गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

"Consciousness performs yajñas. Consciousness performs actions." Saṁśaya (doubt): Does the individual soul, indicated in this passage by the word "consciousness", perform actions or not? Pūrvapakṣa (the opponent speaks): In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.18) it is said: hantā cen manyate hantuṁ hataś cen manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijānītau nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate "Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain."* These words clearly declare that the individual spirit soul never performs actions. In the Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) it is said: prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false-ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature."* In the Bhagavad-gītā (13.21) it is also said: kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate "Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world."* Therefore the individual spirit soul does not perform actions. When a person understands the truth he understands that all actions are actually performed by the material energy and the individual spirit soul is merely the person who experiences the fruits of action.