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BHAGAVAD GITA
events of the world, and as a microcosm, in the form of his Incarnation. That fact itself should serve as a salutary lesson. "There is naught in the Three Worlds," declares Kșsņa, “that I have need to do, nor anything that I have not obtained and that I might gain, yet I participate in action. If I did not do so without relaxation, people would follow my example. These worlds would perish if I did not go on performing works. I should cause confusion [for men would relinquish the tasks and activities assigned to them by birth]; I should be the ruin of all these beings for the gods, the celestial bodies, etc., would terminate their activitics, following the example sct by the Highcst). Just as ignorant people act, being attached to actions, even so should the wise man (vidvān, the comprehender) also act, though unattached-with a vicw to the maintenance of order in the world." 76
The unfatigued activity of the Divine Being controlling the universe is a matter of routine, a kind of ritual that does not deeply concern Him. In the same way, the perfect man should fulfill the duties of his life in a spirit of playful routine, so as not to break the whole course of the play in which the role (from which he has become deeply detached) involves him. “For it is impossible,” says Krsna, "for any being endowed with a body to give up activity-without-rest; but he who relinquishes the fruits (phala: rewards, results) of his acts is called a man of true renunciation (tyägin)." 78
To suppose that, being endowed with a body, one can avoid involvement in the web of karma is a vain illusion. Nevertheless, it is possible to avoid increased involvement, and possible even to disengage the mind, by disregarding the consequences and apparent promises of one's unavoidable tasks and enterprises-that is to say, by an absolute self-sacrifice. One is to look for no reward in the fulfillment of one's duties as a son or
78 Ib. 3. 22-25. 78 lb. 18. 11.
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |