Aptavani-5
21
‘Jo tu jiva toh karta hari; jo tu Shiva toh vastu khari.
If you are mortal then God is the doer; if you are Self-
realized then it is the right state.’
No living being has the energy and power (shakti) to do
anything! What have they become ‘doer’ of? In fact one is a
‘doer’ of swa-parinaam (the state of the Self). So can anyone
ever be a ‘doer’ of par-parinaam (the state of the non-Self)?
From the time of a man’s birth to death, everything he does is
mandatory (farajiyat) and that is all a state of par-parinaam
(the non-Self). In all this the belief, ‘I am the doer’, is the seed
of the next life.
The Relative Self and the Real Self
In the state of ignorance (agnan) the self (vyavahar
atma; the worldly self) is the doer of discharge karmas (dravya
karmas) in that which is essentially anupcharik (that which
cannot be changed and is happening) vyavahar. With such a
worldly interaction one is a doer of discharging karmas (dravya
karmas). And after Self-realization the resultant state is forever
that of the Self (swa-parinaam). In this state, the Self does not
become vikrut (spoilt). Indeed if one were to become spoilt,
then everything would change and that would be the end of
everything. If you can understand only this much, your work will
be accomplished.
One believes, ‘I am the doer.’ Hey you