Gita 05.08 – Don’t take credit for actions done by bodily mechanisms
naiva kiñcit karomīti
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
Word-to-word
na — never; eva — certainly; kiñcit — anything; karomi — I do; iti — thus; yuktaḥ — engaged in the divine consciousness; manyeta — thinks; tattva-vit — one who knows the truth; paśyan — seeing; śṛṇvan — hearing; spṛśan — touching; jighran — smelling; aśnan — eating; gacchan — going; svapan — dreaming; śvasan — breathing; pralapan — talking; visṛjan — giving up; gṛhṇan — accepting; unmiṣan — opening; nimiṣan — closing; api — in spite of; indriyāṇi — the senses; indriya-artheṣu — in sense gratification; vartante — let them be so engaged; iti — thus; dhārayan — considering.
Translation
A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.
Explanation
Krishna now describes the inner consciousness of one who acts in knowledge, and how such consciousness protects a person from bondage. Verses 8 and 9 form a single unit of thought, but here we will focus on verse 8, and later continue with the list Krishna gives in verse 9. The central theme of the Bhagavad-gītā is how Arjuna can act without becoming bound by karma. Krishna’s consistent message is that one who acts with knowledge and detachment does not become entangled. Here He states that the wise person thinks, “I am not doing anything.” But what does this mean? After all, Arjuna will still fight the war after hearing the Gita. Clearly, he will be doing something. How then can Krishna say that the knower of truth feels he is not acting?
To understand this, we need to look at the concept of doership on two levels. The body can be compared to a machine, which functions according to its own design. Just as a refrigerator cannot heat and a heater cannot cool, the body has its natural modes of operation. Suppose we want to heat some food. We place it in an oven and later say, “I heated it.” But in reality, who heated the food? It was the oven, not us. Could the oven have heated the food without us pressing the button? No. Thus, the heating involves two aspects: the functioning of the physical device (the oven) and the intention or initiation by the person. When we say, “I heated the food,” we are speaking loosely. What we really did was express the intention and facilitate the action; the actual heating was done by the machine. Similarly, the body acts according to its nature, but the soul identifies as the doer. The wise, however, recognize this distinction and thus remain free from the false sense of doership.
Let us now apply this point to the body. For example, I am speaking right now because I want to speak. I may become proud, thinking, “I am such an eloquent and deep speaker.” But if tomorrow my voice box becomes diseased or I develop a sore throat, I may still have the same thoughts and desires as yesterday, yet I will be unable to speak at all. This illustrates that expertise in any activity is possible only because of the body’s mechanisms. If we take personal credit for what is essentially the functioning of the body, we become deluded—and bound. How? Because pride generates the desire to repeat that action again and again. That desire leads to bondage, for it keeps us tied to material existence. We want to continue doing the same activities, and for that we require another body. In each body, the illusion persists: “I am doing it,” when in reality it is the body that is acting.
This can be compared to driving a car. A driver may become skilled and think, “I am an expert driver; this car takes me wherever I want to go.” But the driver knows he is not the car. The car is only a vehicle for reaching a destination. If, however, the driver becomes overly attached—identifying with the car and clinging to it—he may refuse to get out even after reaching his destination. In the same way, if we misidentify with the body and its actions, we remain trapped, unable to reach the ultimate destination of spiritual realization. Similarly, the body is simply a vehicle for us. When we claim credit for its instrumental actions, that very craving for credit breeds illusion, deepens misidentification, strengthens attachment, and makes it harder to break free. It obstructs us from staying in spiritual consciousness and pursuing enlightenment. The body functions according to its own mechanisms. Thus, when a seeker realizes “I am not the doer,” it does not mean becoming lazy, passive, or inactive. Rather, it means recognizing that the body is acting as an instrument, and we should not claim credit for its functions.
Recognizing that the body is acting protects us from two extremes: becoming irresponsible by rejecting action, or becoming delusional by claiming credit for action. In this way, we can remain aware of our spiritual identity even while actively engaged in the world. And when our actions are performed with the right spiritual purpose, those very actions become a means of purification. Just as we use a car to reach our home—guiding it properly to arrive at our destination—so too the human body is a vehicle. As Krishna explains in 18.61, yantrārūḍhāni māyayā—the soul is seated in a machine made of material energy. Our connection with the body is temporary and functional; it is not an eternal or inseparable bond. Thus, when we act with this understanding, our actions do not bind us. In the next verse, Krishna elaborates on this principle further, which we will discuss in the next talk. Thank you.
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