Bhagwad Gita - Post 226

Verse 17

He who is ever free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by (good or evil), though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound (by the action).

Swami Krishnananda picks up exactly from where He left, explaining the Cosmic Will as the Divine Providence and writes,

“We may confront the whole world if we like, and yet if our ego is annihilated completely, that is, if we do not have even an inkling that we are doing the action and feel that the Universal Will is operating through us, if that is the case, then we may even work the destruction of things, yet no result will follow as a nemesis of painful experience, provided we have totally annihilated our egoism and we do not even know that we are existing, and we always feel that the Universal is operating through us. Otherwise, we will be bound by anything that we do.”

Let us take a case of a Judge who has to announce the decision of hanging a convict or a policeman who has to be harsh with a culprit. 

At apparent level, yes, they are punishing someone. But it all depends on the inner conscience, on the motive behind their act and whether it is done with sense of doer-ship or it is just taken up as a part of their ordained Dharma.!

Regarding the sense of doer-ship, it is worthwhile to go through this interesting part.

It is said that Saint Tulsidas heard of Rahim’s style of giving alms, and asked him:

aisī denī dena jyuñ, kita sīkhe ho saina

jyoṅ jyoṅ kara ūñchyo karo, tyoṅ tyoṅ niche naina [v13]

“Sir, where did you learn to give alms like this? Your hands are as high as your eyes are low.” 

Rahim replied beautifully and in all humbleness:

denahāra koī aur hai, bhejata hai dina raina

loga bharama hama para kareṅ, yāte niche naina [v14]

“The giver is someone else, giving day and night. But the world gives me the credit, and so I lower my eyes.” Understanding that we are not the sole cause responsible for our accomplishments frees us from the egoistic pride of doer-ship. 

As per Sankara, this verse embodies the sum and substance of the Gita and even of all the Vedas. We start our lives thinking that we are the body. 

The scriptures, the Vedas, tell us that we are not the body, we are the jiva who has to use his body and mind to perform selfless service. Now, at the conclusion of the Vedas, & Vedanta, we are told that we are beyond the jiva. 
 

One who has achieved the true nature of the SELF, the immortal soul is not affected by material activities or influenced by worldly conceptions. 

If a situation arises on its own accord where such a one must perform actions they never think of themselves as the doer but consider that the Supreme Lord/Spirit is the doer of everything. 

Not even that, they rise beyond the thought about their actions.!! Actions emanate from them and they stand rooted in consciousness, as Stitaprajnas. 

Thus they are not fettered to actions and subsequently are not coerced to accept the resultant karma which forces one to experience the merits or demerits of actions.

Love.