View of Gita Rahasya About Bhakti-Yoga (A Devotion) for Salvation: a Critical Evaluation

Home , Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Karma, Three Yogas

Dr. Hitesh Ch. Kalita HOD &Associate Professor in Philosophy MNC BalikaMahavidyalaya, Nalbari, Assam, India

ABSTRACT

The paper proposes to present and and critically evaluate the main concept of G.ita Rahasya about bhakti-yoga for salvation. Bhakti-yoga is the combination of Bhakti and yoga which generally means devotees’ prayer to God. It believes in God as our ultimate Lord. It is simply ‘love for God’. But Gita Rahasya against it significantly states that Bhakti-yoga is not an independent path or means to attain salvation. Keywords: Gita Rahasya, salvation or ultimate truth or Brahman and karma-yoga.

INTRODUCTION

Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s (1856-1920) wrote the Gita Rahasya as the interpretation of the Gita in the Mandalay Jail in March, 1911. He was a mainly freedom fighter, philosopher, social reformer and humanitarian. Gita Rahasya establishes philosophy into practical religion.

METHODOLOGY: It has been mainly used by rational and analytical methods. It is mainly helped by, news paper, book, journal, research paper, internet (web resources) and discussion of the issue. OBJECTIVE The main objectives are to be stated as following: (1) To study the main concept Tilak’s Gita Rahasya relating bhakti-yoga. (2) To study the concept of bhakti-yoga for attaining salvation. (3) To study the relations among jnana, bhakti and karma.

Result and Discussion: Gita Rahasya and Bhaki-Yoga

According to the Gita Bhakti-yoga is important one of the eighteen Yogas. It is stated in the Gita in the Chapter-XII with twenty verses. Its origin is hidden in mists of ancient times. It is generally known as a means for salvation. Its main sources are Veda and Upanisad. It took a formal shape in the devotion of the Upanisads. Bhakti-yoga is the combination of bhakti and yoga. Yoga in this reference is meant as the connection between devotees’ mind and personal God. But this personal God is generally common to all except the Brahma-jnani. Bhakti-yoga is simply a devotion or worship or faith or prayer to God. Swami Vivekananda defines, “Bhakti as intense love for God without any expectation of reward, favour, or fear. The natural tendency of sectarian love- love towards spouse, children and the relatives, love for wealth, name and fame, etc.- is directed towards God in this Yoga.”1

According to the Gita there are only three main yogas out of the eighteen yogas. All other yogas are hereby included. The three yogas are jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga and karma-yoga. All other yogas are hereby included. These three yogas are only nistha. Nistha means the way by following which one ultimately attains Release. So a person who performs Bhaki-yoga can attain salvation or ultimate release.

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“Ye me matam idam nityam anutisthantimanabah

Sradhavanto nasuyanto mucyante te’pi karmabhih

Meaning: Those who always practice this teaching of mine with faith and free from cavil are released from (the bondage) of action.”2

It is very important that Gita Rahasya against this general acceptance holds only two Nisthas- jnana and karma. Devotion may be called yoga in the sense of means or Sadhana. But bhakti can never become an ultimate nistha. If after the knowledge of the Parameswara has been acquired by means of devotion, a man continues to perform action, he is called a karma-nistha and if he abandons action, he is called a Samkhya Nistha. And the Lord has clearly expressed his opinion that out of these two paths, the path of performing action is more meritorious.1

According to Gita Rahasya karma-yoga is only main yoga. It is only one path. Knowledge and bhakti are important factors in it. In the path of devotion there is a duality between worshipper and worshipped. But attaining the knowledge of Brahman, the sadhaka merges in Brahman. In such a stage there can be no duality. So according to Tilak, devotion is necessary for knowledge, and without knowledge the performance of disinterested work is not possible. Jnana supports karma and bhakti supports jnana. Arjuna following devotion to God and jnana performed karma. For a karma-yogin all his duties are divine. He acts according to divine commands. Without intense love for God this type of desireless performance of duties cannot be possible. God is therefore, the ultimate controller of all our works. Thus it is evident that according to Tilak’s interpretation of the Gita “Desireless karma-yoga which includes both Spiritual Knowledge and Devotion is the most superior path of all……”3 No bhakti alone can attain in the ultimate state of the merger of the Atman into Paramatman. Bhakti is an essential effort of man to reach God. But it does not mean that devotion is worthless. Gradually even the illiterate devotee will seek his highest good in the Divine and grow into it. According to the G¢tā there is no special significance for day or week to worship God. All times are enough. But the essential aspect is the right attitude, i.e. even-mindedness which is known as, ‘freedom from dualities’. It means the person who can acquire ultimate knowledge that person attains salvation as well as he spontaneously performs action for good of all.

Parabrahman is formless. We due to our ignorance see the changing forms and not the Supreme Being of Whom the forms are manifestations. That which is worshipped as a symbol is not Brahman. The power of redemption in the path of Devotion is not possessed by any image. The Supreme Lord confirms the faith of each and grants rewards each seeks. So Tilak does not repudiate the popular belief in gods as the Gita holds that all worship elevates. The universal outlook of the Gita its expressed in the verse,

“ye yathāmāṁ prapadyante

tāms tathai’va bhajāy aham

māṁa vartma’nuvartante

manusyah pārtha sarvasah”

“In that way in which they worship Me, I give them Fruit accordingly. O Pārtha! Whichever path is followed, a man ultimately comes and joins into My Path”.4 No one worships any image without believing that it is inhabited by Parameswara. When the devotee surrenders himself completely to Parambrahman, then fully realizes his own ultimate true nature. There is no conflict between supreme knowledge and supreme devotion. Both they have the same goal. There is no conflict among karma, jnana and bhakti. The Lord says,

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hrddese ’rjuna tisthati

bhrāmayan sarva bhutāni

yantrāru·hāni mayayā”.

“The Lord abides in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, and makes them do all actions mechanically by His power.”5 But S. Radhakrishnan stated, “worship of Personal Lord is better than meditation of the Absolute.”6

Ignorant people perform actions with the feeling that they are ‘mine’. But this is absolutely wrong. Whatever actions are done, every one of them is a worship of Parabrahman. So Krishna says to Arjuna :

“yat karosi yad a¿nasi yaj juhosi dadāsi yat

Yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva madarpa¸am”

“Whatever you do or eat or offer by way of sacrifice or give or perform by way of austerity, dedicate all that to Me.7

Tilak states that when a person prays in temple keeping in some idol the prayer actually uses it a means for steadying the mind and fixing the mind on Supreme Being. Actually the path of devotion is not accompanied by any symbol or Pratika. In the initial stage of bhakti, the devotees take help of ‘pratika’ and ‘pratima’ – symbols- to devote his chosen ideal. Tilak stated that whatever may be our faith with reference to the symbol is the result of our Devotion but not the fruits of jnana and karma relating to meditation.If you do whatever you have to do in a spirit of dedication to Parabrahman, it is God’s worship.

Conclusion

Tilak’s karma-yoga based Gita Rahasya ultimately states that karma-yoga is the ultimate nistha or path to the state of human salvation. But without beginning from bhakti through jnana can’t be possible to salvation by means of karma. Its main conclusive view that we like Arjuna should perform our disinterested action as karma-yogi with the help of bhakti-yoga and jnana-yoga which naturally opens the door to attain salvation.

Reference

1. Paul, Amar Krishna, The Modern Gita for Beginners,p.46, New Sarania, Chandmar Guahati-781003, e-mail- [email protected], p.46. 2. Garg, R.S., Gita for Success in Modern Life, New Age Books, A-44 Naraina Phase-1, New Delhi-110028 (India), E- [email protected], P.82 3. Bhagavadgia,p.5.2 4. Tilak,B.G., Gita Rahasy,p.201 5. Bhagavadgia,p.411 and Tilak, B.G., Gita Rahasya,p.945 6. Ibid,18.61 7. Radhakrishnan,S., Bhagavadgita,p.59 8. Bhagavadgita,9.27

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