Know Thyself

न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपा |

न चैव न भविष्याम: सर्वे वयमत: परम् || 12||

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings of men. Never will there be a time hereafter when any of us shall cease to be.

 A Recap!

Our previous discussion was left on profound, open-ended questions:

1. If we are merely a compound of food, flesh, and blood, then whose death are you grieving for?

2. Who really are we? Are we just what we have been made to believe since birth?

Now, let’s delve further into this verse.

The Verse

Sri Krishna directly reveals the profound truth of “Knowing Thyself” to Arjuna. He aims to target Arjuna's attachment born out of ignorance and answer the fundamental question: “Who am I?”

This verse tells us that we are not merely this body; we are something beyond it. For convenience, let's call it the soul. This body is temporary, ever-changing, and perishable. While the soul is eternal and unchanging.

What I can infer from this verse is that there was never a time when the soul did not exist. This means it has no beginning, and if it has no beginning, it must be the beginning itself. Using an analogy from mathematics: the origin has no beginning; it is the point where the coordinate axis starts. Similarly, the eternal soul is no different from God or the creator because both are without beginning. This implies that, in its true essence, the soul is not a creation of the creator but a part of the creator himself.

Another key point from the verse is the fundamental unity of all beings. The Lord emphasizes this by referring to himself, Arjuna, and the kings on the battlefield.

This clarifies that the soul is eternal, reinforcing the earlier point.

 Relevance in Our Lives

Lord Krishna reveals this verse to Arjuna to help him break his attachment to the transient—his body—and to understand the true nature of the self. Realizing this verse has profound implications for our growth:

1. Beyond Superficial Differences: We transcend looks, race, caste, creed, and status. We start loving everyone because fundamentally, we are all the same eternal soul.

2. Breaking Ignorance: It shatters our attachment to material bodies, revealing the true nature of our being.

Realizing this truth also makes us fearless. The root of fear lies in the belief in separation—seeing oneself as distinct from the world and the divine. Read more on this in the footnotes. (For the sake of maintaining the brevity of this post)

Do Your Homework: (Mandatory)

Time required: 30 mins