Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 17

English Translation

He who has not the feeling of egoism, whose intellect is not tainted, he does not kill, nor does he become bound-even by killing these creatures!

Detailed Commentary

।।18.17।। Explanation: One from whom the ego of "I am the doer" is absent, and in whose intellect there is no self-interest of "I will receive the fruit." This should be understood as follows: all actions, enjoined and prohibited by the Shastras, occur within existence and are subject to it. However, existence itself is not the doer of any action. Similarly, when one directly experiences that enjoined or prohibited actions do not occur without the existence of one's true Swarupa, but that Swarupa neither performs those actions nor causes them to be performed—upon such realization, the ego of "I am the doer" ceases, and no self-interest remains in the intellect. With the absence of ego and self-interest, doership (Kartritva) and enjoyership (Bhoktritva) are destroyed, meaning one realizes, "I am neither the doer nor the enjoyer." Understanding that the functions of Prakriti proceed naturally and that change occurs, one who remains established in one's Swarupa is devoid of ego. Ego is a mental disposition (Manovritti), and the experience of doership (Kartritva) and non-doership (Akartritva) establishes one in the Self. The implication of "Hathvāpi sa imāṁllokān na hanti na nibadhyate" (Even if one slays these worlds, one neither slays nor is bound) is that one has no connection with actions nor with their fruits. In reality, Prakriti alone transforms into action and its fruit, but Purusha (the conscious principle) becomes the doer and enjoyer because of the conjunction of ego and action. One in whom ego does not remain, how can such a one kill anyone or be bound by anything? If ego is absent, sin does not accrue. A person who is naturally engaged in battle can kill all, yet neither kills nor is bound. Such a person is free from ego and self-interest. A similar message was imparted by Bhagavan to Arjuna. Transformations in the form of action occur only in Prakriti, and they also have a beginning and an end. When one experiences this, one is not tainted by ego and self-interest. Knowledge and action are not blameworthy; rather, it is the ego of doership (Kartritva) that is faulty, because it is through this that Karma accumulates.