Chapter 3 Shloka 27

प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश:।

अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते।।२७।।

All actions are performed

by the gunas of Prakriti;

a deluded egoist thinks that he is the doer.

Chapter 3 Shloka 27

प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश:।

अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते।।२७।।

All actions are performed by the gunas of Prakriti; a deluded egoist thinks that he is the doer.

Little one! The Lord is explaining here that the individual is in actual fact a non-doer. He says:

1. All actions performed by an individual are spontaneously activated by the qualities bestowed upon him by Nature.

2. The foolish and ignorant take credit for doership.

3. They erroneously believe that they can act or refrain from action on their own.

In actual fact one can take no credit even for one’s own birth: one did not choose the family into which one is born, one’s relations, one’s status or even one’s sex. It is all an act of nature. Did one know what one’s complexion, looks, height would be? All are wrought by nature.

A foolish person takes credit for all these as if he himself is the doer, and can never comprehend the play of the gunas. If one tries to claim the credit for one’s personal assets, influential relations etc. one will be enmeshed in illusion even in the gross sphere. If on the other hand, one perceives all these as gifts of nature and renounces attachment to them, then one may be able to progress further to detaching oneself from one’s subtle qualities and their achievements.

All one’s qualities are a gift of nature, born out of the three gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Some are inherited and others imbibed from one’s environment or the people one meets. But even one’s environment, social circle or family life are not in one’s control. These have been created by the three fold qualities of nature. In vain does man first claim credit for his body and then its traits.

The effect of gunas (qualities)

The individual, bound by his own attributes, is constantly affected by the gunas of others and acts in accordance with the ensuing effect upon his gunas.

1. Some gunas attract and others repel.

2. Some are beneficial whilst others are obstructive.

3. Some erode the intellect whilst others strengthen one’s discerning faculty.

4. Some quell the emotions whilst others excite them.

5. Some inspire mercy within whilst others promote hard heartedness.

6. Some inspire friendship whilst others invoke enmity or hatred.

7. Some lead one to service of the Supreme whilst others lead to selfishness and egoism.

The Lord warns us that all that transpires in the world is controlled by these qualities.

a) The individual foolishly thinks that he controls his own actions and considers himself to be important or unimportant, thus inviting sorrow.

b) The Lord, in His compassion, is acquainting us with the knowledge of the gunas so that we can be rid of this futile ego and rise above the body self.

c) He is explaining the internal core and the external form of action, in order to free the individual from the illusory ego.

d) He is unveiling the mystery of the gunas so that we may be uninfluenced by action.

The Lord is thus commanding us:

1. Progress in sadhana – the practice of spiritual living. Actions will flow forth on their own accord.

2. Change your attitude; actions will, in any case, continue spontaneously.

3. Be detached; it is the gunas that control the actions.

4. Erase the ego and watch the play of the gunas from afar.

5. Annihilate the idea of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, renounce the body idea and become a witness to all that happens.

This is the attitude of an Atmavaan.