Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 8 (5.8)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
नैव किञ्चित् करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्
पश्यञ्शृण्वन् स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन् गच्छन् स्वपन् श्वसन्
॥ 5.8 ॥
naiva kiñcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattvavit
paśyañśṛṇvan spṛśañjighrannaśnan gacchan svapan śvasan
Translation
"The yogi who knows the truth should think, 'I do nothing at all' — even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping and breathing." (The sentence is completed in 5.9: "…because the senses move among their objects.")
Interpretation
Every activity of life. The activities of the five senses of knowledge (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating/tasting), and walking, sleeping, breathing — in all of them, "I am not the doer".
Shankaracharya: yuktaḥ samāhitaḥ san manyeta cintayet tattvavit — ātmano yāthātmyaṃ tattvaṃ vetti — one who knows the true nature of the self should, composed, reflect in this way. And the conclusion: yasya evaṃ tattva-vidaḥ sarva-kārya-karaṇa-ceṣṭāsu karmasu akarmaiva paśyataḥ … tasya sarva-karma-saṃnyāse eva adhikāraḥ — one who sees inaction in all activities is qualified for the renunciation of all action — because na hi mṛgatṛṣṇikāyām udaka-buddhyā … udakābhāva-jñāne 'pi tatraiva pāna-prayojanāya pravartate — someone who ran towards a mirage thinking it water does not go there to drink once they know there is no water.
Acharya Ramanuja (5.8–5.9): the knower of the truth of the self, śrotrādīni jñānendriyāṇi vāg-ādīni karmendriyāṇi prāṇāś ca svasya viṣayeṣu vartante iti dhārayan — holding firmly that the senses of knowledge, the organs of action and the vital breaths are moving among their objects, na ahaṃ kiñcit karomi iti manyeta — should think so. That is: jñānaika-svabhāvasya mama karma-mūlendriya-prāṇa-sambandha-kṛtam īdṛśaṃ kartṛtvaṃ na svarūpa-prayuktam — my nature is knowledge; this doership comes from the connection with senses and breath rooted in karma, not from my own nature.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.