The Bhagavadgîtâ, with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ — SBE Vol. 8 (trans. K. T. Telang, 1882)
The translator’s English as printed (K. T. Telang). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
We now proceed to investigate the last group of facts falling under the head of internal evidence, as mentioned above. And first as regards the attitude of the Gita towards the Vedas. If we examine all the passages in the Gita, in which reference is made to the Vedas, the aggregate result appears to be, that the author of the Gita does not throw the Vedas entirely overboard. He feels and expresses reverence for them, only that reverence is of a somewhat special character. He says in effect, that the precepts of the Vedas are suitable to a certain class of people, of a certain intellectual and spiritual status, so to say. So far their authority is unimpeached. But if the unwise sticklers for the authority of the Vedas claim anything more for them than this, then the author of the Gita holds them to be wrong. He contends, on the contrary, that acting upon the ordinances of the Vedas is an obstacle to the attainment of the summum bonum*. Compare this with the doctrine of the Upanishads. The coincidence appears to me to be most noteworthy. In one of his recent lectures, Professor Max Miiller uses the following eloquent language regarding the Upanishads*: ‘Lastly come the Upanishads; and what is their object? To show the utter uselessness, nay, the mischievousness of all ritual performances (compare our Gita, pp. 47, 48, 84 5); to condemn every sacrificial act which has for its motive a desire or hope of reward (comp. Gita, p. 119*); to deny, if not the existence, at least the exceptional and exalted character of the Devas (comp. Gita, pp. 76-84*); and to teach that there is no hope of salvation and deliverance except by the individual self recognising the true and universal self, and finding rest there, where alone rest can be found?’ (comp. our Gita Translation, pp. 78-83).
* Compare the passages collected under the word Vedas in our Index.
* Hibbert Lectures, p. 340 seq. Pl. 42-455 IX 20, 27.
We turn now to the last group of facts belonging to the category of internal evidence mentioned above. First, the Gita's attitude toward the Vedas. If we examine every passage in the Gita in which the Vedas are mentioned, the overall picture is this: the author of the Gita does not discard the Vedas altogether. He feels and expresses reverence for them, though that reverence is of a rather particular kind. His position, in effect, is that the precepts of the Vedas are suited to a certain class of people — those of a certain intellectual and spiritual level, so to speak. Up to that point their authority stands unchallenged. But if those who insist unthinkingly on the authority of the Vedas claim anything more for them than this, the author of the Gita holds them to be mistaken. He argues, on the contrary, that following the ordinances of the Vedas is an obstacle to attaining the summum bonum*. Compare this with the doctrine of the Upanishads. The parallel strikes me as deeply significant. In one of his recent lectures, Professor Max Müller speaks of the Upanishads in the following eloquent terms*: 'Lastly come the Upanishads; and what is their object? To show the utter uselessness, nay, the mischievousness of all ritual performances (compare our Gita, pp. 47, 48, 84–5); to condemn every sacrificial act whose motive is desire or hope of reward (comp. Gita, p. 119*); to deny, if not the existence, at least the exceptional and exalted character of the Devas (comp. Gita, pp. 76–84*); and to teach that there is no hope of salvation and deliverance except by the individual self recognising the true and universal self, and finding rest there, where alone rest can be found?' (comp. our Gita Translation, pp. 78–83).
* Compare the passages collected under the word Vedas in our Index.
* Hibbert Lectures, p. 340 seq. Pl. 42-455 IX 20, 27.