Verse 18.17

यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते।हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते।।18.17।।

yasya nāhankṛito bhāvo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatvā ‘pi sa imāl lokān na hanti na nibadhyate

Meaning

No cap, if you're totally chill with your ego, and your mind ain't clouded by good or bad, even if you're taking people out, you're not *actually* killing, and karma ain't gonna touch you.

Commentary

Okay, so Arjuna, lemme break down this whole 'no cap' vibe of someone who's totally transcended the drama of karma. When you ditch the ego and that whole 'me, me, me' thing, desires and personal gain are, like, *so* last season. Actions? They can't even touch you. This person knows their true self isn't gonna get erased when their body kicks the bucket. They're not even tripping about who's doing what. Killing? For them, it's just another Tuesday, necessary for world peace and harmony. It's like, the executioner doing their job, no biggie. If you're intellectually woke, with pure understanding and logic on lock, and you've been hitting the books (scriptures, yo!), you're totally free from that 'I'm the doer' ego trip. You know nature's running the show. You're just the chill observer, not the main character. Those five things (body, actor, etc.)? They're just illusions, man. The senses are vibing with the sense objects, the gunas are doing their thing. You're the essence, no limbs, no hands, no nothing. How can you even *do* anything? You're pure, unbothered, and unchanging. No regrets, no 'shoulda, woulda, coulda.' You're wise AF. You can't even *do* wrong. Your will is one with the cosmic will, it's all the Lord's doing. You see clearly. Even if you kill, you're not *actually* killing. You're not bound by the consequences. You're beyond good and evil, you get it. Someone might be like, 'Wait, killing but not killing? That's sus!' But nah, it's all about perspective. Worldly view? Yeah, they're killing. Transcendental view? Nah, they're not even involved. Another objection might be like, 'The self acts with the body, right?' But that's wrong. The self is like the ether, super subtle, unaffected. It's unchanging, formless, attributeless. It's like a crystal not changing color because a red flower is near it. Only things that change can be agents. The self is always isolated, independent, free. Actions are done by the gunas, not the self. The self is indivisible, all-pervading, infinite, limbless, without parts, independent, ever-free, and immutable. So, actions of the body can't be blamed on the self. It's like, blue can't belong to the sky, silver to mother-of-pearl, water to a mirage. What ignorance assigns to the self doesn't actually belong there. Changes in the body are body things, not self things. The self is just watching. So, yeah, the wise person, free from ego and mind junk, doesn't kill, and isn't bound, even if they do kill. It's all about that self-knowledge. The Gita's whole point is that the self isn't affected by actions. The wise person doesn't need to act. They don't kill, and they're not bound. Sannyasins, those who are free from ego, aren't affected by karma. The fruits of actions? They don't even touch them. But those who are all about the ego and expecting results? They're stuck in the cycle of rebirth.