Integral Yoga

Madhva , the founder of Integral Yoga.

Prior to the coming of Madhva , three paths were recognised as leading to God-consciousness.They were Karma Yoga , Jnana Yoga and Bhakthi Yoga.The former referred to the performance of karma kanda rituals and , the next one was the path of acquisition of knowledge and the last one Bhakthi was the emotional love for God.All three were considered as separate paths , independent of each other and people were free to choose anyone of them according to their mental orientation.

Infact , even today , people who do not follow Madhva hold such views.

Most schools of Vedanta regard Karma Yoga in the narrow sense of pravritti-marga , as defined by the mimamsakas , consisting of the faithful performance of vedic sacrifies and ritualistic rites prescribed by srutis and smritis with the expectation of reward in this world or the next and the adherence to the duties of varna and ashrama.

In his commentary on the Gita Sankara systematically denounces any possibility of synthesis between karma and jnana and defines karma only as kamya karma.He hardly envisages a possiblity of true synthesis between even nishkamya karma and atma-jnana.Infact he even refuses to give the name karma to teh works performed by the enlightened souls for Lokasangraha or to the work of Krishna himself in upholding kshatriya dharma. But as Dr.B.N.K. Sharma says "the whole emphasis of the karma yoga of gita is on recognising the need for giving a reorientation to the concept of karma and redeeming it from the spell of rewards and fruits and making it possible for blending such exalted form of karma with jnana.Sankara is hardly fair to the spirit of Gita in denying the possiblity of the syntheis of even such exalted form of nishkamyakarma with atmajnana of whihc Krishna himself and persons like Janaka and Priyavrata were standing examples.

Madhva resolves this apparent conflict between the so-called Jnana and Karma Margas , by enlarging the scope of karma margas as understood by shankara and and raising it to the level of an enlightened action nishkama jnanapurvam karma.He makes a vigorous plea for enlightened spiritual activity by all , which cannot be binidng in its consequences.There can be no true wisdom without suh activity , at least for all of us mortals and no true karma without enlightenment and devotion to god.

But this karma is not to be viewed in the narrow hedonistic sense or ritualistic sense of the mimamsakas.Madhva overcomes the difficulty here , by distinguishing the karma yoga of the Gita from what other philoosphers call the pravritti marga of the Vedas.He points out on sound textual authority that the latter is deservedly censured in the Gita and otehr shastras and that true nivritti Marga is not what the other commentatators think it to be viz. , the abandonment of all karmas , but its active performance in the spirit of devotiona nd dispassion.

This is indeed the true spirit of sanyaasa and naiskarma , inculcated in the Gita.Hence it is that Madhva propounds a new theory of typical vedic injunctions which are almost invariably followed by goodly promise of attractive rewards to come.He suggests that the purpose of these prescriptions is , paradoxically enough to wean us away from attractions of perishable rewards and pull us up gradually to a life of disinterested action (Niskama Karma) , even as a child is induced by its mother to take a medicinal does of castor oil , by the tempting offer of sweets in reward.

Karma Yoga is then not at all a spiritual stumbling block to spiritual progress.It is not by itself binding in its effects as it depends on the motive behind it and the end in view with which it is performed.That is why Madhva maintains that every approved activity after the dawn of aparoksha has its reward in the form of a welling up spiritual bliss and never goes in vain.

Madhva has blazed a new trail in interpreting the message of Karma Yoga of Isha Upanishad 2 and Gita 3.20 by bringing jnanottarakarma back to its rightful place in the spiritual life of man at its highest stage of realization.He is the first Indian Philosopher to use the significant expression "Janottarakarma".He is also the first to unequivocally and wholeheartedly give the clarion call of service to fellowmen as the greatest moral responsibility of the Jnani.

He insists that such service to one's fellowmen is a moral obligation , a categorical imperative , laid upon all right thinking pesons like the obligation to pay taxes to one's legally established government.Social abd moral philosophy can hardly claim to haev attained to a more salutary conception of service to one's fellowmen.Commentator Jayathirtha explains that Nana-Jana includes all categories of fellowmen - uttama , madhyama and adhama , the nature and complexion of service to each differing accordingly.

Now let us look at the views of Aurobindo in regards to the above.

The first step is Karmayoga, the selfless sacrifice of works, and here the Gita's insistence is on action. The second is Jnanayoga, the self-realisation and knowledge of the true nature of the self and the world; and here the insistence is on knowledge; but the sacrifice of works continues and the path of Works becomes one with but does not disappear into the path of Knowledge. The last step is Bhaktiyoga, adoration and seeking of the supreme Self as the Divine Being, and here the insistence is on devotion; but the knowledge is not subordinated, only raised, vitalised and fulfilled, and still the sacrifice of works continues; the double path becomes the triune way of knowledge, works and devotion. And the fruit of the sacrifice, the one fruit still placed before the seeker, is attained, union with the divine Being and oneness with the supreme divine nature. above from , Essays on The Gita First series Chapter IV - The Core of the Teaching (in 'Arya', November 1916)