No Doer

[Guest guest]

I am a new member who is interested in the Vedas. In the Bhagavad

Gita Krishna tells us that there is "No Doer." Is this no-doer unique

to the Gita or does it come from somewhere else in the Vedas?

Semmi

[Guest guest]

hello semmi,

 

<<Is this no-doer unique to the Gita or does it come from somewhere

else in the Vedas?>>

 

no it is not unique to the BG. it is very much a part of other texts

of indian philosphy. im not sure if the vedas enjoin this, but i am

quite sure of many other vedanta texts that enjoin this. besides the

upanishads (brhadaranyaka esp.) and the brahma sutra, it is also

enjoined in the yogavasishtha samhita.

 

the non-doer is not unique to the orthodox schools of philosphy, but

to even the non-orthodox schools like buddhism and jainism. the digha

nikaya pitika enjoins this in various suttas like the mahanidana sutta

etc.

 

not only is the no-doer talked of, the brhadaranyaka goes on further

to say that all conceptions of the self as either hving form and being

finite, being formless and being finite, or hving form and being

infinite and being being formless and infinite are conceptions of the

self and r born out of ideation of the self. all these ideas are

rejected using the same neti, neti methodology. incidentally the

buddhist paticca-samuppada and sunyata also talk of rejection of all

ideation of self in exactly the same manner.

 

this ideation of the self is what is responsible fr the doer idea that

is in-grained within us.

 

-balaji