Gita II.12

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Never was there a time when I was not

Nor you nor these rulers of men

And never hereafter shall there be a

time when any of us will not be.

 

The interpretations of this verse Swami

Chinmayananda and Adi Shankara

are completely different. Swami

Chinmayananda takes it that the

reincarnation

of *individual* selves is what is

referred to here and he takes the

opportunity

to launch into a lengthy and heartfelt

defense of this theory. Shankara on the

other hand sees only *one* Self:

> So, too, we all shall not cease to exist, but continue to be in

> the future as well, after the disintegration of the body. The idea is that

in

> all the three divisions of time we are eteranl as identical with the Self.

> the plural number in verse 12 refers to differences in respect of bodies;

it

> does not refer to a plurality of Selves.

 

The meaning of the entire passage

II.11-30 seems to be at stake here.

 

Regards,

 

Patrick