अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः | शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते || ३२ ||
anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ śarīra-stho 'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
anāditvāt—due to having no beginning; nirguṇatvāt—due to being without qualities; parama-ātmā—the Supreme Self; ayam—this; avyayaḥ—inexhaustible; śarīra-sthaḥ—dwelling in the body; api—though; kaunteya—O son of Kunti; na karoti—does not act; na lipyate—is not tainted.
“Being beginningless and without qualities, the imperishable Supreme Self, though dwelling in the body, O Kaunteya, neither acts nor is tainted.”
The lotus-in-water principle: the Supreme Self dwells in the body as the Kshetrajna yet is not polluted by the body's activities. Beginninglessness and quality-lessness (nirgunatva) are the two metaphysical bases for this freedom from taint. What has no beginning has never been conditioned. What has no qualities cannot be colored by the qualities of the field it witnesses. The body acts; the Self witnesses; yet there is no separation — this is the great mystery.
The awareness that knows you are reading these words has not been changed by any experience you have had. Painful memories appear within it; it is unchanged. Joyful experiences appeared within it; it remains unchanged. This unchanging awareness — 'na karoti na lipyate' (neither acting nor tainted) — is your deepest identity. Recognizing this is freedom.