21 May 2015 - QA 12

It is said, “Trikaalabadhit tat Satyam” (Truth is that which is beyond the three phases of time). But whatever has happened in the past does seem to have an effect on the present. And whatever does not exist in the present also seems to have some effect on life. Then how can we understand Truth to be beyond the three phases of time?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Just think – the answer is hidden in the very question you have asked now. Situations keep changing all the time, and Truth is not that which changes with time (meaning: Truth stands the test of time). People also change with time. And these changes keep affecting and influencing one another all the time.
There is a relationship between the cause and the action or effect. A situation that happens now becomes the cause of another situation in the future. When that next situation happens in the future, that too becomes the cause of some other situation to happen. That is why it is called as cause and effect. The entire world is connected through this principle. So if you see everything that is happening through this perspective of effect (after effect), then it is indeed true. But individually by itself, they cannot be treated as the Truth (since it continuously changes from cause to effect to cause again, and so on).