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

Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa As a carpenter performs actions, employing both his own power and a host of tools, so does the individual spirit soul, employing both his own power and the various life-airs. Thus the soul employs the material body and other instruments also, to perform actions. It is the pure spirit soul who thus uses the modes of material nature to perform actions. That is why the scriptures sometimes say that the modes of material nature are the performer of actions. That the individual spirit soul is indeed the performer of actions is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.22), where it is said: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu "The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among the various species."* These words explain the scripture passages that declare the modes of nature to be the performers of action. It is foolish for a person to think himself the sole performer of action and ignore the five factors of action. Of course it is not that the individual spirit soul never performs any action. The idea that the soul never does anything is clearly refuted by the many scriptural statements urging the soul to act such a way that he may attain liberation. When in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.19) the Lord says: nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate "The self slays not nor is slain." that does not mean that the individual spirit soul never performs any action, but rather that the eternal spirit soul can never be cut or slain. The meaning of the statement that the soul never acts has thus already been explained. In both this life and the next the devotees perform various actions of devotional service to the Lord. Because these actions are free from the touch of the modes of nature, because they are under the jurisdiction of the Lord's spiritual potency and because they lead to liberation, these actions are said not to be action, for they are not material actions. This is explained by the Supreme Lord Himself in these words: sāttvikaḥ kārako 'saṅgī