Kṛṣṇa clarifies the role of the Lord in human activity. He says that the Supreme Master of the body (the Soul) does not create the sense of doership, nor does he create the actions or their connection with results. All this is actually carried out by ‘svabhāvaḥ’, the modes of material nature. The soul is like a passenger in a self-driving car. The car steers, accelerates, and brakes based on its programming (the Gunas). The soul doesn’t ‘do’ those things, but because it is sitting in the driver’s seat, it mistakenly thinks it is driving. Kṛṣṇa is helping Arjuna to ‘un-identify’ with the physical struggle. By understanding that nature is doing the fighting based on the past karma of everyone involved, Arjuna can let go of the ego-driven burden of responsibility. He is simply a witness to a cosmic process. This realization removes the ‘sting’ from action and allows the soul to remain pure amidst the most intense worldly events.