टीका

Commentary

Having established that every action has five causes, Krishna now draws the logical conclusion: anyone who considers themselves the sole doer of action is a fool. Such a person has akrita-buddhi — impure, undeveloped intelligence — and does not see reality as it is.

The foolish person does not understand that the Supreme Lord, seated in the heart as the Supersoul, is directing all activities. Though the body, the doer, the senses, and the efforts are all material causes, the ultimate controlling factor is the divine will. A person who ignores this and proudly thinks “I am the only one doing this” is deluded by false ego.

This is precisely the delusion that prevented Arjuna from fighting. He was thinking, “I will be the cause of killing my relatives.” But Krishna has been teaching throughout the Gita that the individual is not the independent doer — the Lord orchestrates everything through the instruments of material nature.

A person in Krishna consciousness understands that they are an instrument (nimitta-matra) in the Lord’s hands. Though they act, they know that the action flows through them by the arrangement of the Supreme. This understanding frees them from the false pride of doership and from the karmic consequences that follow.