Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 27

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः | अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ||

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

All actions are performed by the gunas (modes) of material nature, but one deluded by ego thinks, 'I am the doer.'

Krishna reveals the root delusion: 'Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ'—all actions are performed by the guṇas (modes) of prakṛti (nature). Your intelligence, drive, opportunities, circumstances—all are nature's gunas acting. Yet 'ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate'—the ego-deluded self thinks 'I am the doer.' This is the fundamental error: claiming personal credit for what nature does through you. Your project succeeds through team, timing, resources, and your effort—but ego claims 'I did this.' This delusion of doership is bondage.