There has never been a time when you and I have not existed – Bhagavad Gita

There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor there would be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.

Contacts of the senses with objects produce cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go and are impermanent. Bear with them.

The person who these cannot afflict, chief among men, who is the same in pleasure and pain, wise, he is fit for immortality.

That which really is cannot go out of existence, just as that which is non-existent cannot come into being. The end of this opposition of ‘is’ and ‘is not’ has been perceived by the seers of essential truths.

Know that by which all this is pervaded to be indestructible. No one can bring about the destruction of the imperishable.
(Gita Chapter 2 verse 12 to 17).

Explaining the concept to a child:

Imagine you have a favorite storybook. In this special book called the Bhagavad Gita, there's a line that says something really interesting. It says, "There has never been a time when you and I have not existed."

Now, let's break it down. Imagine you're talking to your best friend. You might think, "We've known each other forever!" Well, the Bhagavad Gita is saying something like that, but even bigger. It's saying that you and everyone else have always been around, even before you were born, and even before your parents or grandparents were born.

It's like saying you and your friend have always been connected, and you'll always be connected, no matter what happens. So, even though we might not remember it or understand it completely, according to the Bhagavad Gita, we've always been a part of something much bigger than just ourselves. It's a pretty cool thought, isn't it?

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Imagine you and I are like two drops of water in a big, big ocean. The Bhagavad Gita, which is a sacred text from a religion called Hinduism, tells us something very special. It says that just like how the water in the ocean has always been there, you and I have always been around too.

So, think about it this way: before you were born and before I was born, there was still something that made us who we are. It's like we've always been a part of this big world in some way. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that our existence is part of something much bigger and timeless. It's a beautiful way of saying that we're all connected and that our lives are part of a bigger picture that goes on and on.

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The Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture, indeed discusses the transient nature of sensory experiences and advises individuals to endure them with equanimity. The specific verse you're referring to is likely from Chapter 2, Verse 14, where Lord Krishna imparts wisdom to Arjuna on the nature of experiences:

"Matrasparshas tu kaunteya 
Sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah 
Agamapayino 'nityas 
Tams titikshasva bharata"

This verse can be translated as:

"O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of heat and cold, happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."

In this verse, Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna about the transient nature of sensory experiences, urging him to remain steadfast and unaffected by them. It's a reminder of the impermanence of worldly pleasures and pains and encourages one to cultivate detachment and endurance.