Bhagavadgita and Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of Christ - a Comparative study

Prof. K. Mahankali Rao

The vitality of any classic consists in its capacity to produce from time to time men who confirm and correct from their own experience truths enunciated in it. ‘The Imitation of Christ’ and Bhagavadgita amply justify this. Every scripture has two aspects, temporary and eternal, the former applicable to the ideas of the people of the period and the place in which it is written and the latter the eternal and imperishable one which appeals to all ages and countries. As Radhakrishnan observes, the intellectual expression and the psychological idiom are the products of the time while the permanent truths are capable of being lived and seen by a higher than intellectual vision at all times.

The Bhagavadgita consists of the synthesis of the ideas of the impersonal spiritual monism with personalitic monotheism of the yoga of action with the yoga of the transcendence of action and these again with yogas of devotion and knowledge. It is not an argumentative work, but a popular one meant to be read by all alike. In a similar way Thomas A Kempis writes for those who aspire to mystical union with God through evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Thomas’ theme is love, mercy and holiness of God. He shows man’s complete dependence on and need of God and the futility of life lived apart from its only source of true life and light. He exhorts us to seek our own good and lasting happiness in the knowledge and service of God. In simple and scintillating words Thomas shows that the path to the sublime goal of oneness with God is by devotion to Christ Crucified, and by treading His “Royal Road of the Holy Cross”.

Relations with original sources: According to F.R. Cruisec The ‘imitation of Chirst’ perfectly “reflects the light which Jesus Christ brought down from heaven to earth and truly portrays the highest Christian philosophy. When our divine saviour preached the Sermon on the Mount, He held up as the characteristics of His followers – perfect humility, poverty of spirit, purity of heart, meekness, sorrow for sin, forgiveness of injustice, and peace and Joy in the midst of persecution. Nowhere else do we find these doctrines so incisively and persuasively taught as in this unpretending little volume”.

The philosophy of ‘The Imitation of Christ’ is a philosophy of light and a philosophy of Grace. Thomas A Kempis tries to derive both at their source and fountain head. He does not separate them. It is the light of truth, and the grace of life.

The Bhagavadgita: The Bhagavadgita draws its ideas from the Upanishads. The essential spirit of the Gita is that of the Upanishads. The only point of difference is that the Gita emphasizes the religious side more. The author of the Gita takes his stand on the Upanishads and brings out their religious implications and thereby transforms it into a living system. He refines and reconciles the different currents of thought, the Vedic cult of sacrifice, the Upanishad teaching of the transcendent Brahman, the Bhagavata theism and tender piety, the Samkhya Dualism and the yoga meditation. There are many, things which are common to Upanishads as well as the Gita. The Gita is an application of the Upanishadic ideal to the new situations which arose at the time of Mahabharatha. In adopting the idealism of the Upanishads to the theistically minded people it attempts to derive a religion from the Upanishad philosophy. It shows that the reflective spiritual idealism of the Upanishads has room for the living warm religion of personal devotion.

Some Common Features: Ideas of devotion to the supreme being or personal, the conquest of the self, on self-denial and renunciation of our desires, and the attainment of a condition of peace and serenity and perfection are some of the common features of both the Gita and the Imitation of Christ. With regard to action we find striking similarity between the concept of Karma in the Gita and that of the Imitation of Christ in Chapters like “On deeds inspired by love”, “On the Zealous Amendment of our life”, and “On the Right ordering of our Affairs”. Both the Works purely deal with the teaching of morality and religion or religious morality.

(i) Devotion to the Supreme: In Book Four ‘On the Blessed Sacrament’ Thomas begins by emphasizing the simple and direct call of Christ to the faithful who desire to have part in him. He shows the prophetic nature of the ancient sacrifices of the law and the need of devotion towards the Sacrament of Christ. He explains therein that generosity, goodness and condescension are richly shown in this Sacrament which is to be regularly and devoutly received with a deep sense of unworthiness.

Let us compare the ideas of devotion to the Supreme being or personal in “Imitation of Christ” with the path of devotion or Bhakti marga of “Bhagavadgita”. The path of devotion or Bhaktimarga as enunciated by Bhagavadgita indicates the emotional attachment distinct from knowledge or action, which binds God and man. According to Bhagavadgita this path when properly regulated leads to the perception of the Supreme. It is open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the ignorant.

The Bhagavadgita believes that devotion to the Supreme is possible only with a personal God, a concrete individual full of bliss and beauty. The voice of God in the Gita declares, “This is my word of promise, that he who loveth me shall not perish.” In another place Krishna says, “Fix thy mind in me, into me let thy understanding enter; thou shalt surely live with me alone hereafter. I pledge thee my troth, thou art dear to me. Abandoning all Dharmas, come unto me alone for shelter, sorrow not, I will liberate thee from all sins”. As Radhakrishnan puts it, “When the devotion is perfected, then the individual and his God become suffused into one spiritual ecstasy, and reveal themselves as aspects of one life”.

(ii) Conquest of the self, self denial and renunciation: Thomas seeks firstly to wear the soul from preoccupation with solely material interests. He shows how, by winning control of our passions and by overcoming conceit and complacency, one should become a spiritual like St. Paul and enter upon the way of purgation which is the first stage of soul’s progress toward its divinely appointed destiny of union with God. St. Paul says, let us ‘humble ourselves under the hand of God’, in every trial trouble, for He will save and raise up the humble in spirit.” Thomas assures that in all these trials, our progress is tested; in them great merit may be secured and our virtue becomes evident. It is no great matter if we are devout and fervent when we have no troubles; but if we show patience in adversity, we can make great progress in virtue. It may be said that sincere self-knowledge will bring the soul to a realization of its own nothingness and need of God.

Let us consider a few points of agreement in Gita regarding this conquest of self or self-discipline. The Gita gives a comprehensive and many-sided yoga-sastra which includes various phases of the soul’s development and ascent into the divine. The Gita says that perfection at the human level is a task to be accomplished by conscious endeavour. The idea of god in us gives a sense of insufficiency. Man possesses innately a sense of the vanity, the transient and precariousness of all human happiness. When a man lives only on the surface of life, he may not feel the distress, the laceration of spirit and may not feel any urge to seek his true good. But those who realise their dignity as men are acutely aware of the discord and seek a principle of harmony and peace. The desire to seek God produces the agony that inspires idealism and a sense of human fulfillment.

In Ch. II 48 Krishna says: fixed in yoga do they work…abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga. It may be pointed out that the qualities demanded for the practice of yoga may be compared with the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience by which one overcomes the world, the flesh and the devil.

We have pointed out earlier the striking similarities with regard to action in both the works. To adduce one in point. Thomas brings out the idea of action thus “Take great care to ensure that in every place, action and outward occupation you remain inwardly free and your own master…only so can you be master and ruler of your actions, not their servant or slave…the more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does…There is no peace in the heart of a worldly man, who is entirely given to outward affairs, but only in a fervent spiritual man.

The Gita enjoins in a similar way and recommends: “Therefore without attachment, perform always the work that has to be done, for man attains to the highest by doing work without attachment. It emphasizes that one should do works to attain to perfection and the good of the world (Lokasamgraha). The concept of lokasamgraha here in the Gita stands for the unity of the world – the interconnectedness of society. This ideal is well brought out in a verse, “As the unlearned act from attachment to their work, so should the learned also act, O Bharata (Arjuna) but without any attachment, with the desire to maintain the world-order”. The Gita also refers to pure action in the two verses, 18, 19 of chapter IV. “He who in action sees inaction and action in inaction, is wise among men, he is a yogin and he has accomplished all his work”.

Attainment of Condition of Peace and Serenity and Perfection: In the third and largest book “On Inward Consolation”, Thomas calls on men to seek Him alone and shows them the way of union and true peace. In the opening chapter Christ speaks, “I am your salvation and your peace, and your life, keep close to me, and you shall find peace”. The disciple is shown how by the light of grace, he can gradually win freedom from the entanglements of the world, the flesh and the devil and come freely to Christ. The disciple in response sings the joys and glories of the love of God and prays. “Deepen your love in me, O, Lord that I may learn in my inmost heart and plunge myself into your love. Let your love possess me and raise me above myself”. Christ then reveals four ways to obtain freedom and peace of spirit – the whole secret of perfection. “My son, resolve to do the will of others rather than your own. Always choose to possess less rather than more. Always take the lowest place, and regard yourself as less than others. Desire and pray always that God’s will may be perfectly fulfilled in you. A man who observes these rules shall come to enjoy peace and tranquility of Soul”. Again in another place Christ says, My peace is with the humble and gentle of heart and depends on great patience. If you listen to me and follow my words, you shall find true peace. The disciple is then shown how the true source of peace and progress rest in complete surrender of the heart to the will of God.

The Bhagavadgita also speaks in the same vein regarding the attainment of peace, serenity and perfection. In Ch. XVIII, it is said: “Flee unto Him for shelter with all thy being… by his grace shalt thou obtain supreme peace and eternal abode”. With regard to peace within, it clearly says, “He who finds his happiness within, his joy within, and likewise his light within, that yogin becomes divine and attain to the beatitude of God”. The Bhagavadgita says that the soul which has acquired wisdom and peace is also the soul of love: “the holy men whose sins are destroyed, whose doubts are cut asunder, whose minds are disciplined and who rejoice in doing good to all creatures attain to the beatitude of God. “They indicate blessed existence in this world. They are delivered from desire and anger. Having subdued their minds, they have a knowledge of the self and near to them lies the beatitude of God. For them God is not merely the distant world-ruler but an intimate friend and helper ever ready to assist in overcoming evil, if only we trust Him.

The only way to overcome the corruption of human nature is by self-discipline. But Thomas believes that in order to achieve this, one should allow the power of grace to have full play in us. The disciple says, ‘O, Lord… I need your grace in fullest measure to subdue that nature which always inclines to evil from my youth up…”

As regards surrender Christ says, “My son, you will be able to enter into me in so far as you are prepared to forsake yourself. And as the absence of craving for material things makes for inner peace, so does the forsaking of self unite man’s heart to God. I wish you to learn perfect self-surrender, and to accept my will without argument or complaint. Follow me who am the way, the truth and life. My words remain unalterable. Whoever does not renounce everything cannot be My disciple”.

The Bhagavadgita develops the order of ideas of grace, surrender and renunciation from the Upanishads. The Lord declares in the Gita: “This is my word of promise that he who loveth me shall not perish”. According to Gita devotion is loving attachment to God. It is surrender in trusting the grace of lord. ‘Abandon all duties, come to me alone for shelter. Be not grieved, for I shall release thee from all evils”. It is the unreserved surrender to the Supreme which leads and raises us to our utmost possible perfection. As Radhakrishnan puts it, “The Eternal one is viewed in the Bhagavadgita not so much as the God of Philosophical speculation but as the God of grace such as the heart and the soul need and seek, who inspires personal trust and love, reverence and loyal self-surrender. When the soul surrenders itself to God, he takes up our knowledge and our error and casts away all forms of insufficiency and transforms all into His infinite light and the purity of the universal good”.

Thus the two classics emphasize the pure and austere relationship of surrender in a humble and direct attitude of trust. They enable us to realize that He made us for His ends, not our own. We feel that we will fulfill the command of God, as He is there to strengthen us in our actions. “As I am ordained by Thee, O, Hrsikesa, seated in my heart. So I act”. Jesus also says in the same way. “I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me”. It is here that the messages of these two classics converge. They declare that the secret of divine life lies in thinking, “Thy will be done”. Mr. J.W. Hauver summarises the central spirit of both the classics succinctly, “we are not called to solve the meaning of life but to find out the Deed demanded of us and to work and so, by action, to master the riddle of life.

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