Yathora

The Gita · Chapter 13

Bhagavad Gita 13.29

प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः।यः पश्यति तथाऽऽत्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति॥

prakṛityaiva cha karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśhaḥ yaḥ paśhyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśhyati

Translation

He who seeth that Matter verily performeth all actions, and that the Self is actionless, he seeth.

What it means

Who sees that all actions are performed by nature alone, and that the Self is actionless: that one sees. Responsibility and identity are untangled. The doer was always the machinery; the witness was always free.

Try this today

The final seeing: all doing belongs to nature; the witness never acts.

Something to reflect on

Can I watch my own actions as the machinery's, not mine - and does blame loosen?

Read it in Yathora
← 13.2813.30 →

Translation by Annie Besant (1905, public domain). The meanings are original to Yathora, drawn from Shankara’s commentary.