āścaryavatpaśyati kaścidenam āścaryavadvadati tathaiva cānyaḥ .
āścaryavaccainamanyaḥ śṛṇoti śrutvāpyenaṃ veda na caiva kaścit ||2-29||
One sees This (the Self) as a wonder; another speaks of It as a wonder; another hears of It as a wonder; yet having heard, none understands It at all.
In simple words
Krishna tells Arjuna: "Some people look at the soul and are struck with wonder. Others hear about it and are amazed. But even after hearing all about it, hardly anyone truly understands what the soul is."
आश्चर्यवत्as a wonderपश्यतिseesकश्चित्sone oneएनम्this (Self)आश्चर्यवत्as a wonderवदतिspeaks ofतथाsoएवalsoचandअन्यःanotherआश्चर्यवत्as a wonderचandएनम्thisअन्यःanother
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
2.29 आश्चर्यवत् as a wonder? पश्यति sees? कश्चित् sone one? एनम् this (Self)? आश्चर्यवत् as a wonder? वदति speaks of? तथा so? एव also? च and? अन्यः another? आश्चर्यवत् as a wonder? च and? एनम् this? अन्यः another? श्रृणोति hears? श्रुत्वा having heard? अपि even? एनम् this? वेद knows? न not? च and? एव also? कश्चित् any one.Commentary The verse may also be interpreted in this manner. He that sees? hears and speaks of the Self is a wonderful man. Such a man is very rare. He is one among many thousands. Thus the Self is very hard to understand.
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
The ultimate reality is described as infinite, all-knowing, and blissful in nature, yet our direct experience of ourselves reveals us to be limited, ignorant, and suffering. Thus our immediate perception stands in complete contrast to our true nature as the atman. The difference between the ultimate reality and our direct experience appears as stark as the difference between cold and heat, or light and darkness. Why then do we not directly experience our pure atman nature? In ignorance, when we seek truth, we hold the belief that it is a distant goal located somewhere far away, to be attained only at some future time. Yet if we trust the teaching of the divine, we come to know that we are never separated from that truth, for it is our very nature. A mortal being is as far from immortality as a dreamer is from a waking person.
The human who is conscious of the glory of their atman nature is divine, while the divine who has forgotten their own glory becomes the deluded soul. First, it is difficult for the soul to even comprehend the existence of the atman that lies beyond body, mind, and intellect. But when through spiritual practice one recognizes one's blissful nature, one experiences that transcendent infinite bliss and stands amazed.
When wonder arises in the mind, it possesses the power to so completely absorb the astonished person that nothing else occurs to them, and in that moment they become one with that feeling. As an experiment, suddenly astonish someone and observe their expression—mouth agape, eyes wide and unseeing, every nerve taut with tension—they stand like a statue, bewildered and motionless for a moment.
Similarly, the joy of atman experience is when the atman itself delights in the atman through the atman alone. This is why the great sages have indicated this experience with the word "wonder"—when the ego-bound soul dissolves and only pure infinite nature remains.
The ignorant person believes "I am the body in which the atman dwells," but the wise person knows "I am the atman who has taken on a body." Those seekers who listen properly to this teaching are then encouraged to reflect upon it, and thereafter, until direct realization of the atman is attained, they are instructed to meditate. From this verse, even the ignorant person may be inspired to attain this rare and supreme knowledge through listening, reflection, and meditation. The atman cannot be known as an object of knowledge. This is why it is said here that no one knows it merely by hearing of it.
In the next verse, concluding this teaching, the divine speaks.