| 19. He whose
engagements are all devoid of desires and purposes, and whose actions have
been burnt by the fire of wisdom, him the wise call a sage.The man who has
realized the truth described above, whose works are all free from desires
and from purposes (sankalpa) which cause those desires, who performs mere
deeds without any immediate purpose,if he be engaged in worldly action,
he does so with a view to set an example to the masses ; if he has renounced
worldly life, he performs deeds only for bodily maintenance,whose actions,
good and bad, are consumed in the fire of wisdom which consists in the realization
of inaction and vice versa: him the wise who know Brahman call a real sage
(pandita). The Sages Worldly Action as Example to the Masses. He who can
see action in inaction and mice versa, (i.e who has realized the true nature
of action and inaction), is, by virtue of that very realization, free from
action ; he renounces (the world) and engages in no action,only doing what
is required for the bare existence of his body,even though he had been engaged
in action before realizing the truth. On the other hand, there may be a
person who, having started with action and having since obtained the right
knowledge of the Self, really abandons action with all its accessories,
as he finds action of no use ; but who, finding that for some reason he
cannot abandon action, may continue doing action as before, with a view
to set an example to the world at large, devoid of attachment to action
and its result, and therefore having no selfish end in view ; such a man
really does nothing. His action is equivalent to inaction, since all his
actions are consumed in the fire of knowledge. |
