Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta Shlok Blog -59
Shlok-12
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः । न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम् ॥ 2-12 ||
English Transcription
Na Twewaaham Jaatu Naasam Na Twam Neme Janadhipaah | Na Chaiwa Na Bhavishyaamah Sarve Wayamatah Param || 2-12 ||
Hindi Translation
Kisi kaal me main nahi tha, tum nahi the, or ye raja log nahi the, ye baat nahi hai, or iske baad bahvishya me, main, tum or ye raja log nahin rahenge, aisa bhi nahi hai.
English Translation
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these Lords of men, and never shall any of us cease to exist hereafter.
Meaning
In the previous Shlok, we saw that Shri Krishna was teaching Arjun about life, death, and more. There was nothing that could not be done because life is unfair or life is not treating you well. Life and death cannot be determined based on a person’s choice. Grieving over such scenarios is plain and simple stupid because after death, either the soul travels to a new body to fulfill all the objectives, or the soul travels to heaven. Both ways, crying over the death of the decided and giving sorrow to the soul that travels in a new domain is very bad and never appreciated.
In this Shloka, Shri Krishna gives a talk about how even his existence wasn’t limited to wish but limited to time and nature’s needs.
We all know that the body and soul are two different things and the body dies while the soul never dies. The soul reincarnates and makes the onward journey.
Shri Krishna says that till he has not incarnated, the soul that gave him life was living in someone else. Same for Arjun and the same for everyone around him. There is no person who was never there and will be never there. They will be there, just not in the same format. Every time, there is someone who will be embodying the soul and the soul will be doing its purpose.
Shri Krishna wanted to establish that it was not just him who was available before, in a different format. It was not just Arjun who was available in a different manner. It was everyone who was present somewhere somehow. Sometimes, when you see someone and you feel that you know them, it is because your soul recognizes their soul and you might not know them or remember them but the soul remembers them. Thus there are people who did not exist before, but their soul was there in some other form and it was doing some other duty. But there is a limit to what a soul can do and then, once the objective is reached, then there is a need for a new incarnation so that the new set of objectives can also be attained.
So Shri Krishna tells Arjun that all of these were there before they were born. So they will be there after they were dead because their bodies will be dead and their souls will be living another life afterward.
All he means to say is that in the past, present, or future, irrespective of any location, situation, scenario, scene, or material can never be limited to time or essence of mood. It is only about knowledge of what is happening around us.
Shri Krishna also said that he had been born multiple times and everyone else also had been born and dead multiple times, but only Shri Krishna knows about it, Arjun doesn’t and many others don’t. He tried to show how he is different from humans and animals and yet he is the same.
So, in the future, this will not be the same condition. There will be no same people alive and no same things around. But does that mean that there will be no Arjun, no Krishna, and no others? No. Everyone will be there. Just not the same name and not the same number and not the same form. There will be people with different names and different shapes and different forms.
In a very subtle manner, Shri Krishna wants to tell to everyone that in the past there are people who will be the same as those in the future. But he did not mention anything about the present. This does not mean they are not in the present. It only means they are available in the present and similarly, there will be closeness to the people in the present as there was in the past and there will be in the future. People should understand that this is for a reason designated in the books of nature. There is no valid point for any debate. In case this needs any alteration, nature will keep sending its resources to do the same for you.
Conclusion
Shri Krishna tries to tell to everyone via Arjun that even if everyone feels they understand what they see, there is a lot they don’t see or they don’t understand even if they see. The reason is that everyone has a different way of perceiving the entire matter and no one can know exactly what Krishna is. So they will see different things and they will perceive different things. But everyone was there earlier and will be there thereafter.
That's it for Shlok-12 Chapter-2 of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. We will see you again with Shlok 13 Chapter 2 of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. Till then, happy reading..!!
