Krishna declared that it is impossible to give up activities, instead a 𝙩𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙞 relinquishes the fruits of their actions (18.11). He elaborates about 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖  and says, "The seat, 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 (doer), various instruments, divergent functions and 𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙢 (divinity) are the five causes for accomplishment of all actions. Whatever action a man performs by body, speech and mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes. One of lower intellect viewing through a poor understanding thinks of 'self' alone as doer, he sees not" (18.13 to 18.16).

The seat is translated as the human body in our context and without the body we can't do any 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖. As far as 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 is concerned, clarity was given on many occasions that three 𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙨 are the real 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 for all actions. The nature and type of instruments change with time like the invention of car, plane etc. Existence offers various activities using these instruments.

𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙢 or intervention of divine force is the fifth cause of 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖. This is certainly a mysterious cause which is beyond the comprehension of our senses. 𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙢 is the reason that 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙨 performed in similar circumstances yield different results creating confusion.

Krishna says, "Those who are free from 𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢-𝙠𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙝 (egoistic) notion and with pure intellect, even by killing these people he kills not" (18.17). Earlier also Krishna told Arjun to fight by maintaining a balance between polarities (2.38). Together, these verses create uneasiness in us preventing us from realising the deeper meaning.

It is an existential truth that every birth is followed by death. While birth is welcomed death is treated with contempt, more so depending on the nature and manner of death. These verses exhort us to go beyond the polarities of life and death. They can also be taken as foundational verses to transition from a life of 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 to 𝙨𝙖𝙖𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙞 (witness).

https://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=147101&boxid=77846&uid=&dat=2024-09-15