तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु य: |
पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्न स पश्यति दुर्मति: || 16||
tatraivaṁ sati kartāram ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ tu yaḥ
paśhyaty akṛita-buddhitvān na sa paśhyati durmatiḥ
tatra—there; evam sati—in spite of this; kartāram—the doer; ātmānam—the soul; kevalam—only; tu—but; yaḥ—who; paśhyati—see; akṛita-buddhitvāt—with impure intellect; na—not; saḥ—they; paśhyati—see; durmatiḥ—foolish
Translation:
This being so, (the five factors being the cause of all Karma) whoever, on account of untrained understanding, thinks the Self as the doer, he, the man of perverted intelligence, does not know the truth about the nature of Atma or the nature of Karma.
Commentary:
The Self is not the doer of any action. The five above-mentioned factors are the causes of all action. The Self is witness, one, without any vehicles upadhis, detached from everything, matter, speech and thought. The Lord describes the ignorant man who imagins self to be the doer, by the attributes ‘akrita buddi‘ and ‘durmati‘. His understanding is confused because he has not trained it to comprehend the truth by the study of the Sastras. He is a man of perverted intelligence (durmati). Learning and scholarship mastery of all worldly sciences and arts do not confer Atmajnana, and so they remain in the realm of ‘Avidya’ and cannot perceive the truth of Atma. They are blind, having eyes; they are perversed having intelligence; they are men of little understanding, having read many things in the world. They are groping in darkness, in spite of all the light that they have gathered about the world. The Self is not understood by them. Atmajnana alone clears all the doubts and perversities of the body and mind. Nothing can take man beyond Samsara exçept Self-realisation. All the name and fame that man acquires is so much rubbish compared to the realisation of truth, for truth alone confers true joy, freedom and perfection. The Lord is pleased with those who strive to know the Truth. To win popularity among fellow beings is an ordinary thing, and to win the grace of God is a higher achievement.
The Lord is perfectly clear when he declares the purity and uncontaminated perfection of Atma. To understand it and realise Atma is the duty of all aspirants.
To consider Atma as the doer is evil; the cause of evil is the mind not trained by the study of the Sastras, the fruit of evil is the blindness of ignorance.
Question: What is the nature of Atma?
Answer: Alone, uncontaminated, the witness is Atma.
Question: Why does the man think that Atma is the doer?
Answer: By delusion, and because the mind is not illumined by the study of the Sastras.
Question: What is his condition?
Answer: The condition of a blind man who is not able to see the light.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18 🔻 (78 Verses)
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| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
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| 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 |
| 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 |
