Chapter XII · Śloka 5
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥
kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām |
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṃ dehavadbhir avāpyate ||
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṃ dehavadbhir avāpyate ||
For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest, the difficulty of the path is far greater, because the unmanifest goal is attained with great hardship by those who are embodied.
Krishna honestly acknowledges why the personal form is the superior path for embodied souls: the mind naturally works through form, sense, and image, making formless meditation inherently strenuous for beings bound to bodies.