A good doctor

Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the nature of the atma and also what karma is. If this is not explained to Arjuna as a kind of preamble, then Arjuna will not understand what is to follow. So understanding the role of actions and the nature of the atma is first necessary.

Lord Krishna says that we should perform actions in the right spirit. This means that we should not think that we are performing any action. It is He who makes us act. The Lord could have stopped with this and proceeded to the next stage of advice to Arjuna. But He also talks of what will result if we think that we are the performers of action.

Here, the Lord’s role is very much like a doctor’s, explained Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse. A doctor not only gives his patient a list of ‘dos,’ but he also gives him a list of ‘don’ts.’ Not doing as the doctor advises can harm the patient. But doing what the doctor advises against can also harm the patient. So what happens if we assume we are the performers of actions?

A person takes birth as a conscious, sentient being because of merits (punyas) he has accumulated over several janmas. He must make the best use of this birth to get out of samsaric life once and for all. The analogy of a man who has pledged everything he possesses to buy a boat to cross the ocean would be apt here. What is pledged is always more valuable than what is lent. So a person’s merits are worth far more than this birth. Now if a man wrecks a boat he bought with the money he obtained by pledging all his wealth, how then can he cross the ocean?

Likewise is the position of a man who has taken birth as a human, but assumes he is the doer of actions and thereby squanders the advantages of his birth as a human being. That is why Lord Krishna warns Arjuna about the dangers of thinking he is the doer of actions.