Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter2

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29.Aascharyavat pasyati kaschidenam aascharyavat vadati thathaiva chaanyaha

aascharyavatchainam anyahsrunoti srutvaapyenam veda nachaiva kaschit

 

In accordance with the trend of the Gita , Krishna again ascends the pinnacle of wisdom and says-

 

someone , kaSchith, sees, paSyathi, this, enam, (Atman) as something wonderful, aascharyavath; another, kaSchith, speaks of it , vadhathi, as something wonderful and yet another kaSchith, hears of it, SrNothi, as something wonderful. Burt even after hearing about it, Sruthvaa api, no one know is as such, na vedha kasChith.

 

Krishna explains that the self in incomprehensible. Some see it as something of a wonder, some speak of it as a wonder, others hear about it as something wonderful, but even after hearing about it no one understands. The rare ones who have experienced Atman or Brahman view it as a great wonder in the sense that it is something beyond perception, being beyond the comprehension of the sense organs. Among those, only few are able to tell others about it , and when they do, they refer to it as something wonderful because it exceeds verbal description. Those who listen about it are also wonder-struck on hearing about it and it is still more difficult to find one who understands this as it really is.

 

`Some on perceives this,' means the yogic perception as the self cannot be perceived by the senses. Only those who have realized the self can have the experience of the self and to them it appears as something wonderful being outside the realm of sensory perception. Even among those who have had the experience of the self, it is rare to find someone who tries to communicate the experience. Anything that is seen, heard and felt or cognized is of limited content. The self is beyond all limits of perception, feelings and thoughts. But the sages of lore have tried to explain that which cannot be explained , out of mercy to the humanity. Hence to those who hear about the self it is something of a wonder because they could not conceive of anything beyond the body, mind and intellect. Hence no one understands it through hearing because the truth of the supreme reality could be understood only through experience. Srutho api refers not only the hearing but also the knowledge of the sruthis, that is, Vedas. Even one who has learnt the Vedas could not know the self because mere learning is not enough which Krishna is going to elaborate later in the chapter.