June 10, 2025
vedā ’haṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cā ’rjuna
bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaścana (VII-26)
icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhārata
sarvabhūtāni saṁmohaṁ sarge yānti paraṁtapa(VII-27)
VII/26. I know, Oh Arjuna, the beings of the past, the
present and the future; but no one knows me.
VII/27. By the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising
from desire and aversion, Oh Bharata, all beings are
subject to delusion at birth (or creation), Oh Paramtapa.
Swamiji's Commentary
Scientists, discussing the travel through space of light rays, assure us that if at this moment someone on a planet or star one hundred light years away, were able to "see" the earth, he would be witnessing what took place here a hundred years ago! Similarly, "the future," too, is already "present" somewhere; only it has not yet come into our view.
This may sound fatalistic, but is only so where the material or physical part of the universe is concerned - which is the very least of it! The seasons and the changes, the floods and the earthquakes are as predictable as eclipses. However, unpredictable are man's reaction and his inner attitude, for it is life that reveals the depth of our understanding, and it is the depth of understanding that flavors life. Some sages have conceded that whereas even man's actions and reactions are predetermined, he is free to be egoistic and thus feel bound to sin and suffering, or to realize that he is the witness consciousness and thus be liberated from these.
Each individual conscious soul is, at the very dawn of creation (the birth of the soul), enshrouded in ignorance, which gives rise to ego-centricism. This is followed by attraction and repulsion, attachment and aversion, likes and dislikes, and these in their turn sustain the whole cycle of delusion-ignorance-ego-centric-action-reaction. If the "I" sits in the judgment seat, trying to determine whether someone is good, bad or indifferent, one cannot understand God.
Objects come into being, exist and disappear in this world - it is God's will. But ignorant man desires some and dislikes others; thus he is not only bound, but reaps a harvest of pain and pleasure! He who is able to overcome these is undeluded by the pairs of opposites and to him both past and future are "ever-present," God being the river which touches the beginning, the middle and the end at the same time.