Shloka 41
यथा भ्रमरिकादृष्ट्या भ्राम्यतीव महीयते । चित्ते कर्तरि तत्रात्मा कर्तेवाहंधिया स्मृत: ॥ ४१ ॥
yathā bhramarikā-dṛṣṭyā bhrāmyatīva mahīyate citte kartari tatrātmā kartevāhaṁ-dhiyā smṛtaḥ
De même que celui qui tournoie croit que la terre tourne, ainsi l’être touché par le faux ego se prend pour l’agent, alors qu’en vérité seul son mental agit.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives a parallel idea: Although our happiness and distress are caused by our own interaction with the material qualities, we perceive the Lord to be their cause.
FAQs
This verse explains that doership is superimposed on the self when the mind takes the role of agent; through the ego-sense (“I”), the ātmā is mistakenly remembered as the doer.
Uddhava conveyed Kṛṣṇa’s consoling and instructive message: to help the gopīs endure separation by grounding their love in spiritual understanding—distinguishing the pure self from the mind’s ego-driven perceptions.
When anxiety arises from “I must control everything,” remember that the mind’s ego creates the feeling of doership; practice offering actions to Kṛṣṇa and observe the mind without identifying as its restless agent.