Fwd: The Self neither Acts, nor is Tainted

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Hare Krsna. In Gita the Lord says "Na Karoti Na Lipyate" (Gita 13:31) - The Self neither acts nor is tainted - this fact is not a result of any spiritual practice, but it IS (naturally). It means that in the Self there is no doership - enjoyership - it is self-evident. This needs no effort i.e. nothing is to be done to realize this. It means that doership and enjoyership are not to be wiped out, but they are not to be accepted at all in the Self; but a spiritual aspirant has to realize the non-existence of doership, because the truth is that this doership is not in the Self. Therefore a spiritual aspirant should realize that he is neither a doer nor an enjoyer. Realization of freedom from doership and enjoyership in the Self (disinterestedness and freedom from the sense of mine) is liberation from worldly bondage. In Gita, this point has been declared with the statement that memory about this truth is once again

regained - "nasto mohah smritir labdhaa." (Gita 18:73).If the Self in neither the doer, nor the enjoyer, then who is the doer and enjoyer? Let us reflect on this. First think over - who is a doer? The body is not the doer, the mind, intellect, the reflecting faculty within (citta) and the ego - these four are instruments which are called internal instruments (antahkarana) . This "antahkarana" is also not the doer, because the instrument depends on the doer, while the doer is independent (svatantrah kartaa). An instrument facilitates the accomplishment of an act or action. As a pen does not write independently, but it is merely an instrument for writing which depends on the writer (doer). Therefore an instrument is not the doer and the doer is not the instrument. Secondly, if the doership is in the instrument, why is the Self feeling happy and sad? If the instrument is the recepient of happiness and sorrow, what harm / gain does this cause the Self? But the

true Self is also not the doer, as "I" ness (mein pana) is the evolute of nature "prakriti", then how is that "I" ness possible in the Self, which transcends Nature "prakriti" ? Had there been doership in the Self (innately present) then, it would be impossible to wipe it out (remove it), because the Self is imperishable and eternal. Therefore here the Lord has negated doership in the Self - "na karoti". Further in Chapter 18 also the Lord declares, "He who assumes and believes the Self as the doer, that man of perverse understanding does not see right, because his mind is not pure." (Gita 18:16). In reality, the one who is an enjoyer (experiencer, who becomes happy and sad), he alone is the doer.

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