Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 12
अतीतानागतं स्वरूपतोऽस्तिअध्वभेदाद् धर्माणाम् ॥१२॥
atīta-anāgataṃ svarūpataḥ asti-adhva-bhedāt-dharmāṇām ||12||
In their own character, past and yet to come exists
due to divisions in the way of nature.
Commentaries and Reflections
Commentary by S Ramaswami:
“The same object appears in that particular moment in that form or Dharma.
I.e. Past – Clay, Avasthā
Present – Pot, Avasthā
Future – Dust, Avasthā
So although the Dharmas manifest, the object itself does not disappear.
The same object just appears different because of the particular Dharma manifesting itself.
Or this can be in our relationship to that object, i.e. Rāga or Dveśa at different times.
Here though, we are looking at the object itself, not our relationship to it. This refutes the Buddhist view that objects are mental projections. The changes in the object are inherent within it.
Because of the differences in the manifestations of characteristics, objects appear differently on different occasions, i.e. past, present, future.
Then what are these objects made up of?”