogmaanddoctrineinSaivism.
xviii
bow), "upacara" (respect),and "puj" (showinghonor)arecombinedwith bhakti to

denoteinterpersonalrelationshipwithGod,theultimategroundofworshipinthe
Gita
IntheGita Bhakti isnotdevelopedtoconveythefullanddeepdoctrineofthe

mysticismoflove,whichwefindinthelaterHindureligioustraditionsofSaivism
andVaishnavism.Ourpurposeinthispaperiswellservedifitisprovedthattheterm
"bhakti"impliesapersonalrelationshipandhasbeenusedinthereligiouscontextto
signifylovingdevotiontoGodandloveofGodtohumanbeings.17
................
THE GITAS WIDE APPEAL
The Bhagavad Gita was first translated into English by Charles Wilkins in 1785 and
published by the British East India Company with an introduction by Lord Warren
Hastings, the first British Governor-General of India, in which he prophetically wrote:
The writers of the Indian philosophies will survive when the British Dominion in
India shall long have ceased to exist, and when the sources which it yielded of wealth
and power are lost to remembrance. He further wrote I hesitate not to pronounce the
Gitas performance of great originality, of sublimity of conception, reasoning and
diction almost unequalled and a single exception amongst all the known religions of
mankind.
The Gita deals with human problems in a human way. That is why it has a tremendous
appeal. It has inspired the human mind in India for centuries and today it casts its spell
on millions of people across the various parts of the world. It remains the most
translated work in the Globe. The modern technology like the Internet has further
increased its reputation by carrying its message to every nook and corner of the world.
A mere click on the word Bhagavad Gita in the Google search engine throws about
963,000 results. An incredible reach for any scripture!
Among the great and extraordinary people who were inspired and found their outlook
changed by the timeless wisdom of the Gita are thinkers, writers, scientists and
philosophers like Mahatma Gandhi, B.G.Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Albert Einstein, Dr.
Albert Schweitzer, Herman Hesse, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Aldous Huxley, Walt
Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Annie Besant, Robert Oppenheimer Sir Edwin
Arnold and Carlyle to name but a few.
th
In India it was left to Adi Sankara who lived in the 8 century A.D. to reveal the
greatness of the Gita to the world. He retrieved it from the mighty tomes of the epic,
the Mahabharata, and wrote a brilliant commentary on it. It is this commentary which
prevails as a classic text even today. Later great acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhva,
Vallabha and others came out with their own commentaries which are popular among
their followers. In modern times Sant Jnanesvar, B.G.Tilak, Aurobindo contributed
their original thinking on the text.
Despite this enormous popularity, the Bhagavad Gita remains a less understood but a
better known text; people know more about it than what is it about. On the analogy of
what the Bhagavad Gita says in Chapter 2, Verse 29 some look upon the book as
marvelous, a scripture of extraordinary or mysterious value, some others speak of the
book as wonderful. And still others though hearing its teachings do not comprehend
its wonderful significance!
Bhagavan Sri Krishna also says in the Gita (7.3) Among thousands of men , one by
chance aspires for perfection; even among those successful aspirants only one by
chance knows Me in essence. A question arises why such enlightened persons are so
rare in our midst and why such an achievement is not within the reach of everyone.
Vedanta being a subjective science rarely one tries to know how to remove one's
weaknesses and develop inner strength much less one tries to live up to the ideals
propounded by it and bring about consequent re-adjustments in one's life. Very few
feel this urge to evolve themselves and most of us do not even find the need for self
improvement. We grope along by the voice of tradition, authority, herd-instinct and
group-mentality. Of those who strive to see the truth and reach the goal, only a few
succeed. Of those who gain the sight, not even one learns to live by the sight.
No wonder once a teacher wanting to educate a child about the Gita asked him Do
you know Gita? The child replied Yes, I know, that is the name of my next door
aunty. The child obviously heard of Gita and had his own meaning of it in his mind
and remained happy about it. That is the case with most of us today including the
large mass of modern educated sections. Then where do we go from here? Again, the
Gita says by constant learning and practice one can certainly improve oneself. Let us
attempt to heed that advice through this series of essays.
WHAT IS THE GITA?
The dictionary meaning of the word Gita is a song or poem containing an inspired
doctrine and the word Bhagavat means a blessed or adorable or venerable or divine
One. Hence Srimad Bhagavad Gita is variously called as The Song of God, The
Divine Song, A Song of Fortune, The Lords Song, The Holy Song of God, The
Song of the Lord, Gudartha Deepika, Gita Rahasya, Jnaneshwari, Bhavaarthadipika,
Sadhaka Sanjeevani and so on. The noted English poet, journalist and a Principal of
the Government Sanskrit College at Pune, Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) called his
famous poetic version of the Bhagavad Gita as The Song Celestial. The Bhagavad
Gitas another title is moksha sastra or Scripture of Liberation. However, it is more
popularly known as The Gita.
The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important
texts in the history of literature and philosophy. It finds a place in the Bhishma Parva
of the Mahabharata. It comprises of 18 chapters spread out in 700 verses. Its author is
Veda Vyasa, the compiler of the Mahabharata who wrote this epic through the hands
of the Lord of Wisdom, Sri Ganesha. Its teachings are considered timeless and the
exact time of revelation of the scripture is considered of little spiritual significance.
The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered as a manifestation
of God, The Bhagvan, Parabrahman.
The content of the Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking
place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra before the start of the war between the two
clans of brothers - the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins,
Bhagavan Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates
on different Vedantic concepts. This has led to the Gita being described as one of the
prasthana traya, the triumvirate of the canons of Hindu Philosophy, the other two
being the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras.
It is considered as a concise, practical, self-contained guide to play the game of life.

During the discourse, Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being (Svayam
Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
OVER-VIEW OF THE GITA
The entire Bhagavad Gita can be divided into five topics viz.
8. Identifying the problem (covered in the 1st and the starting portions of the 2 nd
chapters of the Gita).
9. Finding a solution (covered in the major portion of the 2 nd chapter and
reiterated in the 7th, 9th and 13th chapters.
10. Implementing the solution (This theme is dealt with in the 3 rd, 5th, 12th and
18th chapters).
11. Understanding the values of life (stated in many places in the Gita and
th
particularly in the 16 chapter) and
12. Achieving perfection (elaborated in the 2nd, 5th, and 14th chapters).
Arjunas misunderstanding, his inability to see things as they are and consequent grief
and self-pity just at the crucial moment of war are the problems. The solution to them
can be short term which will only be of temporary nature or long term which will be
of permanent nature. The Gita offers a long term solution with which anybody can
face any situation in life at any time anywhere. This spiritual solution teaches us to
look at life as a whole and live a whole life. Finding a solution is just not enough. We
must know how to implement it. The Gita provides us with a practical guidance that
helps us to understand how to live according to the guidelines offered.
But living a life according to the guidelines offered is also not adequate unless it is
spiced with certain basic vision and values. If a persons vision of life is limited to
mundane happiness derived from the senses, he will merely spend his life time in
eating, drinking and making merry. His value system will revolve round making
money by any means to satisfy his never ending needs. But the value system of a
person with a philanthropic bent or an animal lover or an environmentalist or
spiritually oriented will be entirely different. The Gita provides us with such an
enlarged vision of life laying the foundation for a sense of fulfillment.
Finally, the Gita gives us the vision of a person who has gained the supreme
Knowledge and lives anchored in it. One who faces problems and crisis in life gains
the vision of Truth, puts it into practice, and lives according to that value system. He
becomes a jivan mukta, liberated in this very life. He is called a sthita prajna and the
Gita gives us a vivid description of his nature.
Such an analytical understanding of the various topics in the Bhagavad Gita makes it
easy for us to study it fruitfully and gives us a ready reference point to check out the
slokas (verses) according to our requirement.
Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma, or universal harmony and
duty. He begins with the tenet that the soul (Atman) is eternal and immortal. Any
'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, whereas the
soul is permanent.
In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes and
understanding of the true nature of the universe. He describes the yogic paths of
devotional service -Bhakti Yoga, action - Karma Yoga, meditation - Dhyana Yoga or
Raja Yoga and knowledge - Jnana Yoga.
Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from going beyond
identification with the temporal ego, the 'False Self', the ephemeral world, so that one identifies
with the truth of the immortal self, the absolute soul or Atman.
Through detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of
Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and
enters the realm of the Supreme.
Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be abandoned or neglected. Rather, one's
life on Earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths; one must embrace one's
temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of timeless reality, acting for the sake of service
without consideration for the results thereof. Such a life would naturally lead towards stability,
happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna refers to the war about to take place as Dharma Yuddha,
meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. He also states that he incarnates in each age
(yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.
The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi
"I have an impression that the bulk of the readers of [this] book will be students.... [And] let me
make it clear that I lay no more claim to scholarship than does Gandhiji, but I am myself a
studentas I hope to remain until my dying dayand it is out of sympathy for the needs of the
people of my kind that I have presumed to introduce this additional matter."
--Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's biographer, personal secretary, and father of Narayan,

concerning his own introduction and this translation into English of Gandhi's Gujarati
version.
1. My first acquaintance with the Gita began in 1888-89 with the verse translation by Sir
Edwin Arnold known as the Song Celestial. On reading it, I felt a keen desire to read a
Gujarati translation. And I read as many translations as I could lay hold of. But all such
reading can give me no passport for presenting my own translation. Then again my
knowledge of Sanskrit is limited, my knowledge of Gujarati too is in no way scholarly.
How could I then dare present the public with my translation?
........................
Karma Yoga in Tilak, Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo
Introduction
The Gita made a profound influence on the nationalist leadership. It influenced Lokmanya Tilak
(1856-1920), Mahatama Gandhi (1869-1948), and Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), all as they
struggled for indias independence. Introduced to it at an early age, each one of them had an
occasion to deepen their understanding of it in prison. Of them Tilak was the oldest and he wrote
his magnum opus, the Gita Rahasya in 1907 while he was serving a six year prison term in
Mandalay. It is interesting that each one of them arrived at different interpretations of karma
yoga, the yoga of action.
Tilak was introduced to a Marathi translation of the Gita when he was sixteen years old
as the task of reading out a Prakrit commentary on it called Bhasa-vivrtti to his father fell to his
lot. Mahatma Gandhi first got acquainted with the Gita when he was studying in England
through two English brothers who read it regularly. They asked him to join them which Gandhi
did although he did not know Sanskrit at that time. He read its English /translation by Sir Edwin
Arnold in 1888-1889. Captivated by its message especially that in the last nineteen verses of the
second chapter which deals with karmayoga, he started reading the Gita everyday. At first he
read as many Gujarati translations of it as possible and then only in Sanskrit. During his
imprisonment he studied it in detail and later translated it into Gujarati. Sri Aurobindo was struck
by the Gitas gospel of action before he was even thirty; he wrote several articles on it in
Karmayogin. Its idea of desireless duty or nishkama karma was his guiding principle during
his revolutionary days. It was, however, during his year of solitary confinement in the Alipore
jail that the Gita became a felt experience on his pulses: I was not only to understand (Gita)
intellectually but to realize what Sri Krishna demanded of Arjuna and what he demands of those
who aspire to do his work. 1
Therefore, these nationalist leaders drew inspiration from Gita especially and naturally from its
call to action in spite of all odds and after overcoming all attachments thereby acting with a
single minded sense of purpose. The crux of the issue with regard to action was the value to be
given to violence. Of the three, neither Tilak nor Sri Aurobindo found any absolute value is non-
violence. To just give one example, the Sedition Committee Report, dealt in detail with the
devastation caused by the plague in 1897.2 It led to the institution of house-to-house visitations
in Poona and compulsory evacuation of plague-infected houses. This caused much alarm and
resentment. Initially Tilak wrote favourably about the Governments efforts but later he imputed
not only to the subordinate officials but to the Government itself a deliberate direction to oppress
people. The plague Commissioner, Mr. Rand came to be gradually regarded as tyrannical. Even
while the Plague was raging, the sixtieth jubilee of Queen Victorias reign was celebrated.
Returning from a jubilee banquet at the Government house in Poona, Mr. Rand was shot dead
together with Lt. Ayerat on 27th June 1898. Tilaks articles in the Kesari that followed finally led
to his arrest on charges of sedition as he seemed to present an apology for political
assassination.3
During Tilaks trial, references were made to two incriminating articles in the Kesari entitled
Shivajis utterances. Tilak had been instrumental in getting the Ganpati festival and the Shivaji
coronation festival instituted. The latter was held on the 12th of June, 1897. One of the speakers
at the festival was reported to have said:
Every Hindu, every Maratha, to whatever party he may belong, must rejoice at this Sivaji
festival. We all are striving to gain our lost independence, and this terrible load is to be uplifted
by us all in combination. It will never be proper to place obstacles in the way of any person, who,
with a true mind, follows the path of uplifting this burden in the manner he deems fit. Our mutual
dissensions impede our progress greatly. If anyone be crushing down the country from above, cut
him off, but do not put impediments in the way of others..All occasions like the present
festival which tend to unite the whole country must be welcome. 4
Another speaker observed:
The people who took part in the French Revolution denied that they had committed muirder and
asserted that they were only removing thorns from their paths. Why should not the same
argument be applied to Maharashtra?
The President at the festival meeting, Tilak himself said: Did Sivaji commit a sin in killing
Afzal Khan (the Muhammadan General) or not? The answer to that question can be found in the
Mahabharat itself. Srimat Krishnas advice in the Gita is to kill even our own teachers and our
kinsmen. No blame attaches to any person if he is doing deeds without being actuated by a desire
to reap the furits of his deeds. Sri Sivaji did nothing with a view to fill the void of his own
stomach. With benevolent intensions he murdered Afzal Khan for the good of others. If thieves
enter our house and we have not sufficient strength to drive them out, we should without
hesitation shut them up and bopurn them alive. God has not conferred upon the foreigners the
grant inscribned on a copper-place of the kingdom of Hindusthan. The Mahareaja (Sivaji) strove
to drive them away from the land of his birth. He did not thereby commit the sin of coveting
what belonged to others. Do not circumscribe your vision like a frog in a well; get out of the
Penal Code and enter the extremely high atmosphere of the Srimat Bhagavad Gita and consider
the actions of great men.5
Sri Aurobindo too did not believe that non-violence had any absolute value that had to be
followed as the only course of action. In this Gita was a good guide : A certain class of minds
shrink from aggressiveness as it is were a sin. Their temperament forbids them to feel the delight
of battle and hey look on what they cannot understand as something monstrous and sinful. Heal
hate by love, drive out injustice by justice, slay sin by righteousness is their cry. Love is a scared
name, but it is easier to speak of love than to loveThe Gita is the bet answer to those who
shrink form battle as a sin and aggression as a lowering of morality6
In Bande Matram, too, he said: The choice by a subject nation of the means it will use
for vindicating its liberty is best determined by the circumstances of its servitude.7 One of the
courses, open to an oppressed nation is that of armed revoltThis is the old time-honoured
method which the oppressed or enslaved have always adopted by preference in the past and will
adopt in the future if they see any chance of success; for it is the readiest and swiftest, the most
thorough in its results, and demands the least powers of endurance and suffering and the smallest
and briefest sacrifices.8
Hence, all these leaders followed the karmayoga of Gita but each in his own way.
Gita as a Seditious Books

One mans food is anothers poison. The Gita is a sacred text for Hindus but for Justice
S.A.T. Rowlett, who was the President of the Sedition Committee (1908), it was an instrument of
subversion and sedition. According to him, the Bengal revolutionaries used the teachings of the
Bhagawad Gita, as also the teachings of Vivekanand to create an atmosphere suitable for the
execution of their projects.9 The time was also ripe for it as Justice Rowlett says, But neither
the religious teachings of Bhagavad Gita would have afforded so moving a text to preach from
had not the whole world, and especially the Asiatic world, been electrified and amazed by the
victories of Japan over Russia10
At another place, the report states:
For their own initiates the conspirators devised a remarkable series of textbooks. The Bhagavad
Gita, the writings of Vivekanand, the lives of Mazzini and Garibaldi, were part of the course; and
in the words of Mr. Justice Mukharji: such principles as the religious principal of absolute
surrender to the Divine Will were employed by designing ad unscrupulous men as potent means
to influence and unbalance weak-minded persons and thus ultimately bend to become
instruments in the commission of nefarious crimes from which they might otherwise recoil with
horror.11
Hence, as Michel Danino has pointed out, the revolutionaries of Bengal and Maharashtra
drew such inspiration from the Gita that the colonial authorities came to regard it as the gospel
of terrorism and it became one of the most sought after evidence in police raids. Sir Aurobindo
himself is said to have initiated several revolutionaries by making them swear on the Gita that
they would do everything to liberate India from foreign yoke. However, in Karmayogin, he took
strong exception to the Gita being regarded as a seditious book:
We strongly protest against the brand of suspicion that has been sought to be placed in many
quarters on the teaching and possession of the Gita our chief national heritage, our hope for the
future, our great force for the purification of the moral weaknesses that stain and hamper our
people.12
Tilak and Karmayoga
Tilak was convinced that the Gita was essentially a text that preached karmayoga. The
commentaries on it that went before him seemed to emphasize spiritual knowledge, devotion and
renunciation and this became so dominant that the yoga of action appeared to recede into the
background. This puzzled Tilak. He could not understand why so much stress had been laid on
the attainment of moksha through Gyana or Bhakti when the whole aim of Krishnas teachings to
the dejected Arjuna was to motivate him to fight. He decided to put all these aside and undertake
an independent reading of the Gita. For him its essence was karmayoga, or desireless action.
According to Tilak, the Gita was propounded at a time when whether to act or renounce
was considered a question of great importance before deciding whether an action was to be
regarded as good or bad. Most commentaries on Gita, he found, highlighted renunciation as the
primary teaching and action or karma yoga as secondary. He did not find in the Gita any conflict
between knowledge or gyana and right action or karma as imagined by what he called the School
of Renunciation. For him the Gita also showed that the fundamental elements in brahmavidya or
the science of Brahman and Bhakti or the path of devotion were the foundation of ethics and
good behaviour. Hence, the Gita showed the path to be adopted in life by properly harmonizing
Knowledge, Renunciation, Right Action and Devotion. Thus, while it dwelt on Knowledge
Renunciation and Devotion, it was essentially in the context of Right or Proper Action. Arjuna
had made a clear request to Krishna: Do not confuse me by placing before me several courses
of conduct, but point out to me definitely only one course, which is the proper course.13 It was
clear, therefore, said Tilak, that the Gita had to be in support of one particular opinion. The rest
was only arguments that pointed to the right path after dispelling all confusions that different
teachings caused.
For Tilak, the Gita explained the most perfect and complete condition of the Self, or what
is the ideal of the highest manhood. In doing so it established a logical and irrefutable harmony
not only between Devotion or Bhakti and Gyan or knowledge but ultimately between both these
and the duties of ordinary life enjoyed by the Shastras. It thus inspired the mind bewildered by
the vicissitudes of life to calmly and desirelessly adhere to the path of duty. The conversation
between Sri Krishna and Arjuna was essentially about action, the impending war and hence,
karma yoga to fight in these circumstances with detachment without looking at the fruits of
action. Even individuals who acquired spiritual knowledge had to still perform duties pertaining
to their status of life as long as they lived. Tilak gave several examples from the life Vyasa
himself, the author of Mahabharata. In spite of being an ascetic, a rishi, a sage and a priest, he
had to do his duty at every point in the epic whether he was heeded to or not, whether he failed
or succeeded.14
Tilak felt that the great commentators on the Gita who had gone before him had a
doctrine or hypothesis into the framework of which they tried to the Gita. He was thinking
chiefly of Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. Each he felt was trying to
interpret the message of Gita from a preconceived theory but he wanted the doctrinal method to
be given up. Citing mimansa writers, he said that in order to interpret a work seven factors had to
be taken into account and all had to be considered. The first two were the beginning and the end
of the book. Every writer wrote with some motive or aim in mind and when that object was
accomplished, he completed his book. Therefore, the commencement and end of the book had to
be first examined in determining the purport of the book. Once this had been done, he said, it had
to be considered what were things that were repeated or reiterated in the work at several placed
and times. This was because whenever a writer thought that it was essential to convey something,
he naturally repeated it. The fourth and fifth factors were whether the work had anything new to
say and what was the impact of it. Unless the author had something new to say, he usually did
not write a new book; at least that was the situation before the event of the printing press. Also, it
was important to find out what effect had been achieved because obviously that was what the
writer wanted to convey if he was successful. The sixth and seventh factors were the means used
to establish or prove a fixed fact. The writer dealt with many things as and when the occasion
arose whether by way of illustration or comparison to show similarity or difference so that the
principal issue or hypothesis could be established. However, these were only supplementary to
the main fact sought to be elucidated. Finally the author refuted all things that would prove
contrary to his case and then systemically marshaled arguments to support it.15
The Gita is Krishnas preaching to Arjuna at the critical moment before the war actually
started with the idea of inducing him to perform his duties, that is, to fight. When Arjuna saw
whom he would have to battle and kill in order to win the kingdom of Hastinapur, he thought he
was being pushed into greatest of sins as they were his grandfather, uncles, teachers, brothers,
friends and al those he held dear. He became dejected. On the one hand his dharma was to fight
and on the other was the devotion to his preceptors, family, ancestors, relatives and others. He
laid down his arms and he turned to Sri Krishna to put him on the right path. Naturally in such a
situation, Sri Krishna could not be explaining to him moksha through devotion or knowledge of
the Brahman. He could not be advising renunciation to him. On the contrary, his purpose was to
use every means and every argument at his command to make him fight. But if this war had to be
it had to be won it had to be fought in a disinterested frame of mind as otherwise Arjunas
emotional involvement would paralyze him. He could not be also allowed to focus on the end
result because Krishna was aware that victory for him would be as bitter and barren as defeat and
defeat would of course be the greatest ignominy after which no life was possible. Contemplation
of either would make concentration on the battle impossible.
Arjunas dilemma is the supreme ethical dilemma and whatever may be the controversy
about the Gita being an integral part of the text or a later interpolation, it brings to a head the
ethical dilemmas that Mahabharata forces its characters to confront. The Mahabharata within
which the Gita is placed is a mine of ethical dilemmas of the kind experiences by Arjuna. It
explains to ordinary persons in the simple form of stories how our great ancient personages have
behaved in numerous difficult circumstances. The doubts of Arjuna are not groundless and
cannot be brushed aside. They are horrifying and Arjuna is a warrior not a rishi. Even great sages
in certain circumstances have been puzzled as to what to do and what not to do. But as Tilak
points out, the very first advice of Sri Krishna to Arjun is that it is not proper to give up action on
the ground that numerous difficulties arise in the consideration of what should be done and what
should not be done.
For Tilak, the subject matter of the Gita is to show whether or not there are any means of
ascertaining what course should be followed when a person is beset by ethical dilemmas and by
what means to resolve them. The word karma comes from the root kri which means doing
affairsor activity and Yoga in this context, means some special skill, device, intelligent method
or graceful way of performing actions. This is because all methods of yoga given in the Gita are
not for the ascetic but for one who continues to perform actions so that he can do them in an
equitable frame of mind.
The Mahabharata within which the Gita is set, makes it clear that all life is grey. There can be no
absolute value given to non-violence or even for that matter to truth. For example, Arjuna in the
Mahabharata says, there are in this world so many micro organisms invisible to the naked eye,
of which the existence can, however, be imagined, that merely by the moving ones eye-lids,
their limbs will be destroyed.16 Hence, absolute non-violence is not possible by the very nature
of existence. In any case violence or hinsa does not only mean destroying life but includes
harming the minds or bodies of others. Therefore, ahimsa means not harming any living being in
any way. Forgiveness in all cases or warlikeness in all cases is not the proper thing. Therefore,
O, my son! The wise have mentioned exceptions to the laws of forgiveness.17
Although at many places, it is reiterated, there is no religion higher than Truth and even
when the respective merits of a thousand asvamedha yajnas and of Truth were weighted in the
scale, it was found hat Truth weighed more.18 But there were exceptions even to this. The sage
Kaushik is punished for speaking the truth as it leads to the death of an innocent man at the
hands of bandits. In the Shantiparva, even Bhishma tells Arjuna, If you can escape without
speaking, then do not speak under any circumstances, but if it is necessary to speak, or if by not
speaking you may rouse suspicion in the mind (of another) then, telling a lie has been found,
after mature deliberation, to be much better than speaking the truth. 19 That is because the law
of truth is not confined to speech. That conduct which leads to the benefit of all cannot be looked
upon as objectionable merely on the ground that the vocal expression is untruthful. That by
which everybody will be harmed is neither Truth nor Harmlessness. Narada say to Shuka on the
authority of Sanat Kumar, speaking the truth is proper thing; but rather than truth, speak that
which will lead to the welfare for all; because that in which the highest welfare of all consists is
in my opinion the real Truth.20
Mahabharata continuously pits choices in front of its protagonists. Tilak himself

discusses several of them. There is the sage Vishwamitra ready to eat dogs meat to save his own
life.21 There is Chirkari disobeying his father and protecting his mother.22 Yudhishthira when he
insults his Gandiva but is prevented by Krishna who says that deprecating Yudhishthira would
fulfil his vow because for respectable persons, deprecation is as painful as death. 23 Tilaks
purpose is to emphasize that whatever action is required has to be performed. However, in order
to act like this a person has to become a yogi. Tilak explains what is meant at the end of Chapter
6 of the Gita, when Krishna tells Arjuna, therefore, O Arjuna, become a yogi. In the given
context , he says it has to mean a person who acts skillfully who is a karma yogi but not an
ascetic.24 In chapter 2, Arjuna is advised, perform action, having become a yogi; and after
that, therefore, take shelter in yoga. It has to mean karma yoga.25 Chapter 3 of the Gita clearly
states, yogis are persons who perform Actions Yoga is also the name given to equanimity. It
is also skill in action. Therefore, yoga that is continually talked about is karmayoga or desireless
action. 26
Sri Aurobindos attitude to the use ofViolence

For Sri Aurobindo, too, non violence could not be an absolute value. His articles from
1905-1910 in the Bande Matram and Karmayogin showed that he admired the sacrifices and the
revolutionary fervour of the terrorist youth seized by the government and condemned as
criminals. In Bande Matram he said that violence could be used by a nation to free itself but
circumstances demanded. He, of course, knew that random acts or terrorism could not bring
about the countrys freedom but he blamed the government for driving these patriotic young men
to such activities.27 Hence, up to the withdrawal from active politics Sri Aurobindo led a double
political life. On the one hand he was the outspoken leader of the Nationalist party and on the
other, he was the secret leader and inspirer of the violent, underground terrorist movement
designed to utterly demoralize the British. This is because both methods led to the same goal,
that is, of an independent India. In the Doctrine of Passive Resistance, distinguishing between
Passive or defensive and active or aggressive resistance, Sri Aurobindo says.
that while the method of the aggressive resister is to do something by which he can bring about
passive harm to the Government, the method of the passive resister is to abstain from doing
something by which he would be helping the Government, the time of attach is different. The
passive method is especially suitable to countries where the Government depends mainly for the
continuance of its administration on the voluntary help and acquiescence of the subject people 28
He faced the problem of violence squarely:
Unless we have the honesty and courage to look existence straight in the face, we shall never
arrive at any effective solution of its discords and oppositions. We must see first what life and the
world are..Our very bodily life is a constant dying and being reborn, the body itself a
beleaguered city attacked by assailing, protected by defending forces whose business is to devour
each other..War and destruction are not only a universal principle of our life here in its purely
material aspects, but also of our mental and moral existenceIt is impossible, at least as men
and things are, to advance, to grow, to fulfil and still to observe really and utterly that principle
of harmlessness which is yet placed before us as the highest and best law of conduct.29
What struck Aurobindo in his study of Gita was its bold Gospel of action and its stress on the
kshatriyas duty to protect the world from injustice.
The Christian and Buddhistic doctrine of turning the other cheek to the smiter, he scribbled in
his notebooks, is as dangerous as its is impracticable. (It is) a radically false moral distinction
and the lip profession of an ideal which mankind has never been able or willing to carry into
practice. The disinterested and desire less pursuit of duty is a gospel worthy of the strongest
manhood; that of the cheek turned to the smiter is a gospel for cowards and weaklings. Babes
and sucklings may practice it, because they must, but with others it is a hypocrisy.30
Arrested in 1908, he was sentenced to one year of solitary confinement in the Alipore jail. The
imprisonment led to profound spiritual experiences. Soon after his unexpected acquittal in May
1909, in his famous speech at Uttarpara he recounted something of his experience: He placed
the Gita in my hands. His strength entered into me and I was able to do the Sadhana of the
Gita.31 He whose self is harmonized by yoga seeth the self abiding in all beings and all beings
in the self; everywhere he sees the same.
He who seas Me every where and sees all in Me; I am not lost to him nor is he lost to me . 33
This realization made him see the Oneness described in the Gita: It transformed the prison for
him and the entire experience of imprisonment.
I looked at the jail that secluded me from men and it was no longer by its high walls that I was
imprisoned ; no, it was Vasudeva who surrounded. I walked under the branches of the tree in
front of my cell bout it was not the tree, I knew it was Vasudeva, it was Sri Krishna whom I saw
standing there and holding over me his shade. I looked at the bars of my cell, the very grating
that did duty for a door and again I saw Vasudeva. It was Narayana who was guarding and
standing sentry over me. Or I lay on the coarse blankets that were given me for a couch and felt
the arms of Sri Krishna around me,t he arms of my Friends and Lover.I looked at the prisoners
in the jail, the thieves, the murderers, the swindlers, and as I looked at them I saw Vasudeva, it
was Narayana whom I found in these darkened souls and misused bodies.
When the case openedI was followed by the same insight. He said to me, When you were
cast into jai, did not your heart fail and did you not cry out to me, where is Thy protection? Look
now at the Magistrate, look now at the Prosecuting Counsel. I looked and it was not the
Magistrate whom I saw, it was Vasudeva, it was Narayana who was sitting there on the bench. I
looked at the Prosecuting Counsel and it was not the Counsel for the prosecution that I saw; it
was Sri Krishna who sat there and smiled. Now do you fear? He said, I am in all men and I
overrule their actions and their words.33
In spite of this moving experience, speaking on the Gita at Khulna immediately after his release,
he emphasized that a person had to act according to the duties demanded of the position that he
found himself in his life.
The virtue of the Brahmin is a great virtue: You shall not kill. This is what Ahimsa means. (But)
if the virtue of Ahimsa comes to the kshatriya, if you say, I will not kill, there is no one to
protect the country. The happiness of the people will be broken down. Injustice and lawlessness
will reign. The virtue becomes a source of misery and you become instrumental in brining
misery and conflict to the people.34
The teaching of the Gita, he said in his concluding words, means perfection of action. It makes
man great. It gives him the utter strength, the utter bliss which is the goal of life in the world.35
Gandhi and Non-Violence
What, for Gandhi,w as the essential message can be seen in his introduction to his translation of
the Gita which he completed in Kosani in Almora in 24th June 1929. It appeared in Young India
in August 1931. He categorically stated that it had been his endeavour, as also that of some
companions to practice the teaching of Gita as he had understood it.36 Gita for Gandhi was
not a historical work but under the guise of physical warfare , it described the duel that
perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind. The physical warfare was only brought in to make
the description of this internal duel more alluring. His study of Mahabharata confirmed this to
him. The Adiparva ascribed superhuman or subhuman characteristics to the chief actors
making it a story, a fable rather than a history. Thus Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata he felt was
only using these people to drive home his religious theme. The text itself did not establish the
necessity of war. It rather showed its futility. Vyasa had made the victors shed tears of sorrow and
repentance and had left them with nothing but a legacy of miseries. Hence, for Gandhi, the
second chapter of Gita did not teach the rules of warfare but rather elucidated the characteristics
of a perfected man. Its whole design was inconsistent with the rules of conduct governing the
relations between warring parties.37
Krishna of the Gita was perfection and right knowledge personified, but the picture
thought Gandhi, was imaginary.38 It did not mean that Krishna never lived but that his
perfection was an imagined one and the idea of a perfect incarnation was an aftergrowth. The
belief in incarnation was a testimony to mans lofty spiritual ambition. Man could not be at peace
with himself till he became like God. The endeavour to reach this state was the supreme,
ambition of a human being and it was the only ambition worth having. And this self-realization
was, for Gandhi, the subject of all Gita. But the author of Gita, conceded Gandhi was not trying
to establish this doctrine. His object to show the way to attain self-realization; the matchless
remedy being renunciation of the fruits of action. This was the center round which the Gita was
woven and around which devotion, knowledge and the rest revolved like planets.
The body had often been likened to a prison because wherever there was body, there was labour
as no embodied being was exempt from it. The question then was how could the body be made
into a temple of God? That is, how could one be free from action, and thus from the taint of sin?
The Gita thought Gandhi had answered the question in decisively By desireless action; by
renouncing fruits of action, by dedicating all activities to Gods, i.e by surrerndering oneself to
Him body and soul.39
Renunciation however did not mean that the renouncer did not get any fruits of his action. The
Gita did not warrant such a meaning. Renunciation means the absence of hankering after fruit.
As a matter of fact, he who renounced reaped a thousand fold. The renunciation demanded by the
Gita was the acid test of faith. He who was ever brooding over result often lost nerve in the
performance of his duty. He became impatient, gave vent to anger and then began to do
unworthy things. He jumped from action to action never remaining faithful to any. He who
brooded over results was like a man given to objects of senses, and like him he was ever
distracted. He then said goodbye to all scruples, Everything became right in his estimation and
he therefore resorted to means fair or foul to attain his end
Thinking along these lines, Gandhi felt that if he had to enforce the central teaching of
Gita in his own life, he was bound to follow Truth and Ahimsa. When there was no desire for
fruit, there is no temptation for untruth or ahimsa. But he freely admitted that the Gita was not
written to establish ahimsa.40 It was an accepted and primary duty even before the age of Gita.
The Gitas message was the renunciation of the fruit of action. This was clearly brought out as
early as the second chapter.
Accepting the complexity of the Gitas message, Gandhi went on to say Nor is the Gita a
collection of Dos and Donts. What is lawful for one may be unlawful for another. What may be
permissible at one time, or in one place, may not be so at another time, and in another place.
Desire for fruit is the only universal prohibition. Desirelessness is obligatory41
But renunciation or sannyasa of the Gita did not mean the cessation of all activity. The
sannyasa of the Gita was a paradox: it meant all work and yet no work. Thus the author of the
Gita, said Gandhi, by extending the meanings of words, has taught us to imitate him. Let it be
granted, that according to the letter of the Gita its possible to say that warfare is consistent with
renunciation of fruit. But after forty years unremitting endeavour fully to enforce the teaching of
the Gita in my own life, I have in all humility felt that perfect renunciation is impossible without
perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form.42 This is an amazing idea to arrive at
from a text exhorting war.
Karmayoga and its Diverse Meaning:
Hence, it can be seen that three great nationalists all interpreted the karmayoga of Gita in
their own ways and arrived at three different interpretations and three different courses of action.
Gandhi took the path of non-violence and led the country to freedom through it. However,
neither he nor his followers could prevent the violence of partition and finally he himself met
with a violent end. Sri Aurobindo left the national movement and went to Pondicherry declining
even Tilaks requests in 1919 after his return from his long incarceration in Mandalay sent
through one of his lieutenants, Joseph Baptista, to return to lead the nationalists. He wrote a long
letter in reply declining the offer as he said he was busy in spiritual activity of great import in
Pandicherry which he called his cave of tapsya43. For him true karmayoga or desireless action
could only be achieved after the consciousness had been properly prepared for it. As he
explained:
The ordinary life consists in work for personal aim and satisfaction of desire under some mental
or moral control, touched sometimes by a mental ideal. The Gitas yoga consists in the offering
of ones work as a sacrifice to the Divine, the conquest of desire, egoless and desireless action,
bhakti for the Divine, an entering into the cosmic consciousness, the sense of unity with all
creatures, oneness with the Divine.44
As for Tilak, he was released from the jail in Mandalay in June 1914 and once again
plunged into action. He said that six years of separation from the people had not lessened his
affection for then and that he had not forgotten the concept of swaraj. There had been a rift in the
Congress and he tried to unite the two groups but failed.45 He, then, built his own powerful
separate organization the Home Rule League with swaraj as its goal. The government was
again alarmed by Tilaks activities. In 1916, Tilaks sixtieth birthday was celebrated but the
government, ironically, demanded a surety of Rs. 20,000 for his good behaviour of one year. His
body gradually grew weaker. At this time, a journalist called Valentine Chirol visited India and
charged him with being the leader of a violent revolution in India. Tilak claimed that this was an
insult to him and asked for damages. He went to England to fight his case and stayed there for
thirteen months. Althought he lost the suit, he befriended several leaders of the Labour Party and
also intensified the Home Rule movement.46 The Rowlat Act was promulgated and was opposed
in India leading to the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. Tilak rushed back to India at once and
exhorted his countrymen to continue the movement till their demands had been met. By this
time, his health was poor but he undertook tours to awaken the people. In July 1920 his
conditioned worsened and on the 1st of August , he passed away. He had truly lived a life as
enjoined by the Gita the life of a Karmayogi.
Conclusion:
The question arises why and how did the same concept of karmayoga lead to three different
paths? The answer, perhaps, lies in the fact that our interpretations are based on our own lifes
experiences and the paths that we choose to take in the light of these. Or, to use the words of Sri
Aurobindo,
All action is determined by the effective state of our being, and the effective state of our being is
determined by the state of our constant self seeing will and active consciousness and by its basis
of kinetic movement. It is what we see and believe with our whole active nature ourselves to be
and our relations with the world to mean, it is our faith, our sraddha, that makes us what we
are.47
Hence, the tree great leaders of the national movement, all read, the Gita, were
profoundly moved by it especially during their incarceration and inspired by it, chose such
different paths from each other.
Endnotes:
2. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism: Selected Writings and Speeches, Pondicherry: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram, 1966, rpt. 1996, p.368.
3. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1988.
4. Stanley A. Wolpert, Tilak and Gokhale: Revolution and Reform in the Making of Modern
India, New York, Toronto, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.62-102.
1. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1918, p.3.
2. Ibid. pp. 2-3.
3. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism: Selected Writings and Speeches, Pondicherry. Sri
Aurobindo Ashram, 1965, rpt. 1996, p.360.
4. See also Michel Danino, Sri Aurobindo and the Gita, Keynote address delivered at a
seminar on Relevance of Bhagavad Gita in the New Millennium on January 12, 2000 at
Kottayams Mahatama Gandhi University.
http://www.bharatvani.org/michel_danino/gita_lecture01.html.
5. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1965, rpt. 1996,
p.135.
6. Report of S.A.T. Rowlatt, 1918.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Cited by Michel Danino, Sri Aurobindo and the Gita.
10. B.G. Tilak, Srimad Gita Rahasya or Karma Yoga, Sastra, trans. B.S. Sukthankar, 10th
edu. Parva, 2000 A.D., p.xxvii.
11. Ibid., pp.14-15

12. Ibid., pp.15-32.
13. Ibid., p.44
14. Ibid., p.45
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid., p.47
17. Ibid., p.48
18. Ibid., p.55
19. Ibid., p.58.
20. Ibid., p.53
21. Ibid., p.78
22. Ibid., p.79.
23. Ibid
27. Sri Aurobindo, The Heart of Nationalism, On Nationalism, pp. 354-359.
13. Sri Aurobindo, On Nationalism, p.138.
15. Sri Aurobindo, On the Mahabharata, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1991, rpt.1996.
pp.75-76.
16. Sri Aurobindo, Uttarpara Speech, On Nationalism, p.369.
17. The Bhagavadgita, Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation and See also,
Sri Aurobindo, The Core of the Teaching, Essays on the Gita, Pondicherry: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram, trust, 1996, p.37.Notes by S.Radhakrishnan, London: George Allen
and Unwin Ltd; 1948, rpt. 1953, pp.203-204.
18. Sri Aurobindo, Uttarpar Speech, On Nationalism, p.371.
20. Ibid.
11 Gita According to Gandhi, http://members.aol.com/jajnsm/anasa.html.
12 Ibid
13 Ibid
14 Ibid
15 Ibid
16 Ibid
17 Ibid
18 Chanda Poddar, Mona Sarkar and Bob Zwicker, compiled and edited, Sri Aurobindo
and the Freedom of India: Selections from the works of Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry:
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1995, pp.148-149.
19 Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga II, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1958, rpt.
1995, p.669.
20 Ram Gopal, Lokmanya Tilak: A Biography, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, New Delhi:
Asia Publishing House, 1956, pp. 339-367.
21 Ram Gopal, Lokmanya Tilak: a Biography, pp.368-370
See also Stanley Wolpert, Tilak and Gokhale, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.280-
286.
22 Sri Aurobindo, Essays on Gita, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1922, rpt. 1996,
p.573.

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Concept of Lokasamgraha Lokmanya Tilaks Perspe ctive

The revolutionaryinterpretation of the BhagavadGita was primarily the work of Bal

Interdependence is also a main characteristic of Lokasangrha. It is there not only in the

na bhudhi bhedanam janayed ajnanam

Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Pg-139

Vinoba, The Steadfast Wisdom-Pg-20-23.

attitude is possible by understanding and practicing the philosophy of swadharma and

B.G.Tilak, Srimad Bhagvd Gita Rahasya, Tilak Brothers, Pune, 1936

B.K. Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarasides, Delhi, 1987.

Lokmanya Tilak B.G. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Rahasya. Pune,1936

S. N. Gajendragadkar and V.S. Gajendragadkar, Gita-Rahasya of Lokmanya Tilak in essence, Tilak

S. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavad-Gita, Harper and Raw, New York, 1973.

Swami Prabhupada Bhagavad-Gita as it is The Bh aktivedanta Book Trust-2002

Swami Vivekanand, Karmayoga, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, Seventeenth edition, 1984.

Ms. Mohua Dutta, Research Scholar

Keywords: The Bhagavad Gita, Karma yoga, Tilak, Gandhi, Ambedkar

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." (Gita, 11.32)

Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

He further added that,

To substantiate, he further added,

Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

mistaking them through ignorance for forces of Good. (CW)

Copyright International Journal of English and Education | www.ijee.org

In his own words: Page | 1

The Centrality of the Bhagavad Gita in these Yajnas:

To bring about this very subtle understanding [I prefer this term

A New Modern Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita:

In the traditional Bhashyas [commentaries] on the Bhagavad Gita

4. Devotional Adoration & Gratitude to the Four Beloved Masters:

Ideally, detachment from sense-objects [resulting in inner tranquility].

Assecularlove,theSanskritword bhaj canbeusedforgraceordevotednesssuchas

bow), "upacara" (respect),and "puj" (showinghonor)arecombinedwith bhakti to

IntheGita Bhakti isnotdevelopedtoconveythefullanddeepdoctrineofthe

WHAT IS THE GITA?

It is considered as a concise, practical, self-contained guide to play the game of life.

OVER-VIEW OF THE GITA

The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi

--Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's biographer, personal secretary, and father of Narayan,

Karma Yoga in Tilak, Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo

Gita as a Seditious Books

At another place, the report states:

Mahabharata continuously pits choices in front of its protagonists. Tilak himself

Sri Aurobindos attitude to the use ofViolence

Gandhi and Non-Violence

Karmayoga and its Diverse Meaning:

11. Ibid., pp.14-15

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