Chapter 18: Moksha-sannyasa-yoga:: Verse 17
यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते ।
हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ॥
yasya nāhaṅkṛto bhāvo buddhir-yasya na lipyate
hatvāpi sa imān-lokān-na hanti na nibadhyate – 18.17
He, who has outgrown the sense of doership (ego), and whose intelligence does not get tainted, even if he kills all these people, he does not verily kill, nor does he get bound (by his killing).
Chapter 18: Moksha-sannyasa-yoga: - Verse 17
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna confirms that all actions and processes transpire only peripherally in our being (2.20,21). In the core level no movement or vibration ever takes place. There is no scope for it either. It is like the non-acting space permeating the rest of the four bhutas (elements).
After getting exposed to this truth, one has to become enlightened and remain unaffected, says Krishna.
Doership is a notion the mind fosters about actions. The mind spins and weaves thoughts and assessments like ‘I am doing, I have done, I want the result, I am enjoying’, etc. These are fallacious, as the five factors alone do all actions, as stated already. Non-action, akartrtva, alone reigns undimmed inside.
Realizing this fact, even if one has to kill the whole world, says Krishna, he will not have verily killed, and no bondage also will have accrued to him. So powerful and paramount is the realization of the non-acting Self!
This is a radical pronouncement. But it is the fact, the spiritual truth, a seeker can realize without doubt.
Action is a perception our senses instrument. That senses cannot perceive by themselves is another fact. Inner mind alone employs senses and gains perceptions.
Mind also generates experiences, which have their full relevance, value and effect. They even supersede sensory findings. Intelligence is the last word in any experience or knowledge. That no action is done deep inside one’s personality is a verdict of intelligence. That is how Krishna makes this assertion.
The message of Bhagavad Gita is a straight line drawn between verse 1.45 and 18.17. Earlier Arjuna bemoaned that he and his army were out to commit a colossal sin, motivated by greed for kingdom and royal comforts. He felt he was a killer and sinner.
Krishna showed that it was not so (2.20, 21). One who knows his inmost Self never kills or causes another to kill someone. One is not the body, but the Self, which is non-acting, unbound, ever free. Count on this inmost fact, supreme truth. Be free from all shackles the mind and intelligence hatch!
Greed and possessiveness are the factors to bring bondage to one. Dropping ego and undue clinging is what gives freedom from such bondage!
