Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 5

Chapter 12 – Bhakti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥

Transliteration

kleśo.adhikatarasteṣāmavyaktāsaktacetasām ॥
avyaktā hi gatirduḥkhaṃ dehavadbhiravāpyate ॥

Meaning

Greater is the toil of those whose minds are set on the unmanifest, because the unmanifest goal is attained with difficulty by those who are embodied.

Word meanings

क्लेशः – hardship, toil
अधिकतरः – greater
तेषाम् – for them
अव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् – of those whose minds are set on the unmanifest
हि – because
अव्यक्ता गतिः – the unmanifest goal
दुःखम् – with difficulty
देहवद्भिः – by the embodied
अवाप्यते – is attained

Anvaya (word order)

अव्यक्तासक्तचेतसां तेषां क्लेशः अधिकतरः; हि देहवद्भिः अव्यक्ता गतिः दुःखम् अवाप्यते ।

Explanation

Having honoured both groups, the Lord now speaks a truth born of practical wisdom. "The difficulty is greater for those whose minds are set on the unmanifest; for the goal of the unmanifest is reached with great hardship by embodied beings." The word "dehavadbhih", by those who have bodies, is the key. We are not disembodied minds; we live in bodies, with senses, hunger, fatigue, habits and needs. A path that asks us to forget all of that, and to contemplate only the formless, struggles against our very nature.

The verse is not a criticism but a statement of fact about the spiritual path. Consider how hard it is to think of "that which has no attributes". Every time the mind tries to grasp it, the mind produces an image, a word or a concept, and then must drop that image as inadequate. This is the way of "neti, neti", not this, not this, which requires a very strong, refined and detached mind. Beginners often mistake a vague blankness for realisation.

Shankara agrees that the road is harder for those who have not freed themselves from body-identification, since the Self is subtle and the person has to overcome the habit of identifying with the body; he sees "klesha", trouble, as a hindrance to be overcome by the sannyasin through renunciation and knowledge. Ramanuja, who holds that contemplation of the pure soul alone is a more difficult route to the Lord, takes the verse to confirm that devotion is easier and safer. Madhva likewise highlights the difficulty of attaining the Lord through the unmanifest path alone.

The Lord does not say that this path is impossible; "klesho 'dhikatarah" is “greater trouble”, not “no result”. And the verse reminds us that the formless is eventually reached by knowledge, as in 12.3 and 12.4. It simply recommends choosing a path that suits our embodied condition. A person who tries to fast from all sensory objects before the mind is ready often swings to indulgence. Similarly, one who forces himself into abstraction without grounding may feel dry or restless.

Practically, anyone can begin from where he is. A name, a form, a song or a story gives the mind something to hold. As understanding deepens, the form becomes transparent to the formless, and the devotee discovers that the Lord he loves is also the all-pervading reality. This is what the next verses, 12.6 and 12.7, promise. Compare 9.2, which says that devotion is easy to practise, and 6.34 on the stubbornness of the mind.

Context

Verses 12.3-4 described the nirguna worshippers. Here the difficulty of their path is stated, and 12.6-7 give the easier path of saguna devotion and its fruit.

Life lesson

It is wise to choose a path after understanding your real condition. If the mind needs support, taking the simple support of love and devotion is not weakness but practical discernment.

Key terms

क्लेश: the toil and strain of practice
अव्यक्तासक्त: fixed on the formless
देहवान्: one identified with the body