It Is the Same Story That Repeats Itself Kalpa After Kalpa

Mahabharata is going to start.
So far, what we have seen is the background.

Pauloma Parva of Mahabharata is going to start.
Chapters 4 to 12 of Adi Parva come under Pauloma Parva.

The fourth chapter begins as:
Ugrashrava, son of Lomaharshana, arrived at the venue of the twelve-year-long yajna of Shaunaka Maharshi.
He approached the rishis who had come there.
Ugrashrava was very good at narrating stories.
This is how it begins.

Here, there is something very interesting.

Some versions start as:
लोमहर्षणपुत्रो उग्रश्रवा सौतिः
Some versions start with:
सौतिरुवाच लोमहर्षणपुत्रो उग्रश्रवा सौतिः

Meaning some versions start as:
Lomaharshana's son arrived at —

Some other versions say:
Sauti said — Lomaharshana's son arrived at.

How is this possible?
Sauti means son of Suta — son of Lomaharshana, Ugrashrava.
He himself is saying — 'Sauti said' —
As if it has already happened.

How is this possible?

This is one of the most important principles of Sanatana Dharma.
All these have happened in the previous Kalpa also.
They are just repeating — including the battle of Kurukshetra.
They have all taken place exactly as they are taking place now.
This goes on endlessly.
Like a movie repeating show after show — endlessly.
Every Kalpa it is the same story repeating.

So if we accept the version which starts with 'Sauti Uvacha', it means that the present Sauti is talking about what happened in the previous Kalpa.
If we accept the other version, then we are talking about what Vyasa has written —
a statement that Ugrashrava arrived at Naimisharanya.

Sage Vyasa knew beforehand itself in his samadhi state that all these are going to happen.
That's why he has written this also in Mahabharata.
He is not limited by time — that he can write only about the past and present.
He can write about the future.

Ugrashrava is going to narrate what Vyasa has already written.
But in what Vyasa has already written, this is also there.

Now coming back to the first version which starts with 'Sauti Uvacha' —
What is the pramana for this?

'सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ धाता यथापूर्वमकल्पयत् ।
दिवं च पृथिवीं चान्तरिक्षमथो स्वः'

The creator at the beginning of creation created Surya, Chandra, Swarga, Antariksha, Bhumi — exactly like how it was in the earlier Kalpa.

Yatha purvam akalpayat — as it was before.
They had all gone at the time of Kalpanta Pralaya.
Now the creator has to recreate them — how?
Exactly as they were before.
Nothing will change.

So if you are facing a problem today —
You have faced it in the previous Kalpa also.
You have come out of the problem in the previous Kalpa also.
Nothing is going to change.
You can’t change the storyline.

If you are looking for solutions, you are agitated, you are upset, you are tense, you are depressed —
You have gone through all these in the previous Kalpas also — so many Kalpas.
Your mind functioned exactly like this in the previous Kalpas also — endless Kalpas.

One Kalpa is Brahma’s one day — 4.32 billion years as per our time — equal night also.
The present Brahma is more than 50 years old.
So, in the present Brahma’s lifetime itself, you have gone through the same experiences —
at least 360 multiplied by 50 — at least 18,000 times.
That is present Brahma.
Before that — so many Brahmas.
Innumerable Brahmas.
In each Brahma’s lifetime, you have faced this same problem 36,000 times.

Think about it — what is the big deal?
You can’t change anything.
If you think that the future is in your hand — that you can decide the outcome —
You have thought in the same way so many trillions of times before also.

We don’t know every time at the end of it what conclusion you arrived at —
Whether you can control your life or you cannot control your life.
Either way — the same conclusion arrived at so many trillions of times before also.

It is not about which is correct.
It is about repetition of the same story, same sequence in every Kalpa.

Now you are listening to me.
You may understand what I am saying.
In that case, all these trillions of previous Kalpas, you would have understood what I am saying.
You may not be understanding what I am saying.
In that case, all the previous Kalpas also, you would not have understood what I am saying.

Do you get it?

These are the kinds of concepts hidden in Mahabharata.
That’s why it is said — even if you have understood half a shloka of Mahabharata, you have understood everything.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi