The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation

Krishna explains the misunderstanding that arises from not seeing the five causes. 'Tatraivaṁ sati'—in that case (when there are five causes). 'Kartāram ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ tu yaḥ paśyaty akṛta-buddhitvāt'—one who (yaḥ), due to lack of understanding (akṛta-buddhitvāt), sees (paśyati) the self alone (ātmānaṁ kevalam) as the doer (kartāram). 'Na sa paśyati durmatiḥ'—that person of poor understanding (durmatiḥ) does not see correctly (na paśyati). This is the key teaching: when you see only yourself as the doer, ignoring the other four causes (body, instruments, efforts, Supreme), you have poor understanding. You're not seeing the full picture. This misunderstanding leads to ego-based thinking where you take full credit or full blame. True understanding sees all five causes working together. This sets up the teaching about the three kinds of action according to gunas, where the distinction is in the quality of understanding and the nature of the action.