7.3
Chapter 7, Verse 3
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये। यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः৷৷
manuṣyāṇāṅ sahasrēṣu kaśicadyatati siddhayē. yatatāmapi siddhānāṅ kaśicanmāṅ vētti tattvataḥ৷৷
Translation
Among thousands of men scarcely one strives for perfection, and even amongst those who gain occult powers, perchance but one knows me in truth.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
मनुष्याणाम् of men, सहस्रेषु among thousands, कश्चित् some one, यतति strives, सिद्धये for perfection, यतताम् of the striving ones, अपि even, सिद्धानाम् of the successful ones, कश्चित् some one, माम् Me, वेत्ति knows, तत्त्वतः in essence. Commentary: Mark how difficult it is to attain to the knowledge of the Self or to how Brahman in essence. Siddhanam literally means those who have attained to perfection (the perfected ones) but here it means only those who strive to attain perfection.Those who purchase diamonds, rubies or pearls are few. Those who study the postgraduate course are few. Even so those who attempt for Selfrealisation and who actually know the Truth in essence are few only. The liberated ones (Jivanmuktas) are rare. Real Sadhakas are also rare. The,knowledge of the Self bestows incalculable fruits on man, viz., immortality, eternal bliss, perennial joy and everlasting peace. It is very difficult to attain to this knowledge of the Self. But a good and earnest spiritual aspirant (Sadhaka) who is endowed with a strong determination and iron resolve, and who is eipped with the four means to salvation can easily obtain the knowledge of the Self.
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.