Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta Shlok Blog -76
Shlok-29
आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन माश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्यः । आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्यः शृणोति श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् ॥ 2-29 ||
English Transcription
Aashcharyawatpashyati Kashchiden Maarchashyarwadwadati Tathaiv Cha | Aashcharyawachchainamanyah Shrinroti Shrutwaapyenam Ved Na Chaiva Kashchit || 2-29 ||
Hindi Translation
Koi is shareer ko aashcharya ki tarah dekhta hai, anubhav karta hai, or waise hi dusra koi iska aascharya ki tarah warnan karta hai tatha anya koi isko aascharya ki tarah sunta hai or isko sun kar bhi koi nahin jaanta arthaat yeh durvigyeya hai.
English Translation
Someone regards this as marvelous, someone speaks of it as marvelous, someone hears about it as marvelous, and yet after having heard of, spoken of, and regarded as marvelous, no one truly understands it.
Meaning
In the previous Shlok, we saw how Shri Krishna tried to explain that everyone perceives birth and death differently but it is the same as always and will remain the same as well. Whatever is born will die and whatever is dead was born sometime and will be born again sometime elsewhere.
In this Shlok, we will see how Shri Krishna further analyzes how everyone watches the human body and its features and abilities how they are wrong, and to what extent are they right. This is a long one, so brace for it.
Everyone looks at this body with astonishment. The meaning of this is that like the other things that are seen, heard, read, or known, similarly this body cannot be learned or known about. The reason is simple. For the other things, we use “it” and “they” but for the body, we use an identifier. This means that the body needs not to be understood while other things that cannot be identified, need to be understood. The body will tell its secret itself only and there will be no need to mull over it. What you know from self-learning, cannot be taught to you by anyone in any manner because it is too long, subjective, and lengthy as well as different for everyone.
If you see from your own eyes, it is something that can be seen and that wants to be seen. This means that it is only the upper layer of what it is and what can only be seen. Like an iceberg, there is more than things that meet the eyes, so what cannot be seen but can be known because someone else sees it is also the truth. It might not be the complete truth, but it still counts because the entire world will understand and see the reason for it.
In this, I am there is something that needs no explanation because it can be seen and there is no need to make anything out of this. But what is not there and cannot be seen by someone but exists and someone else can see it and know about it, this much the body is not adept to and thus, here is where someone else comes into the picture who will also see everything and everyone with complete astonishment.
This is just like bringing a candle in a dark room to light it up so that everything can be seen. For that however, we also need to see first and then be seen as well thereafter, so that the light of the candle works best. This is exactly how life is and the human body is. First, you need to see some things and then those will be the light of the candle that can see the other things as well.
So, if there is a lamp lighting and we go near it to see it lighting, we will not need another lighted lamp to see that lamp because we can see from the light of the lamp itself and see the lamp also because the lamp is lighted in itself and there is no need of anything else like a lamp or anything else to be able to see the lamp and the light coming out of it.
Similarly for life. To know and see your self properly, you need not any other person or eyes. You can see yourself and your actual being easily, in its light.
There are three types of bodies- micro, macro, and reason. The micro is the body that comprises food and water. Comprising of seventeen Indris, there is a macro body. This macro body is more than just food and water. It is about knowledge and intelligence. Comprising over five different knowledge-gaining capacities is the reason body, which is not just food and water, not just knowledge and intelligence but also mannerisms and ethics as well.
Why is this talked about here? When everyone looks at the body with astonishment, they are getting more and more curious and till the people do not understand the concept of how to understand the body properly, they will keep speculating things beyond their power and yet not have any idea of anything.
Shri Krishna means to say that there is only one person who gets to understand the body properly, maybe, and this person will be the one thereon who will try to guide the others. It means that understanding the body is a tough thing and it is very interesting as well. But in reality, it is neither that difficult to understand nor that interesting. There is only one thing that stops people from knowing the real picture and that is the zeal in the people to know more.
Similarly, other people also describe this as an astonishment because this is not a thing of explaining via voice. It is something that enlightens the voice so how can the voice also try to describe it? Even if there is someone who understands this will describe charades and thus, they too are mesmerized to a level that they are unable to use words or voice to talk about it.
The one who knows and the one who explains about it don't have to be different people. They can be the same people also yet, whoever is involved, they are equally mesmerized and astonished and thus, they also give the description most astonishingly only as they do not know any other way to describe it at all.
Thus, there may be a lot of people who know about this, but only a few who truly understand this, and only a very few people out of those who understand are those who can explain to others in the mesmerized zone so that they can find a cure for the things or try to make others understand or find someone who understands without being mesmerized and then explain also without being mesmerized to others so that the concept is cleared anyhow.
In this process, there can be only a single step involved or a huge multitude of steps involved but whatever it is, it is incapable of explaining everything to everyone.
So, when someone else listens to it, they listen with a glint of astonishment only. This means that everyone who listens to it either forgets it or does not properly understand it and assumes certain things as per their understanding. But as discussed, this body is not a thing of astonishment. It is very simple, but some people do not have the zeal to understand it and thus, they listen to it and about it with mesmerized emotions.
No one knows about this body only by listening to this. This does not mean that it has heard so it will not now. It means that even if it has heard and it knows, it does not understand. They will understand only when they have the going to know about it and the groomed brains to understand it as well as be able to help others in understanding it.
Now, here can be a question. Some people say that by listening to learned sources and learned men only you can understand the meaning of everything. Yet, it is being said that people who listen will not understand by listening only. So how will they understand? And why is this contrasting? The answer is that the learned sources do not come in to tell the people to listen to them. The learned men do not come to people to tell them that they need to listen to them. It is the people who have ever been in connection with these people or things, have crossed paths with them somewhere, they come in the circle of others who do not know about it and then they tell them about what they have learned when the opportunity arises. Only a few of these people can understand everything explained, even if the person explaining will not be able to explain everything as he will understand limited knowledge only, these people will then tell others and then others, and finally the word spreads. It can be a slow process or a fast one depending upon the speed of people who understand and the people who want to know more.
It is said that a person knows more about anything when people do not try to teach others but they are curious themselves and they try to ask themselves and then the teachers give the knowledge of everything they know to make things normal and better.
Conclusion
In the beginning, we all saw how Arjun told Shri Krishna that he was so scared that he was unable to think of anything and was also unable to feel anything. His mouth was going dry and he was scared like anything. Similarly, now Shri Krishna says that explaining something that cannot be explained with words is difficult for him too and his mouth was going dry, his words were getting over and although he wasn’t blanking out or scared, he was trying his best to maintain his calm and cool and yet he was loosing out on words to explain what he meant and why Arjun should not feel that he was doing the right thing and yet understand this rather than just accept this with a heavy heart.
That’s all for Shlok-29, Chapter 2 of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. We shall see you tomorrow for Shlok-30, Chapter 2. Till then, stay happy, keep smiling, and read always.!!
