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If these statements quoted--one from the Bhagavad Gita declaring that of thousands who seek the Atman only one finds it, and the other from the New Testament declaring that many are called but few are chosen--if these statements are to be taken literally, then the efforts of the vast majority of aspirants are doomed to tragic failure and it then becomes a question why anyone should engage in such a hopeless lottery with the odds against him so formidable as to make the game not worthwhile. Why too did those great seers who made these statements nevertheless go on to encourage their followers to engage in the task? Why if they really wanted their followers to engage in it did they not keep secret the hopelessness of the task? These are serious questions.

-- Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practices Involved > Chapter 2 : The Measure of Progress > # 84