| It
was not made to be quoted as authority for modern movements. Nor can
its inadequacy to serve such a purpose be a just or sensible
criticism of it. What the Gita lays down is sufficiently emphatic to
be helpful as authority even for modern movements of equality.
Its insistence in the following
slokas on the equivalence and nobility of all work should not be
misinterpreted as an apology for maintaining the distinctions of
high and low based on birth to which they refer, but should be given
its just meaning.
The caste system and occupations
fixed by birth are taken for granted in the book, and teaching is
developed thereon. It cannot be interpreted for that reason as a
defence of the system for all time. What the Gita emphasizes is that
everyone should observe the code of honour and perform the duties of
his allotted ,station in society.
|
