CHAPTER XVIII
Liberation through Renunciation
The Geeta is a piece of art of strange beauty and it stands apart from everything else, in a class all by itself. It is liquid poetry, expounding solid philosophy. In the fluidity of its metre, it crystallises some of the rarest gems of moral and spiritual values. Its breezy discourses have a firm style. The fluidity of its eloquence falls like merciful rain upon every broken personality, making it whole by its magic touch. It is not a book of science, and yet, it is very scientific in its approach to the theme. It has not the airy nothingness of familiar philosophical discourses, and yet, all philosophies seem to meet within its ample stretch.
It is the duty of science to DESCRIBE life; it is the purpose of philosophy to EXPLAIN life. Science describes the natural structures and processes; philosophy attempts their explanations. Thus viewed, the Bhagawad Geeta is an enchanting impossibility; it is at once a science and a philosophy, and yet, strangely enough, it is neither a scientific philosophy nor a philosophical science. In its eighteen chapters, it explains a philosophy of living, and while doing so it also expounds and demonstrates the science of living.
This closing chapter of the Geeta is, in fact, a summary of the entire Song of the Lord. If the second chapter, as we found earlier, is a summary of the Geeta in anticipation, the eighteenth chapter is a report on the Geeta in retrospect. It is already proved that, everywhere, the One Eternal Spirit functions through matter, and It expresses Itself in this pluralistic world of phenomena. The multiple world of plurality is extremely variegated; in the nature, behaviour and quality of the individuals, variations are noticed in thousands of shades.
On the basis of temperaments, the Geeta indicated three types of personalities: The "Good" (Sattwic), the "Passionate" (Rajasic) and the "Dull" (Tamasic). In this chapter we have an elaborate and exhaustive discussion on how these three temperaments, in their variations, create differences among individuals, in sacrifice, in wisdom, in actions, in fortitude and in happiness.
Also in the Geeta, two familiar terms, "renunciation" (Samnyasa) and "abandonment" (Tyaga) were very often used in different contexts with seemingly different imports. The terms have to be re-defined in order to remove all confusions, as an ambiguity in a science is dangerous to true understanding.
This concluding chapter opens with a direct question from Arjuna as to what constitutes "renunciation" and what the contents of "abandonment" are. Lord Krishna takes up the theme and starts defining these two terms; "but," some students of Geeta complain, "the Geetacharya has drifted away into a rambling discourse on various other topics unconnected with the main question." In fact, this is no fair criticism. Having defined what is Samnyasa, the Lord explains Tyaga and shows how, through the latter alone, the former can be achieved and fully lived. Unless we discover in ourselves the capacity to banish from our mind its various unhealthy relationships with the world outside and re-educate it to be continuously vigilant and alert to live in a healthy, intelligent spirit of detachment (Tyaga), the total withering away of the false ego and its endless desire-promptings, Sanyasa without Tyaga spirit is but an empty show; it is a false crown with no kingdom of joy within for it to lord over.
The endless, minute details given here, all true-to-life, analysing and classifying the tendencies, urges, emotions, actions etc., are pointers that help each one to understand himself. They are so many "instruments" on the "dashboard" of our bosom within, which can, by their indications, give us a true picture of the condition of the personality-mechanism working within us. Just as a driver of a car can understand the condition of the engine and the nature of its performance by watching the play of the "pointers" in the metres on the dash-board in front of him --- heat, pressure, oil, charge, speed, fuel, mileage, ignition and what not --- a seeker is asked to check up at similar definite "pointers" within and note their readings. If all are indicating the safe-sign, Sattwic, a smooth life of maximum efficiency and definite progress in cultural evolution is promised. If we can classify ourselves in our tendencies and actions only as Rajasic, we are advised to take note and be cautious. If the tendencies declare a definite Tamasic temperament, better halt the vehicle and attend to the "ENGINE." This seems to be the advice of this concluding chapter.
The giving up of these lower impulses of the 'Passionate' (Rajasic) and the 'Dull' (Tamasic) in our moment-to-moment contacts with life, is "abandonment" (Tyaga), which will give us sufficient mastery over ourselves, ultimately to give up the very ego-centre which causes all these deflections. And this final giving up of the perception of the finite in the acquired wisdom of the Infinite is the fulfilment of life, indicated here by the term "Renunciation" (Samnyasa).
|| Chapter - 18 ||
Liberation through Renunciation
The Geeta is a piece of art of strange beauty and it stands apart from everything else, in a class all by itself. It is liquid poetry, expounding solid philosophy. In the fluidity of its metre, it crystallises some of the rarest gems of moral and spiritual values. Its breezy discourses have a firm style. The fluidity of its eloquence falls like merciful rain upon every broken personality, making it whole by its magic touch. It is not a book of science, and yet, it is very scientific in its approach to the theme. It has not the airy nothingness of familiar philosophical discourses, and yet, all philosophies seem to meet within its ample stretch.
It is the duty of science to DESCRIBE life; it is the purpose of philosophy to EXPLAIN life. Science describes the natural structures and processes; philosophy attempts their explanations. Thus viewed, the Bhagawad Geeta is an enchanting impossibility; it is at once a science and a philosophy, and yet, strangely enough, it is neither a scientific philosophy nor a philosophical science. In its eighteen chapters, it explains a philosophy of living, and while doing so it also expounds and demonstrates the science of living.
This closing chapter of the Geeta is, in fact, a summary of the entire Song of the Lord. If the second chapter, as we found earlier, is a summary of the Geeta in anticipation, the eighteenth chapter is a report on the Geeta in retrospect. It is already proved that, everywhere, the One Eternal Spirit functions through matter, and It expresses Itself in this pluralistic world of phenomena. The multiple world of plurality is extremely variegated; in the nature, behaviour and quality of the individuals, variations are noticed in thousands of shades.
On the basis of temperaments, the Geeta indicated three types of personalities: The "Good" (Sattwic), the "Passionate" (Rajasic) and the "Dull" (Tamasic). In this chapter we have an elaborate and exhaustive discussion on how these three temperaments, in their variations, create differences among individuals, in sacrifice, in wisdom, in actions, in fortitude and in happiness.
Also in the Geeta, two familiar terms, "renunciation" (Samnyasa) and "abandonment" (Tyaga) were very often used in different contexts with seemingly different imports. The terms have to be re-defined in order to remove all confusions, as an ambiguity in a science is dangerous to true understanding.
This concluding chapter opens with a direct question from Arjuna as to what constitutes "renunciation" and what the contents of "abandonment" are. Lord Krishna takes up the theme and starts defining these two terms; "but," some students of Geeta complain, "the Geetacharya has drifted away into a rambling discourse on various other topics unconnected with the main question." In fact, this is no fair criticism. Having defined what is Samnyasa, the Lord explains Tyaga and shows how, through the latter alone, the former can be achieved and fully lived. Unless we discover in ourselves the capacity to banish from our mind its various unhealthy relationships with the world outside and re-educate it to be continuously vigilant and alert to live in a healthy, intelligent spirit of detachment (Tyaga), the total withering away of the false ego and its endless desire-promptings, Sanyasa without Tyaga spirit is but an empty show; it is a false crown with no kingdom of joy within for it to lord over.
The endless, minute details given here, all true-to-life, analysing and classifying the tendencies, urges, emotions, actions etc., are pointers that help each one to understand himself. They are so many "instruments" on the "dashboard" of our bosom within, which can, by their indications, give us a true picture of the condition of the personality-mechanism working within us. Just as a driver of a car can understand the condition of the engine and the nature of its performance by watching the play of the "pointers" in the metres on the dash-board in front of him --- heat, pressure, oil, charge, speed, fuel, mileage, ignition and what not --- a seeker is asked to check up at similar definite "pointers" within and note their readings. If all are indicating the safe-sign, Sattwic, a smooth life of maximum efficiency and definite progress in cultural evolution is promised. If we can classify ourselves in our tendencies and actions only as Rajasic, we are advised to take note and be cautious. If the tendencies declare a definite Tamasic temperament, better halt the vehicle and attend to the "ENGINE." This seems to be the advice of this concluding chapter.
The giving up of these lower impulses of the 'Passionate' (Rajasic) and the 'Dull' (Tamasic) in our moment-to-moment contacts with life, is "abandonment" (Tyaga), which will give us sufficient mastery over ourselves, ultimately to give up the very ego-centre which causes all these deflections. And this final giving up of the perception of the finite in the acquired wisdom of the Infinite is the fulfilment of life, indicated here by the term "Renunciation" (Samnyasa).
|| Chapter - 18 ||
