| 17. He who is free
from egotistic notion, whose mind is not tainted,though he kills these creatures,
he kills not, he is not bound.He whose mind has been well trained in the scriptures,
selftrained by a masters instructions, and welltrained in the sound principles
of reasoning, is free from the egotistic notion that I am the agent. He thinks
thus: It is these fivethe body, etc ascribed to the Self through avidya that
are the causes of all action, not I. I am the witness of their actions. I am
without breath, without mind, pure, higher than the Indestructible which is
Supreme (Murtd. Up. 21· 2). I am pure and immutable. He whose antahkaraysa
(buddhi), which is an upadhi of the Self, is not tainted, does not repent thus:
I have done this: thereby I shall go to naraka (hell). He is wise: he sees
rightly: though he kills all these living creatures, he commits no act of killing
nor is he bound by the fruit of adharma as an effect of that act.(Objection):Even
supposing that this is intended as a the statement that though he kills all
these mere raise, creatures, he does not kilt involves a selfcontradiction.(Answer):This
objection cannot stand ; for, the statement can be explained by distinguishing
the two standpoints of worldly conception and absolute truth From the stand
point of worldly conception, which consists in thinking I am the killer by
identifying the Self with the physical body etc the I Lord says, though he
kills; and from the standpoint of absolute truth explained above, He says.
be kills not, he is not bound. |
