''Shrimad Bhagvad Gita Rahasya'', popularly also known as ''Gita Rahasya'' or ''Karmayog Shastra'', is a 1915

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of t ...

book authored by Indian social reformer and independence activist Bal Gangadhar Tilak while he was in prison at Mandalay, Burma. It is the analysis of '' Karma yoga'' which finds its source in the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred book for

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s. According to him, the real message behind the Bhagavad Gita is ''Nishkam Karmayoga'' (selfless action), rather than ''Karma Sanyasa'' (renouncing of actions), which had become the popular message of Gita after

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

. He took the Mimamsa rule of interpretation as the basis of building up his thesis. This book consists of two parts. The first part is the philosophical exposition and the second part consists of the Gita, its translation and the commentary. The book was written by Tilak in pencil with his own handwriting while being imprisoned at the Mandalay jail from 1908 to 1914. The more-than-400 pages of script was written in less than four months and is hence in itself considered as "remarkable achievement". Although the writing was completed in the early years of his term, the book was only published in 1915, when he returned to Poona. He defended the ethical obligation to the active principle or action, as long the action was selfless and without personal interest or motive. In a speech on his, Gita Rahasya Tilak said "Various commentators have put as many interpretations on the book, and surely the writer or composer could not have written or composed the book for so many interpretations being put on it. He must have but one meaning and one purpose running through the book, and that I have tried to find out". He finds the message of the subservience of all yogas to Karmayoga or the yoga of action rather than the yoga of sole knowledge ( jnanayoga) or of devotion ( bhaktiyoga).

Books on it

Various authors have written books based on Tilak's ''Gita Rahasya'' and have also translated it into other languages. * ''A Gist of Mr. Tilak's Gita-Rahasya Or Karma-Yoga-Shastra, Etc.'' * Introduction to ''The Gita-rahasya'': Or ''The Fundamentals of Life and Living''

Translations

* ''Gita Rahasya'' in Bengali by

Jyotirindranath Tagore Jyotirindranath Tagore ( bn, জ্যোতিরিন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 4 May 1849 – 4 March 1925) was a playwright, a musician, an editor and a painter. He played a major role in the flowering of the talents of his you ...

* ''Gita Rahasya'' in Gujarati by Uttamlal Trivedi * ''Gita Rahasya'' in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Aluru Venkata Rao Aluru Venkata Rao (also sometimes referred as Aluru Venkata Raya) (12 July 1880 – 25 February 1964) was an Indian historian, writer and journalist. He is revered as Karnataka Kulapurohita (''High priest of the Kannada family'') in the Karn ...

References

External links

''Srimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya'' - BG Tilak - Volumes 1 and 2

श्रीमद्भवद्गीतारहस्य at Marathi Wikisource
{{Bal Gangadhar Tilak Hindu texts Bhagavad Gita Marathi-language literature 1915 non-fiction books Indian non-fiction books Philosophy books Prison writings Bal Gangadhar Tilak 20th-century Indian books