The total
effect of the teaching is symbolically summarized by Sanjaya in the Gita itself: Where
there is Krishna, the Lord of Yogis, and where there is also Partha, bow in hand, there is
prosperity, victory and all good.
In other words, it is not the cult of the fugitive from battle, but of the strong man
armed, who puts his trust in God, and does his duty. Although this distinction was clearly
made so long ago and in such an authoritative scripture as the Bhagavad Gita, the
confusion still persists and it becomes necessary to reiterate it in the middle of the
twentieth century of the Christian era that it is a mistake to identify Vedanta with
retirement from life and its activities.Most
certainly the lesson of Vedanta is not retirement from social cooperation. It is not the
teaching of Vedanta that men should renounce the world. Vedanta does demand renunciation,
but that is renunciation of attachment, not of work or duties. It wants men to get
rid of the desire for pleasurable fruits, for these leads to error, pain, anger and con
fusion of mind. It demands detachment of spirit while per forming one’s task
diligently and well. It lays the greatest emphasis on duties in cooperative life and
activities in the general interest. |
