The main cause of bondage is identifying Self with
body and mind, both of which are not eternal. The body is constantly changing.
We assume doer ship through the mind - which we identify as our Self - and any
action performed by thought, word and deed is wrongly associated with Self. But
the Self is non-doer; it is just a witness. Only the ignorant consider the Self
as doer. A person who is aware of this truth is free from bondage of the subtle
body which is the mind and intellect concept. Such a person is able to evolve
to higher realms.
The sentence “I am not the doer, Providence alone is
the doer” means that my wisdom and the thinking capacity that is in me would
not have been possible if the One present in all of us is not guiding my
thoughts. I am not the actor, writer or performer - someone is acting, writing or
performing through me; that One is the Cosmic Self, whatever name we might wish
to assign to the Power.
It is the knowledge of a Jnani or the emotional
feeling of a Bhakta that brings out non-doership which annihilates ego. An
unchecked ego hinders the flow of thoughts. Tons of praise may come your way
from those who appreciate creative work produced by your efforts. And the
praise may sometimes make you feel proud. Yet it makes sense to let all the
praise reach the One who is guiding you, so that there is no hindrance for
further flow of thoughts.
You don't have to imbibe non-doership; it should be
as naturally present as hunger is present. Does a lion need to learn how to
hunt? Or a deer, how to flee? No, it is just there as a natural instinct.
Similarly, having the skill to understand non-doership should come naturally to
the one who has become the Drashta or seer; or perhaps who is just a witness.
Only the ignorant would say that every event is happening due to them.
For Karya or something to happen, three things are
necessary: The person who does the job, parent material and the instrument to
do it. Take, for instance, the making of a pot. You have the potter who makes
the pot, the parent material is the clay and the instrument to make the pot -
the potter's wheel. If the pot (Karya) has to be made, the potter will use clay
and the potter's wheel. Here the potter is Abhinna Karana or undifferentiated
cause, clay is Upadana Karana or essential cause while the potter's wheel is Nimitta
Karana or the instrumental cause. Hence the potter's wheel cannot take credit
for the pot. The credit goes to the potter and clay. A potter can choose any
potter's wheel he wishes. Similarly, in our lives we are all like the potter's
wheel in the hands of the great Potter, the Supreme. Neither are we potter or
clay; the Supreme is all three.
What is so special in having an attitude of
non-doership? At the gross level it will keep ego in check. At the subtle
level, it will not let you become the bhokta, the enjoyer. I am neither karta
nor bhokta. This will ensure that one does not return in another life to enjoy
or suffer the fruits of past deeds. The attitude of non-doership would put an
end to the cycle of birth and death.
