Be an Instrument

Self Inquiry: Am I the Doer or an Instrument?

At times we think we’re the doer, at other times, the instrument.

(a) As you read the teachings below, mark the 3 clearest statements below, and the 2 foggiest.

(b) What percentage of your time do you estimate that you are:

the Doer___________%, the Instrument___________%?

(c) Still foggy? …See also Worksheet #15 “Who Is the Doer?”

…Be patient, it will come clear in due time.

…Dialogue (within and/or with others) about this key but elusive

idea.

…Go to the book (read the full text in the Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners).

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In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna advises us:

“Live life as a yogi (godly person of wisdom), the willing instrument of Divinity…

___ 1) Always remember this illustrious truth: you have no existence or individuality independent of God. Attune your whole life to this!

___ 2) The common idea that the Self (Atma) is the doer of actions is not true. Do not fall for this.

___ 3) Realize that all action occurs in nature (which is prakriti, the realm of matter), not in Divinity (purusha, the realm of spirit).

___ 4) Atma (the True Self) has nothing to do with any actions. It is eternal, pure, and is completely unattached to the world of matter. Atma performs no actions, no work, no karma at all.

___ 5) Your sense of doership belongs to the ego, which is the mistaken idea rooted in your mind that you are an entity separate from Atma.

___ 6) Nature is the doer of all karmas, all actions. All worldly activities are but modifications taking place in the realm of nature.

___ 7) Keep your mind free of the notion of doership, and you will not be tainted by your acts.

___ 8) Sattvic ‘doers’ (holy people performing worldly actions) see everything, including all their own actions, as the work of the Divine, and see themselves as but instruments of the Divine.

___ 9) Completely egoless, these ‘doers’ are free of desire and attachment—thus they are ardent about their work but unaffected by its success or failure.

___10) When you go beyond the sense of self (ego) and are therefore no longer attached to anything, you attain liberation from the bondage of karma and become an instrument of Divinity.

___11) God dwells in the hearts of all creatures and whirls them around as though they are dancing puppets. Do not suddenly imagine that you are the dancer.

___12) Know the high distinction between being a mere performer of actions and being the actual Doer.

___13) Hold the high conviction that all actions are in the Divine One’s hands—then you will live life as a yogi.

__14) Be established in Atma, keep your mind free from the notion of doership.” – Krishna

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