230 Karma Yoga is especially contrasted with the jnana yoga

The terms yoga and karma-yoga are occasionally used interchangeably by Śaį¹…kara, especially contrasted with the jƱāna-yoga of Sāį¹…khya. He defines Yoga in II.39.
Yoga, the means to that (Knowledge), is:

(1) first, distancing oneself (reading prahāna with Ānandagirl and not prahanana ā€˜killingā€™) from the pairs-of-opposites (dvandva);

(2) undertaking actions as karma-yoga, namely as worship (ārādhana) of God;

(3) samādhi-yoga.

In IV.38, ā€˜purified by yogaā€™ is glossed as purified by karma-yoga and samādhi-yoga. The accompanying word mumukį¹£u presumably would cover dvandva-prahāna.

In XII.12 and elsewhere, karma-yoga is used as yoga, to include other elements besides action:

Yoga is said to be samādhi ā€“ concentration on the Lord (ÄŖśvare cetah-samādhāna), and a performance for the Lordā€™s sake of actions, and so on. It rests on seeing difference between Self (ātman) and the Lord (ātmeį¹£vara bheda āsritya)…. It is not compatible with Right Vision (samyag-darśana-ananvita)…. It relies on an ÄŖśvara apart. So jƱāna-yoga, which knows the Lord to be the Self, is not practicable for a karma-yogin…. Conversely, the jƱāna-yogin, who sees no difference between them, would have no incentive to rely on a supposedly purely external Lord.

Nevertheless, though (as Śaį¹…kara points out) the Lord directs Arjuna (in IV. 15) to karma-yoga, this is after his first teaching of jƱāna, in chapterĀ II, has had no effect. jƱāna yoga has been taught to Arjuna, but he could not then follow it.

In X.19 the Lord specifically consents to Arjunaā€™s request, by declaring: ā€˜I will tell you of my gloriesā€™, For constant meditation (nitya dhyeya) says Śaį¹…kara, and adds: ā€˜Listen!ā€™ The first of these glories is: T am the Self (aham ātmā) in every living being,ā€™ which is a statement of jƱāna . Then, for one who cannot meditate on the Lord as Self (tad-asakta), the glories of the Lord immanent in Māyā are given.

Later in X.37 it is even more direct: ā€˜I am DhanaƱjayaā€™ (Arjuna), but Arjuna fails to take it in (though for a moment he thinks he has). So in fact instruction in jƱāna is given, but while Arjunaā€™s basic feeling is that of karma-yoga, he cannot be rightly said to be on the jƱāna-yoga path.

Similar Posts