आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन माश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्य: | आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्य: शृ्णोति श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् || 29|| |
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“Few behold the soul in wonder. Others describe it as amazing and magnificent. There are others who, even after hearing, do not understand it at all.”
Commentary
The previous verse talks about the soul as an imponderable essence transcending human comprehension. This very transcendence renders millions skeptical of its existence. If one truly believed in the profound reality of the soul, they would fervently seek to unlock its eternal treasures. However, for many, belief in the soul remains superficial—a mere nod to the wisdom imparted by ancient seers. Even Arjuna, in his dialogue with Krishna, harbored doubts until he witnessed the divine revelation of Krishna’s form.
Faith, then, emerges not merely from intellectual assent but from the lived experience of integrating internal convictions with external teachings.
A devout practitioner of meditation can keenly observe the mind’s incessant oscillation among three primary modes: firstly, it resurrects memories and associated emotions from the past; secondly, it crafts visions and aspirations for the future; and thirdly, it impels the meditator to engage with the external world, fostering an insatiable craving for sensory stimuli.
Utilizing the mind as a tool, with its multifaceted capabilities, one finds it inherently incapable of plumbing the depths to unearth the soul’s essence. Yet, through divine grace and the practice of yoga, the devotee experiences a profound merging of intuition with the wondrous manifestations of the soul.