Acharya Prashant explains that the doer himself is often a product of bondage. To be more direct and accurate, the doer is bondage personified. When this is the case, everything that comes from the doer only serves to reinforce that bondage. The fundamental question to explore is, "Who is the doer?" If the doer is a product of biological and social conditioning, then the doer is merely an agent for the forces that seek to keep him in fetters. From birth, we carry tendencies that make us do their bidding, and we come to feel that our very identity is linked to them. As we progress through life, social inputs like education further this identification. We become what we absorb, even though that is not what we truly are. Consequently, most of what we do goes against our own real interests. Acharya Prashant uses the analogy of a prisoner who is asked to build his own cell and is told he is the mason. A false identity is laid upon another false identity. The prisoner happily raises the walls of his own confinement, working hard and even getting paid, thinking it's a fair deal while decorating his own cell. This is why doership is bondage. Acharya Prashant clarifies that the ego is the doer; the ego is always the doer. The goal is to elevate the ego to its highest possible point, which is when the ego becomes a servant to the Truth. This state can be described as having a "non-doing ego." Factually, the doer is always the ego. Therefore, one should strive to ensure it is a dedicated, surrendered ego that has committed itself to the Truth.
