DETERMINISM IN THE GĪTOPANIṢAD

Bg 5.8-9

naiva kiñcit karomīti

yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
vartanta iti dhārayan

SYNONYMS:

na — never; eva — certainly; kiñcit — anything; karomi — I do; iti — thus; yuktaḥ — engaged
in the divine consciousness; manyeta — thinks; tattva-vit — one who knows the
truth; paśyan — seeing; śṛṇvan — hearing; spṛśan — touching; jighran — smelling; aśnan —
eating; gacchan — going; svapan — dreaming; śvasan — breathing; pralapan —
talking; visṛjan — giving up; gṛhṇan — accepting; unmiṣan — opening; nimiṣan —
closing; api — in spite of; indriyāṇi — the senses; indriya-artheṣu — in sense
gratification; vartante — let them be so engaged; iti — thus; dhārayan — considering.

TRANSLATION:

A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching,

smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that
he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening
or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their
objects and that he is aloof from them.

Bg 5.14

na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi
lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ
svabhāvas tu pravartate

SYNONYMS:

na — never; kartṛtvam — proprietorship; na — nor; karmāṇi — activities; lokasya — of the

people; sṛjati — creates; prabhuḥ — the master of the city of the body; na — nor; karma-
phala — with the results of activities; saṁyogam — connection; svabhāvaḥ — the modes of
material nature; tu — but; pravartate — act.

TRANSLATION:
The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he
induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the
modes of material nature.

Bg 13.30

prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi
kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ
yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam
akartāraṁ sa paśyati

SYNONYMS:

prakṛtyā — by material nature; eva — certainly; ca — also; karmāṇi —

activities; kriyamāṇāni — being performed; sarvaśaḥ — in all respects; yaḥ — anyone
who; paśyati — sees; tathā — also; ātmānam — himself; akartāram — the nondoer; saḥ —
he; paśyati — sees perfectly.

TRANSLATION:

One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material
nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees.

Bg 13.32

anāditvān nirguṇatvāt
paramātmāyam avyayaḥ
śarīra-stho ’pi kaunteya
na karoti na lipyate

SYNONYMS:

anāditvāt — due to eternity; nirguṇatvāt — due to being transcendental; parama — beyond

material nature; ātmā— spirit; ayam — this; avyayaḥ — inexhaustible; śarīra-sthaḥ —
dwelling in the body; api — though; kaunteya— O son of Kuntī; na karoti — never does
anything; na lipyate — nor is he entangled.

TRANSLATION:

Those with the vision of eternity can see that the imperishable soul is transcendental,
eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O
Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.

Bg 14.5
 sattvaṁ rajas tama iti
guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho
dehe dehinam avyayam

SYNONYMS:

sattvam — the mode of goodness; rajaḥ — the mode of passion; tamaḥ — the mode of
ignorance; iti — thus; guṇāḥ — the qualities; prakṛti — material nature; sambhavāḥ —
produced of; nibadhnanti — do condition; mahā-bāho — O mighty-armed one; dehe — in this
body; dehinam — the living entity; avyayam — eternal.

TRANSLATION:

Material nature consists of three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance. When the
eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes
conditioned by these modes.

Bg 14.22-25

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca
moham eva ca pāṇḍava
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni
na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati
udāsīna-vad āsīno
guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ
yo ’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate

sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ
sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras
tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ
mānāpamānayos tulyas
tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī
guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate

SYNONYMS:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; prakāśam —

illumination; ca — and; pravṛttim— attachment; ca — and; moham — illusion; eva ca —
also; pāṇḍava — O son of Pāṇḍu; na dveṣṭi — does not hate; sampravṛttāni — although
developed; na nivṛttāni — nor stopping development; kāṅkṣati — desires; udāsīna-vat — as if
neutral; āsīnaḥ — situated; guṇaiḥ — by the qualities; yaḥ — one who; na —
never; vicālyate— is agitated; guṇāḥ — the qualities; vartante — are acting; iti evam —
knowing thus; yaḥ — one who; avatiṣṭhati— remains; na — never; iṅgate — flickers; sama —
equal; duḥkha — in distress; sukhaḥ — and happiness; sva-sthaḥ — being situated in
himself; sama — equally; loṣṭa — a lump of earth; aśma — stone; kāñcanaḥ — gold; tulya —
equally disposed; priya — to the dear; apriyaḥ — and the undesirable; dhīraḥ —
steady; tulya — equal; nindā — in defamation; ātma-saṁstutiḥ — and praise of
himself; māna — in honor; apamānayoḥ — and dishonor; tulyaḥ — equal; tulyaḥ —
equal; mitra — of friends; ari — and enemies; pakṣayoḥ — to the parties; sarva — of
all; ārambha — endeavors; parityāgī — renouncer; guṇa-atītaḥ — transcendental to the
material modes of nature; saḥ — he; ucyate — is said to be.

TRANSLATION:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O son of Pāṇḍu, he who does not hate
illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present or long for them when they
disappear; who is unwavering and undisturbed through all these reactions of the material
qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active;
who is situated in the self and regards alike happiness and distress; who looks upon a
lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is equal toward the
desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame,
honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all
material activities – such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.