Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: The Path of Understanding
Bhagavad Gita 2.16
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ | ubhayorapi dṛṣṭo'ntastvanayostattvadarśibhiḥ ||
The unreal never comes to be, and the real never ceases to be. Those who see the truth have understood the final nature of both.
Modern context
This is one of the most compact statements in the Gita: what is unreal never truly comes to be, and what is real never ceases. By 'real' Krishna means that which does not change. Everything that arises and passes, including every pain and pleasure of the last verse, is by that test not the final truth about us.