Bhagavad Gita 13.30

Verse 30

प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः | यः पश्यति तथात्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति || ३० ||

Transliteration

prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśyati

Synonyms

prakṛtyā—by material nature; eva—certainly; ca—also; karmāṇi—activities; kriyamāṇāni—being performed; sarvaśaḥ—in all respects; yaḥ—anyone who; paśyati—sees; tathā—also; ātmānam—himself; akartāram—as the non-doer; saḥ—that person; paśyati—sees correctly.

Translation

One who sees that all actions are performed in every way by Prakriti alone, and that the Self is the non-doer — that person truly sees.

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Chinmayananda

The liberation from doership (akarta-bhava) is the culminating insight. All actions are performed by Prakriti — by the body-mind mechanism operating through its gunas. Pure consciousness (Purusha/Atman) never acts; it only witnesses. When this is experientially clear — not merely as a concept but as direct recognition — the burden of 'I am the doer' is lifted. This is the liberating drop of 'I did it' and the recognition of 'it happened through this body-mind.'

Practical Application (Modern Life)

Notice the felt sense of 'I am doing this' during your activities today. Then experiment with shifting the inner narrative: 'This action is happening through this body-mind.' Notice whether that shifts the experience. The practice is not denial of the activity but a gradual release of the compulsive identification of yourself as its originator.

Chapter Content

View all shlokas in Chapter 13

Have a question?