Chapter 7 · Shloka 26— The Yoga of Knowledge & Realization

vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni chārjuna bhaviṣhyāṇi cha bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaśhchana

veda

— know

aham

— I

samatītāni

— the past

vartamānāni

— the present

cha

— and

arjuna

— Arjun

bhaviṣhyāṇi

— the future

cha

— also

bhūtāni

— all living beings

mām

— me

tu

— but

veda

— knows

na kaśhchana

— no one

"Vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna, bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kascana." — I know the beings of the past, the present, and the future, O Arjuna; but no one knows Me. Krishna makes a profound statement about the asymmetry between the Divine's knowledge and the world's knowledge of the Divine. 'Veda aham samatitani vartamanani ... bhavisyani ca bhutani' — I know all beings of the past, the present, and the future. The Divine, as the all-pervading consciousness and the very ground of existence, has complete knowledge of all beings across all time — their origins, conditions, and destinies. But then the striking contrast: 'mam tu veda na kascana' — but no one knows Me. Shankaracharya clarifies the meaning: no one bound by the delusion of the gunas and veiled by maya (as described in 7.13, 7.25) knows the Divine in His true, complete nature. The verse expresses the radical asymmetry: God knows all, but God in His fullness is known by virtually none. This is not a claim that the Divine is utterly unknowable — earlier verses (7.1, 7.14) and later ones make clear that the devotee who surrenders CAN come to know Him. Rather, it emphasizes that by ordinary means — through the deluded, maya-veiled mind — the Supreme remains unknown. The knower of all is not known by those caught in the play of His own creative power. The verse instills humility and points toward the path: the Divine knows you completely, intimately, across all time — while you, in your ordinary condition, do not know Him. To know Him requires precisely the surrender and devotion the chapter has been teaching. The one who knows all beings can be known only by the one who turns to Him in love.

Krishna states a striking asymmetry: the Divine knows all beings across past, present, and future — but virtually no one truly knows the Divine. There's something deeply moving here, beyond theology: the sense of being fully known. Whatever your beliefs, sit with the idea of a reality that knows you completely — your past, your present, where you're heading — more intimately than you know yourself. For anyone who's felt unseen or misunderstood, the notion that you are fully known at the deepest level is profoundly consoling. And the asymmetry is humbling: we, in our ordinary distracted state, barely know this deeper reality, even though it knows us through and through. The path to knowing back, the chapter has shown, isn't more cleverness — it's turning toward it in love and trust.

Krishna states a striking asymmetry: the Divine knows all beings across past, present, and future — but virtually no one truly knows the Divine back. There's something deeply moving here, beyond theology: the feeling of being fully KNOWN. Whatever you believe, sit with the idea of a reality that knows you completely — your past, your present, where you're heading — more intimately than you know yourself. For anyone who's ever felt unseen, misunderstood, or invisible, the notion that you are FULLY known at the deepest level is profoundly comforting. And the asymmetry is humbling: in our ordinary distracted state, we barely know this deeper reality, even though it knows us through and through. The path to knowing it back, this chapter's shown, isn't more cleverness — it's turning toward it in love and trust.

Krishna shares something amazing and a little mysterious! He says: 'I know EVERYONE — everyone who lived in the past, everyone alive now, and everyone who will live in the future! But almost no one truly knows Me.' Isn't it wonderful to think that God knows you completely — better than you know yourself — and loves you fully? Even when you feel like nobody understands you, God always does! And the way to know God back isn't to be super clever — it's simply to turn toward God with love and trust!