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Chapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized · 72 verses

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Soul & knowledgeChapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized
2.282.30

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.29

The eternal soul beyond bodily death

Jīva · The soul

आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन -

माश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्यः ।

आश्चर्यवच्च‍ैनमन्यः श‍ृणोति

श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् ॥ २९ ॥

āścarya-vat paśyati kaścid enam

āścarya-vad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ

āścarya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti

śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit

Translation

Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

The Amazing Soul

  1. 1

    Some see, describe, or hear of the soul as amazing, while others cannot understand him even after hearing.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that the tiny soul lives in bodies as large as a banyan tree and as small as a germ.

  3. 3

    The easiest way to understand the soul is to accept the Bhagavad-gītā’s statements spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the greatest authority, without being diverted by other theories.

Key points from the purport

Krishna says that the idea that there is no distinct soul is merely the creation of groping philosophers whose insufficient minds are bewildered by the imperceptible and amazing soul

Some look on the soul as amazing

Some describe him as amazing

Some hear of him as amazing

Others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all

a

Different types of people who misunderstand the soul and find it amazing

Those who find this fact too amazing that the same soul in magnitude and quality is the cause of varieties of species (Biggest to the smallest)

Those who are too engrossed in gross material conception and sense gratification

Subject of soul is too subtle to be understood by men with a poor fund of knowledge and who are not austere

Some who accept the soul but

Misguided as acceptance of the Supersoul and atomic soul to be equal in magnitude

b

Easiest Process of Understanding the Soul

Accept Bhagavad-gita as given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead

It requires great penance and sacrifice to accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Only possible way is – by the causeless mercy of a devotee

Further reading

Jnana — Fight!

There is no death for the soul. The body can never be saved

Chapter 2, section II: Jnana — Fight!
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. āścarya-vatas amazing
  2. paśyatisees
  3. kaścitsomeone
  4. enamthis soul
  5. āścarya-vatas amazing
  6. vadatispeaks of
  7. tathāthus
  8. evacertainly
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: ātmā, jñāna.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 2.29 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to soul & knowledge?

Practice

Spend five minutes reflecting on what in you does not change.

5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 2.11The eternal soul beyond bodily deathBG 2.12The eternal soul beyond bodily deathBG 4.34The humility of real inquiryBG 15.7The living being belongs to Krishna
Live this todayThe Soul Cannot Be SlainA practice from BG 2.30, close to this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
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