Bhagavad Gita BG 12.5
Chapter 12, Verse 5 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषां अव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् । अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥
klesho 'dhikataras tesham avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate
Meaning
Greater is the difficulty for those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest; for the path of the unmanifest is hard to reach by those who are embodied.
Understanding
Krishna explains why he declared personal bhakti higher: klesho adhikatarah tesham avyakta-asakta-cetasam (greater difficulty for those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest). Avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate (for the path of the unmanifest is attained with difficulty by those who are embodied). The key is dehavadbhih — embodied beings. An embodied mind naturally relates through the senses, through forms, through relationships. To reach the formless directly is hard for minds conditioned to form. The personal form of the Divine is the gift that meets the embodied being where they are.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| क्लेशः | kleshah | difficulty, trouble, hardship |
| अव्यक्तासक्त | avyakta-asakta | attached to the unmanifest |
| चेतसाम् | cetasam | of those minds, for those with such minds |
| अव्यक्ता गतिः | avyakta gatih | the path of the unmanifest |
| देहवद्भिः | dehavadbhih | by those who have bodies, by the embodied |
| क्लेशः | kleśaḥ | trouble, difficulty |
| अधिकतरः | adhikataraḥ | greater, more |
| तेषाम् | teṣām | for them |
| अव्यक्त-आसक्त | avyakta-āsakta | attached to the unmanifest |
| चेतसाम् | cetasām | of those whose minds |
| अव्यक्ता | avyaktā | the unmanifest |
| हि | hi | indeed |
| गतिः | gatiḥ | the path, the goal |
| दुःखम् | duḥkham | with difficulty |
| देहवद्भिः | dehavadbhiḥ | by those who are embodied |
| अवाप्यते | avāpyate | is attained |