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It is rightly pointed out in the introduction that this is a very modern work, written after the Bhava-prakdasa, probably in the sixteenth century. It contains sixteen chapters and is an attempt to connect Ayur-veda with Patafijali’s Yoga system. It endeavours to show how different kinds of food increase the sativa, rajas and tamas qualities and how yoga practices, fasting and the like, in- fluence the conditions of the body. Its contribution, whether as a work of Ayur-veda or as a work of philosophy, is rather slight. It shows a tendency to connect Yoga with Ayur-veda, while the Vira- simhavalokita is a work which tries to connect astrology with the same. CHAPTER XIV THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA The Gita Literature. Tue Gita is regarded by almost all sections of the Hindus as one of the most sacred religious works, and a large number of commen- taries have been written on it by the adherents of different schools i| of thought, each of which explained the Gita in its own favour. | | | Sankara’s bhdsya is probably the earliest commentary now available; | but from references and discussions found therein there seems to be little doubt that there were previous commentaries which he | wished to refute. Sankara in his interpretation of the Gita seeks principally to emphasize the dogma that right knowledge can never be com- bined with Vedic duties or the duties recommended by the legal scriptures. If through ignorance, or through attachment, a man continues to perform the Vedic duties, and if, as a result of sacri- fices, gifts and tapas (religious austerities), his mind becomes pure and he acquires the right knowledge regarding the nature of the ultimate reality—that the passive Brahman is the all—and then, when all reasons for the performance of actions have ceased for him, still continues to perform the prescribed duties just like common men and to encourage others to behave in a similar manner, then such actions are inconsistent with right knowledge. When a man performs actions without desire or motive, they cannot be considered as karma at all. He alone may be said to be performing karma, or duties, who has any interest in them. But the wise man, who has no interest in his karma, cannot be said to be performing karma in the proper sense of the term, though to all outward appearances he may be acting exactly like an ordinary man. Therefore the main thesis of the Gita, according to Sankara, is that liberation can come only through right know- ledge and not through knowledge combined with the performance _of duties. Sankara maintains that all duties hold good for us only ‘in the stage of ignorance and not in the stage of wisdom. When - once the right knowledge of identity with Brahman dawns and ignorance ceases, all notions of duality, which are presupposed by 7 a 438 The Philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita [cH. the performance of actions and responsibility for them, cease’. In interpreting Gita, III. 1, Sankara criticizes the opinions of some previous commentators, who held that obligatory duties cannot be | given up even when true wisdom is attained. In reply he alludes ‘to legal scriptures (smrti-sastra), and asserts that the mere non- performance of any duties, however obligatory, cannot lead to evil results, since non-performance is a mere negation and of mere negation no positive results can come out. The evil effects of the non-performance of obligatory duties can happen only to those who have not given up all their actions (a-samnyas1-visayatvat pratyavaya-prapteh). But those who have attained true wisdom and have consequently given up all their actions transcend the sphere of duties and of the obligatory injunctions of the Vedas, and the legal scriptures cannot affect them at all. The perform- ance of duties cannot by itself lead to liberation; but it leads ' gradually to the attainment of purity of mind (sattva-suddht) and through this helps the dawning of the right knowledge, | with which all duties cease®. In a very lengthy discussion on — the interpretation of Gita, xv11. 67, Sankara tries to prove that all duties presuppose the multiplicity of the world of appearance, which is due to ignorance or nescience, and therefore the sage who has attained the right knowledge of Brahman, the only reality, has no duties to perform. Final liberation is thus produced, not by true knowledge along with the performance of duties, but by true knowledge alone. The wise man has no duties of any kind. Sankara’s interpretation of the Gita presupposes that the Gita holds | the same philosophical doctrine that he does. His method of inter- | pretation is based not so much on a comparison of textual passages, _as simply on the strength of the reasonableness of the exposition _of a view which can be consistently held according to his Vedanta philosophy, and which he ascribes to the Gita. The view taken in the present exposition of the Gita philosophy. is diametrically — ‘opposite to that of Sankara. It has been repeatedly pointed out that the Gita asserts that even the wise man should perform his allotted duties, though he may have nothing to gain by the per- formance of such duties. Even God Himself as Krsna, though He had no unsatisfied cravings, passions or desires of any kind, 1 Sankara’s interpretation of the Gitd, 11. 69. Yogaérama edition, Benares, 1919. 2 Thid. 111. 4. XIV] The Gita Literature 439 performed His self-imposed duties in order to set an example to all and to illustrate the fact that even the wise man should perform his prescribed duties?. | Anandajfiana wrote a commentary on Sankara’s Bhagavad-gita- -bhasya, called Bhagavad-gita-bhasya-vivarana, and Ramananda | wrote another commentary on that of Sankara, called Bhagavad-gita- _ bhasya-vyakhya. He is also said to have written another work on | the Gita, called Gitasaya. After Sankara there seems to have been some pause. We have two commentaries, oné in prose and one in verse, by two persons of the same name, Yamunacarya. The Vartunstacya who was the author of a prose commentary is certainly, though a visistadvaita-vadin, not the celebrated Yamuna, the teacher of Ramanuja. His commentary, which has been pub- lished by the Sudargana Press, Conjeeveram, is very simple, con- sisting mainly of a mere paraphrase of the Gita verses. He thinks that the first six chapters of the Gita deal with the nature of true knowledge of God as a means to devotion, the second six with the nature of God as attainable by devotion and adoration, and the third six repeat the same subjects for a further clearing up of the problems involved. Yamuna, the great teacher of Ramanuja, who is said to have | been born in a.D. go6, summarized the subject-matter of the Gita in | a few verses called Gitartha-samgraha, on which Nigamanta Maha- | degika wrote a commentary known as Gitartha-samgraha-raksa. This also was commented on by Varavara Muni, of the fourteenth century, in a commentary called Gitartha-samgraha-dipika, pub- lished by the Sudargana Press, Conjeeveram. Another commentary, called Bhagavad-gitartha-samgraha-tika, by Pratyaksadevayatha- / carya, is mentioned by Aufrecht. Yamuna says that the object \ of the Gita is to establish the fact that Narayana is the highest ' Brahman, attained only by devotion (bhakti), which is achieved ) through caste duties (sva-dharma), right knowledge and disinclina- tion to worldly pleasures (vairdgya). It is said that the first six chapters of the Gita describe the process of attaining self-know- ledge by self-concentration (yoga) through knowledge and action along with self-subordination to God, the performance of all actions for God and detachment from all other things. Nigamanta Mahadesika notes that karma may lead to self-realization either in- SB through the production of knowledge, or directly by itself. 1 Gitd, 11. 22. 440 The Philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita [cH. | From the seventh to the twelfth chapters the processes of the attainment of devotion (bhakti-yoga) by knowledge and by actions are described, and it is held that the true nature of God can be realized only by such devotion. From the thirteenth to the eighteenth chapters, the nature of pradhana, of purusa, of the manifested world and of the supreme lord are described and dis- tinguished along with the nature of action, of knowledge and of devotion. Yamuna then goes on to describe the contents of the chapters of the Gita one by one. Thus he says that in the second chapter the nature of the saint of imperturbable wisdom (sthita-dhi) is described. Such right knowledge can be achieved only by a knowledge of the self as immortal and the habit of performing one’s duties in an unattached manner. In the third chapter it is said that a man should perform his duties for the preservation of the social order (loka-raksa@) without attachment, leaving the fruits of all his actions to God, and considering at the same time that the gunas are the real agents of actions and that it is wrong to pride oneself upon their performance. The fourth chapter de- scribes the nature of God, how one should learn to look upon actions as implying no action (on account of unattachment), the different kinds of duties and the glory of knowledge. The fifth describes the advantages and the diverse modes of the path of duties and also the nature of the state of realization of Brahman. The sixth describes the nature of yoga practice, four kinds of yogins, the methods of yoga, the nature of yoga realization and the ultimate superiority of yoga as communion with God.