22. And on account of the declaration of difference (the highest Self
is) other (than the individual souls of the sun, &c.).
There are texts which clearly state that the highest Self is different
from Aditya and the other individual souls: 'He who, dwelling within
Aditya (the sun), is different from Aditya, whom Aditya does not know,
of whom Aditya is the body, who rules Aditya from within; who dwelling
within the Self is different from the Self,' &c. (Bri. Up. III, 7, 9 ff.
); 'Of whom the Imperishable is the body, whom the Imperishable does not
know; who moves within Death, of whom Death is the body, whom Death does
not know; he is the inner self of all beings, free from evil, divine,
the one God Narayana' (Sub. Up. VII). These texts declare all individual
souls to be the body of the sinless highest Self which is said to be the
inward principle of all of them.--It is thereby completely proved that
the highest Self is something different from all individual souls such
as Aditya, and so on.--Here terminates the adhikarana of the 'one within.'
The text, 'That from which these beings are born,' teaches that Brahman
is the cause of the world; to the question thence arising of what nature
that cause of the world is, certain other texts give a reply in general
terms (' Being only this was in the beginning'; 'It sent forth fire';
'The Self only this was in the beginning,' &c.); and thereupon it is
shown on the basis of the special nature of that cause as proved by the
attributes of 'thought' and 'bliss,' that Brahman is different from the
pradhana and the individual souls. The remaining part of this Pada now
is devoted to the task of proving that where such special terms as Ether
and the like are used in sections setting forth the creation and
government of the world, they designate not the thing-sentient or non-
sentient--which is known from ordinary experience, but Brahman as proved
so far.
23. Ether (is Brahman), on account of the characteristic marks.
We read in the Chandogya (I, 9), 'What is the origin of this world?'
'Ether,' he replied. 'For all these beings spring from the ether only,
and return into the ether. Ether is greater than these; ether is their
rest.' Here there arises the doubt whether the word 'ether' denotes the
well-known element or Brahman.--The Purvapakshin maintains the former
alternative. For, he says, in the case of things to be apprehended
through words we must accept that sense of the word which, proved by
etymology, is immediately suggested by the word. We therefore conclude
from the passage that the well-known Ether is the cause of the entire
aggregate of things, moving or non-moving, and that hence Brahman is the
same as Ether.--But has it not been shown that Brahman is something
different from non-sentient things because its creative activity is
preceded by thought?--This has been asserted indeed, but by no means
proved. For the proper way to combine the different texts is as follows.
Having been told that 'that from which these beings are born is Brahman',
we desire to know more especially what that source of all beings is, and
this desire is satisfied by the special information given by the text,
'All these things spring from the ether.' It thus being ascertained that
the ether only is the cause of the origin, and so on, of the world, we
conclude that also such general terms as 'Being' ('Being only was this
in the beginning') denote the particular substance called 'ether.' And
we further conclude that in passages such as 'the Self only was all this
in the beginning', the word 'Self (atman) also denotes the ether; for
that word is by no means limited to non-sentient things--cp., e.g., the
phrase, 'Clay constitutes the Self of the jar'--, and its etymology also
(atman from ap, to reach) shows that it may very well be applied to the
ether. It having thus been ascertained that the ether is the general
cause or Brahman, we must interpret such words as 'thinking' (which we
meet with in connexion with the creative activity of the general cause)
in a suitable, i.e. secondary, or metaphorical sense. If the texts
denoted the general cause by general terms only, such as 'Being', we
should, in agreement with the primary sense of 'thinking', and similar
terms, decide that that cause is an intelligent being; but since, as a
matter of fact, we ascertain a particular cause on the basis of the word
'ether', our decision cannot be formed on general considerations of what
would suit the sense.--But what then about the passage, 'From the Self
there sprang the ether' (Taitt. Up. II, 1, 1), from which it appears
that the ether itself is something created?--All elementary substances,
we reply, such as ether, air, and so on, have two different states, a
gross material one, and a subtle one. The ether, in its subtle state, is
the universal cause; in its gross state it is an effect of the primal
cause; in its gross state it thus springs from itself, i.e. ether in the
subtle state. The text, 'All these beings spring from ether only' (Ch.
Up. I, 9, 1), declares that the whole world originates from ether only,
and from this it follows that ether is none other than the general cause
of the world, i.e. Brahman. This non-difference of Brahman from the
empirically known ether also gives a satisfactory sense to texts such as
the following: 'If this ether were not bliss' (Taitt. Up. II, 7, 1);
'Ether, indeed, is the evolver of names and forms' (Ch. Up. VIII, 14, 1,
and so on).--It thus appears that Brahman is none other than the well-
known elemental ether.
This prima facie view is set aside by the Sutra. The word 'ether' in the
text under discussion denotes the highest Self with its previously
established characteristics--which is something quite different from the
non-sentient elemental ether. For the qualities which the passage
attributes to ether, viz. its being the one cause of the entire world,
its being greater than all, and the rest of all, clearly indicate the
highest Self. The non-intelligent elemental ether cannot be called the
cause of all, since intelligent beings clearly cannot be its effects;
nor can it be called the 'rest' of intelligent beings, for non-sentient
things are evil and antagonistic to the true aim of man; nor can it be
called 'greater' than all, for it is impossible that a non-sentient
element should possess all excellent qualities whatever and thus be
absolutely superior to everything else.--Nor is the Purvapakshin right
when maintaining that, as the word 'ether' satisfies the demand for a
special cause of the world, all other texts are to be interpreted in
accordance herewith. The words, 'All these beings indeed spring from the
ether only,' merely give expression to something generally known, and
statements of this nature presuppose other means of knowledge to prove
them. Now these other means required are, in our case, supplied by such
texts as 'Being only was this in the beginning,' and these, as we have
shown, establish the existence of Brahman. To Brahman thus established,
the text mentioning the ether merely refers as to something well known.
Brahman may suitably be called 'ether' (akasa), because being of the
nature of light it shines (akasate) itself, and makes other things shine
forth (akasayati). Moreover, the word 'ether' is indeed capable of
conveying the idea of a special being (as cause), but as it denotes a
special non-intelligent thing which cannot be admitted as the cause of
the intelligent part of the world we must deny all authoritativeness to
the attempt to tamper, in the interest of that one word, with the sense
of other texts which have the power of giving instruction as to an
entirely new thing (viz. Brahman), distinguished by the possession of
omniscience, the power of realising its purposes and similar attributes,
which we ascertain from certain complementary texts-such as 'it thought,
may I be many, may I grow forth,' and 'it desired, may I be many, may I
grow forth.' We also point out that the agreement in purport of a number
of texts capable of establishing the existence of a wonderful being
possessing infinite wonderful attributes is not lightly to be
disregarded in favour of one single text vhich moreover (has not the
power of intimating something not known before, but) only makes a
reference to what is already established by other texts.--As to the
averment that the word 'Self' is not exclusively limited to sentient
beings, we remark that that word is indeed applied occasionally to non-
sentient things, but prevailingly to that which is the correlative of a
body, i.e. the soul or spirit; in texts such as 'the Self only was this
in the beginning,' and 'from the Self there sprang the ether,' we must
therefore understand by the 'Self,' the universal spirit. The denotative
power of the term 'atman,' which is thus proved by itself, is moreover
confirmed by the complementary passages 'it desired, may I send forth
the worlds', 'it desired, may I be many, may I grow forth.'--We thus
arrive at the following conclusion: Brahman, which--by the passage
'Being only this was in the beginning'--is established as the sole cause
of the world, possessing all those manifold wonderful attributes which
are ascertained from the complementary passages, is, in the text under
discussion, referred to as something already known, by means of the term
'ether.'--Here terminates the adhikarana of' ether.'
24. For the same reason breath (is Brahman).
We read in the Chandogya (I, 10; ii), 'Prastotri, that deity which
belongs to the Prastava,' &c.; and further on, 'which then is that deity?
He said--Breath. For all these beings merge into breath alone, and from
breath they arise. This is the deity belonging to the Prastava. If
without knowing that deity you had sung forth, your head would have
fallen off.' Here the word 'breath,' analogously to the word 'ether'
denotes the highest Brahman, which is different from what is commonly
called breath; we infer this from the fact that special characteristics
of Brahman, viz. the whole world's entering into and rising from it, are
in that text referred to as well-known things. There indeed here arises
a further doubt; for as it is a matter of observation that the existence,
activity, &c., of the whole aggregate of creatures depend on breath,
breath--in its ordinary acceptation--may be called the cause of the
world. This doubt is, however, disposed of by the consideration that
breath is not present in things such as stones and wood, nor in
intelligence itself, and that hence of breath in the ordinary sense it
cannot be said that 'all beings enter into it,' &c. We therefore
conclude that Brahman is here called 'breath' in so far as he bestows
the breath of life on all beings. And the general result of the
discussion carried on in connexion with the last two Sutras thus is that
the words 'ether' and 'breath' denote something other than what is
ordinarily denoted by those terms, viz. the highest Brahman, the sole
cause of this entire world, free from all evil, &c. &c.--Here terminates
the adhikarana of 'breath.'
The subsequent Sutras up to the end of the Pada demonstrate that the
being which the texts refer to as 'Light' or 'Indra'--terms which in
ordinary language are applied to certain other well-known beings--, and
which is represented as possessing some one or other supremely exalted
quality that is invariably connected with world-creative power, is no
other than the highest Brahman.
25. The light (is Brahman), on account of the mention of feet.
We read in the Chandogya. (III, 13, 7), 'Now that light which shines
above this heaven, higher than everything, in the highest worlds beyond
which there are no other worlds, that is the same light which is within
man.'--Here a doubt arises, viz. whether the brightly shining thing here
called 'light' is the well-known light of the sun and so on, viewed as a
causal universal principle (Brahman); or the all-knowing, &c., highest
Person of infinite splendour, who is different in nature from all
sentient and non-sentient beings, and is the highest cause.--The
Purvapakshin maintains that the reference is to ordinary light. For, he
says, the passage does not mention a particular characteristic attribute
which can belong to the highest Self only--while such attributes _were_
met with in the texts referring to Ether and Breath--, and as thus there
is no opening for a recognition of the highest Self, and as at the same
time the text identifies 'light' with the intestinal heat of living
beings, we conclude that the text represents the well-known ordinary
light as Brahman, the cause of the world--which is possible as causal
agency is connected with extreme light and heat.--This prima facie view
the Sutra sets aside. The light which the text states to be connected
with heaven and possessing supreme splendour can be the highest Person
only, since a preceding passage in the same section--' All the beings
are one foot of it, three feet are the Immortal in heaven'--refers to
all beings as being a foot of that same being which is connected with
heaven. Although the passage, 'That light which shines above,' &c., does
not mention a special attribute of the highest Person, yet the passage
previously quoted refers to the highest Person as connected with heaven,
and we therefore recognise that Person as the light connected with
heaven, mentioned in the subsequent passage.
Nor does the identification, made in a clause of the text, of light with
the intestinal heat give rise to any difficulty; for that clause is
meant to enjoin meditation on the highest Brahman in the form of
intestinal heat, such meditation having a special result of its own.
Moreover, the Lord himself declares that he constitutes the Self of the
intestinal fire, 'Becoming the Vaisvanara-fire I abide in the body of
living creatures' (Bha. Gi. XV, 14).
26. If it be objected that (Brahman is) not (denoted) on account of the
metre being denoted; (we reply) not so, because thus the direction of
the mind (on Brahman) is declared; for thus it is seen.
The previous section at first refers to the metre called Gayatri, 'The
Gayatri indeed is everything' (III, 12, 1), and then introduces--with
the words 'this is also declared by a Rik_ verse'--the verse, 'Such is
the greatness of it (viz. the Gayatri),' &c. Now, as this verse also
refers to the metre, there is not any reference to the highest Person.--
To this objection the second part of the Sutra replies. The word
'Gayatri' does not here denote the metre only, since this cannot
possibly be the Self of all; but the text declares the application of
the idea of Gayatri to Brahman, i.e. teaches, to the end of a certain
result being obtained, meditation on Brahman in so far as similar to
Gayatri. For Brahman having four feet, in the sense indicated by the rik_,
may be compared to the Gayatri with its four (metrical) feet. The
Gayatri (indeed has as a rule three feet, but) occasionally a Gayatri
with four feet is met with; so, e.g., 'Indras sakipatih | valena piditah |
duskyavano vrisha | samitsu sasahih.' We see that in other passages also
words primarily denoting metres are employed in other senses; thus, e.g.,
in the samvargavidya (Ch. Up. IV, 3, 8), where Viraj (the name of a
metre of ten syllables) denotes a group of ten divine beings.
For this conclusion the next Sutra supplies a further argument.
27. And thus also, because (thus only) the designation of the beings,
and so on, being the (four) feet is possible.
The text, moreover, designates the Gayatri as having four feet, after
having referred to the beings, the earth, the body, and the heart; now
this has a sense only if it is Brahman, which here is called Gayatri.
28. If it be said that (Brahman is) not (recognised) on account of the
difference of designation; (we say) not so, on account of there being no
contradiction in either (designation).
In the former passage, 'three feet of it are what is immortal in heaven,'
heaven is referred to as the abode of the being under discussion;
while in the latter passage, 'that light which shines above this heaven,'
heaven is mentioned as marking its boundary. Owing to this discrepancy,
the Brahman referred to in the former text is not recognised in the
latter.--This objection the Sutra disposes of by pointing out that owing
to the essential agreement of the two statements, nothing stands in the
way of the required recognition. When we say, 'The hawk is on the top of
the tree,' and 'the hawk is above the top of the tree,' we mean one and
the same thing.--The 'light,' therefore, is nothing else but the most
glorious and luminous highest Person. Him who in the former passage is
called four-footed, we know to have an extraordinarily beautiful shape
and colour--(cp., e.g., 'I know that great Person of sunlike colour
beyond the darkness' (Svet. Up. III, 9))--, and as hence his brilliancy
also must be extraordinary, he is, in the text under discussion, quite
appropriately called 'light.'--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'light.'
It has been shown that the being endowed with supreme brilliance, called
'Light,' which the text mentions as something well known, is the highest
Person. The Sutrakara will now show that the being designated as Indra
and Prana, which the text enjoins as an object of meditation, for the
reason that it is the means for attaining immortality--a power which is
inseparable from causal power--, is likewise the highest Person.
29. Prana is Brahman, on account of connexion.
We read in the Pratardana-vidya in the Kaushitaki-brahmana that
'Pratardana, the son of Divodasa, came, by fighting and strength, to the
beloved abode of Indra.' Being asked by Indra to choose a boon he
requests the God to bestow on him that boon which he himself considers
most beneficial to man; whereupon Indra says, 'I am prana (breath), the
intelligent Self, meditate on me as Life, as Immortality.' Here the
doubt arises whether the being called Prana and Indra, and designating
itself as the object of a meditation most beneficial to man, is an
individual soul, or the highest Self.--An individual soul, the
Purvapakshin maintains. For, he says, the word 'Indra' is known to
denote an individual God, and the word 'Prana,' which stands in
grammatical co-ordination with Indra, also applies to individual souls.
This individual being, called Indra, instructs Pratardana that
meditation on himself is most beneficial to man. But what is most
beneficial to man is only the means to attain immortality, and such a
means is found in meditation on the causal principle of the world, as we
know from the text, 'For him there is delay only so long as he is not
delivered; then he will be perfect' (Ch. Up. VI, 14, 2). We hence
conclude that Indra, who is known as an individual soul, is the causal
principle, Brahman.
This view is rejected by the Sutra. The being called Indra and Prana is
not a mere individual soul, but the highest Brahman, which is other than
all individual souls. For on this supposition only it is appropriate
that the being introduced as Indra and Prana should, in the way of
grammatical co-ordination, be connected with such terms as 'blessed,'
'non-ageing,' 'immortal.' ('That Prana indeed is the intelligent Self,
blessed, non-ageing, immortal,' Kau. Up. III, 9.)
30. If it be said that (Brahman is) not (denoted) on account of the
speaker denoting himself; (we say, not so), because the multitude of
connexions with the inner Self (is possible only) in that (speaker if
viewed as Brahman).
An objection is raised.--That the being introduced as Indra and Prana
should be the highest Brahman, for the reason that it is identical with
him who, later on, is called 'blessed,' 'non-ageing,' 'immortal'--this we
cannot admit. 'Know me only, I am prana, meditate on me as the
intelligent Self, as life, as immortality'--the speaker of these words
is Indra, and this Indra enjoins on Pratardana meditation on his own
person only, the individual character of which is brought out by
reference to certain deeds of strength such as the slaying of the son of
Tvashtri ('I slew the three-headed son of Tvashtri,' &c.). As thus the
initial part of the section clearly refers to an individual being, the
terms occurring in the concluding part ('blessed,' 'non-ageing,'
'immortal') must be interpreted so as to make them agree with what
precedes.--This objection the Sutra disposes of. 'For the multitude of
connexions with the Self'--i.e. the multitude of things connected with
the Self as its attributes--is possible only 'in that,' i.e. in that
speaker viewed as the highest Brahman. 'For, as in a car, the
circumference of the wheel is placed on the spokes, and the spokes on
the nave, thus are these objects placed on the subjects, and the
subjects on the prana. That prana indeed is the intelligent Self,
blessed, non-ageing, immortal.' The 'objects' (bhutamatrah) here are the
aggregate of non-sentient things; the 'subjects' (prajnamatrah) are the
sentient beings in which the objects are said to abide; when thereupon
the texts says that of these subjects the being called Indra and Prana
is the abode, and that he is blessed, non-ageing, immortal; this
qualification of being the abode of this Universe, with all its non-
sentient and sentient beings, can belong to the highest Self only, which
is other than all individual souls.
The Sutra may also be explained in a somewhat different way, viz. 'there
is a multitude of connexions belonging to the highest Self, i.e. of
attributes special to the highest Self, in that, viz. section.' The text
at first says, 'Choose thou that boon for me which thou deemest most
beneficial to man'--to which the reply is, 'Meditate on me.' Here Indra-
prana is represented as the object of a meditation which is to bring
about Release; the object of such meditation can be none but the highest
Self.--'He makes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds do a
good deed; and him whom he wishes to lead down from these worlds he
makes do a bad deed.' The causality with regard to all actions which is
here described is again a special attribute of the highest Self.--The
same has to be said with regard to the attribute of being the abode of
all, in the passage about the wheel and spokes, quoted above; and with
regard to the attributes of bliss, absence of old age and immortality,
referred to in another passage quoted before. Also the attributes of
being 'the ruler of the worlds, the lord of all,' can belong to the
highest Self only.--The conclusion therefore is that the being called
Indra and Prana is none other but the highest Self.--But how then can
Indra, who is known to be an individual person only, enjoin meditation
on himself?--To this question the next Sutra replies.
31. The instruction (given by Indra about himself) (is possible) through
insight based on Scripture, as in the case of Vamadeva.
The instruction which, in the passages quoted, Indra gives as to the
object of meditation, i.e. Brahman constituting his Self, is not based
on such an insight into his own nature as is established by other means
of proof, but on an intuition of his own Self, mediated by Scripture.
'Having entered into them with this living Self let me evolve names and
forms' (Ch. Up. VI, 3, 2); 'In it all that exists has its Self (Ch. Up.
VI, 8, 7); Entered within, the ruler of creatures, the Self of all'
(Taitt. Ar. III, 21); 'He who dwelling in the Self is different from the
Self,' &c. (Bri. Up. III, 7, 22)--from these and similar texts Indra has
learned that the highest Self has the indiviual souls for its body, and
that hence words such as 'I' and 'thou,' which denote individual beings,
extend in their connotation up to the highest Self; when, therefore, he
says, 'Know me only', and 'Meditate on me', he really means to teach
that the highest Self, of which his own individual person is the body,
is the proper object of meditation. 'As in the case of Vamadeva.' As the
Rishi Vamadeva perceiving that Brahman is the inner Self of all, that
all things constitute its body, and that the meaning of words denoting a
body extends up to the principle embodied, denotes with the word 'I' the
highest Brahman to which he himself stands in the relation of a body,
and then predicates of this 'I' Manu Surya and other beings--'Seeing
this the Rishi. Vamadeva understood, I am Manu, I am Surya' (Bri. Up. I,
4, 10). Similarly Prahlada says, 'As the Infinite one abides within all,
he constitutes my "I" also; all is from me, I am all, within me is all.'
(Vi. Pu. I, 19, 85.) The next Sutra states, in reply to an objection,
the reason why, in the section under discussion, terms denoting the
individual soul, and others denoting non-sentient things are applied to
Brahman.
32. If it be said (that Brahman is not meant) on account of
characteristic marks of the individual soul and the chief vital air; we
say no, on account of the threefoldness of meditation; on account of
(such threefold meditation) being met (in other texts also); and on
account of (such threefold meditation) being appropriate here (also).
An objection is raised. 'Let none try to find out what speech is, let
him know the speaker'; 'I slew the three-headed son of Tvashtri; I
delivered the Arunmukhas, the devotees, to the wolves'; these passages
state characteristic marks of an individual soul (viz. the god Indra).--
'As long as Prana dwells in this body, so long there is life'; 'Prana
alone is the conscious Self, and having laid hold of this body, it makes
it rise up.'--These passages again mention characteristic attributes of
the chief vital air. Hence there is here no 'multitude of attributes
belonging to the Self.'--The latter part of the Sutra refutes this
objection. The highest Self is called by these different terms in order
to teach threefoldness of devout meditation; viz. meditation on Brahman
in itself as the cause of the entire world; on Brahman as having for its
body the totality of enjoying (individual) souls; and on Brahman as
having for its body the objects and means of enjoyment.--This threefold
meditation on Brahman, moreover, is met with also in other chapters of
the sacred text. Passages such as 'The True, knowledge, infinite is
Brahman,' 'Bliss is Brahman,' dwell on Brahman in itself. Passages again
such as 'Having created that he entered into it. Having entered it he
became _sat_ and _tyat_, defined and undefined,' &c. (Taitt. Up. II, 6),
represent Brahman as having for its body the individual souls and
inanimate nature. Hence, in the chapter under discussion also, this
threefold view of Brahman is quite appropriate. Where to particular
individual beings such as Hiranyagarbha, and so on, or to particular
inanimate things such as prakriti, and so on, there are attributed
qualities especially belonging--to the highest Self; or where with words
denoting such persons and things there are co-ordinated terms denoting
the highest Self, the intention of the texts is to convey the idea of
the highest Self being the inner Self of all such persons and things.--
The settled conclusion, therefore, is that the being designated as Indra
and Prana is other than an individual soul, viz. the highest Self.
SECOND PADA.
THE contents of the first Pada may be summed up as follows:--It has been
shown that a person who has read the text of the Veda; who further,
through the study of the Karma-Mimamsa, has acquired a full knowledge of
the nature of (sacrificial and similar) works, and has recognised that
the fruits of such works are limited and non-permanent; in whom there
has arisen the desire for the highest aim of man, i.e. Release, which,
as he has come to know in the course of reading the Vedanta portions of
scripture, is effected by meditation on the nature of Brahman--such
meditation having an infinite and permanent result; who has convinced
himself that words are capable of conveying information about
accomplished things (not only about things to be done), and has arrived
at the conclusion that the Vedanta-texts are an authoritative means of
knowledge with regard to the highest Brahman;--that such a person, we
say, should begin the study of the Sariraka-Mimamsa which indicates the
method how Brahman is to be known through the Vedanta-texts.
We next have shown that the text 'That from which these creatures are
born,' &c., conveys the idea of the highest Brahman as that being which
in sport, as it were, creates, sustains, and finally reabsorbs this
entire universe, comprising within itself infinite numbers of variously
constituted animated beings--moving and non-moving--, of objects of
enjoyment for those beings, of means of enjoyment, and of abodes of
enjoyment; and which is the sole cause of all bliss. We have established
that this highest Brahman, which is the sole cause of the world, cannot
be the object of the other means of knowledge, and hence is to be known
through scripture only. We have pointed out that the position of
scripture as an authoritative means of knowledge is established by the
fact that all the Vedanta-texts connectedly refer to the highest Brahman,
which, although not related to any injunctions of action or abstention
from action, by its own essential nature constitutes the highest end of
man. We have proved that Brahman, which the Vedanta-texts teach to be
the sole cause of the world, must be an intelligent principle other than
the non-sentient pradhana, since Brahman is said to think. We have
declared that this intelligent principle is other than the so-called
individual soul, whether in the state of bondage or that of release;
since the texts describe it as in the enjoyment of supreme bliss, all-
wise, the cause of fear or fearlessness on the part of intelligent
beings, the inner Self of all created things, whether intelligent or non-
intelligent, possessing the power of realising all its purposes, and so
on.--We have maintained that this highest Being has a divine form,
peculiar to itself, not made of the stuff of Prakriti, and not due to
karman.--We have explained that the being which some texts refer to as a
well-known cause of the world--designating it by terms such as ether or
breath, which generally denote a special non-sentient being--is that
same highest Self which is different from all beings, sentient or non-
sentient.--We have declared that, owing to its connexion with heaven,
this same highest Self is to be recognised in what the text calls a
'light,' said to possess supreme splendour, such as forms a special
characteristic of the highest Being. We have stated that, as we
recognise through insight derived from scripture, that same highest
Person is denoted by terms such as Indra, and so on; as the text
ascribes to that 'Indra' qualities exclusively belonging to the highest
Self, such, e.g., as being the cause of the attainment of immortality.--
And the general result arrived at was that the Vedanta-texts help us to
the knowledge of one being only, viz. Brahman, or the highest Person, or
Narayana--of whom it is shown that he cannot possibly be the object of
the other means of knowledge, and whom the possession of an unlimited
number of glorious qualities proves to differ totally from all other
beings whatsoever.
Now, although Brahman is the only object of the teaching of the Vedanta-
texts, yet some of these texts might give rise to the notion that they
aim at setting forth (not Brahman), but some particular being comprised
within either the pradhana or the aggregate of individual souls. The
remaining Padas of the first Adhyaya therefore apply themselves to the
task of dispelling this notion and proving that what the texts in
question aim at is to set forth certain glorious qualities of Brahman.
The second Pada discusses those texts which contain somewhat obscure
references to the individual soul; the third Pada those which contain
clear references to the same; and the fourth Pada finally those texts
which appear to contain even clearer intimations of the individual soul,
and so on.
1. Everywhere; because there is taught what is known.
We read in the Chandogya, 'Man is made of thought; according to what his
thought is in this world, so will he be when he has departed this life.
Let him form this thought: he who consists of mind, whose body is breath,
whose form is light,' &c. (III, 14). We here understand that of the
meditation enjoined by the clause 'let him form this thought' the object
is the being said to consist of mind, to have breath for its body, &c. A
doubt, however, arises whether the being possessing these attributes be
the individual soul or the highest Self.--The Purvapakshin maintains the
former alternative. For, he says, mind and breath are instruments of the
individual soul; while the text 'without breath, without mind,'
distinctly denies them to the highest Self. Nor can the Brahman
mentioned in a previous clause of the same section ('All this indeed is
Brahman') be connected as an object with the meditation enjoined in the
passage under discussion; for Brahman is there referred to in order to
suggest the idea of its being the Self of all--which idea constitutes a
means for bringing about that calmness of mind which is helpful towards
the act of meditation enjoined in the clause 'Let a man meditate with
calm mind,' &c. Nor, again, can it be said that as the meditation
conveyed by the clause 'let him form this thought' demands an object,
Brahman, although mentioned in another passage, only admits of being
connected with the passage under discussion; for the demand for an
object is fully satisfied by the being made of mind, &c., which is
mentioned in that very passage itself; in order to supply the object we
have merely to change the case-terminations of the words 'manomayah
pranasarirah,' &c. It having thus been determined that the being made of
mind is the individual soul, we further conclude that the Brahman
mentioned in the concluding passage of the section ('That is Brahman')
is also the individual soul, there called Brahman in order to glorify it.
This prima facie view is set aside by the Sutra. The being made of mind
is the highest Self; for the text states certain qualities, such as
being made of mind, &c., which are well known to denote, in all Vedanta-
texts, Brahman only. Passages such as 'He who is made of mind, the guide
of the body of breath' (Mu. Up. II, 2, 7); 'There is the ether within
the heart, and in it there is the Person, consisting of mind, immortal,
golden' (Taitt. Up. I. 6, 1); 'He is conceived by the heart, by wisdom,
by the mind. Those who know him are immortal' (Ka. Up. II, 6, 9); 'He is
not apprehended by the eye nor by speech, but by a purified mind' (Mu.
Up. III, 1, 8); 'The breath of breath' (Bri. Up. IV, 4, 183); 'Breath
alone is the conscious Self, and having laid hold of this body it makes
it rise up' (Kau. Up. III, 3); 'All these beings merge into breath alone,
and from breath they arise' (Ch. Up. I, 11, 5)--these and similar texts
refer to Brahman as consisting of mind, to be apprehended by a purified
mind, having breath for its body, and being the abode and ruler of
breath. This being so, we decide that in the concluding passage, 'my
Self within the heart, that is Brahman,' the word 'Brahman' has to be
taken in its primary sense (and does not denote the individual soul).
The text which declares Brahman to be without mind and breath, merely
means to deny that the thought of Brahman depends on a mind (internal
organ), and that its life depends on breath.
Or else we may interpret the Vedic text and the Sutra as follows. The
passage 'All this is Brahman; let a man meditate with a calm mind on
this world as originating, ending, and breathing in Brahman,' conveys
the imagination of meditation on Brahman as the Self of all. The
subsequent clause 'Let him form the thought,' &c., forms an additional
statement to that injunction, the purport of which is to suggest certain
attributes of Brahman, such as being made of mind. So that the meaning
of the whole section is 'Let a man meditate on Brahman, which is made of
mind, has breath for its body, &c., as the Self of the whole world.'--
Here a doubt presents itself. Does the term 'Brahman' in this section
denote the individual soul or the highest Self?--The individual soul,
the Purvapakshin maintains, for that only admits of being exhibited in
co-ordination with the word 'all.' For the word 'all' denotes the entire
world from Brahma down to a blade of grass; and the existence of Brahma
and other individual beings is determined by special forms of karman,
the root of which is the beginningless Nescience of the individual soul.
The highest Brahman, on the other hand, which is all-knowing, all-
powerful, free from all evil and all shadow of Nescience and similar
imperfections, cannot possibly exist as the 'All' which comprises within
itself everything that is bad. Moreover we find that occasionally the
term 'Brahman' is applied to the individual soul also; just as the
highest Lord (paramesvara) may be called 'the highest Self' (paramatman)
or 'the highest Brahman.' That 'greatness' (brihattva; which is the
essential characteristic of 'brahman') belongs to the individual soul
when it has freed itself from its limiting conditions, is moreover
attested by scripture: 'That (soul) is fit for infinity' (Svet. Up. V,
9). And as the soul's Nescience is due to karman (only), the text may
very well designate it--as it does by means of the term 'tajjalan'--as
the cause of the origin, subsistence, and reabsorption of the world.
That is to say--the individual soul which, in its essential nature, is
non-limited, and therefore of the nature of Brahman, owing to the
influence of Nescience enters into the state of a god, or a man, or an
animal, or a plant.
This view is rejected by the Sutra. 'Everywhere,' i.e. in the whole
world which is referred to in the clause 'All this is Brahman' we have
to understand the highest Brahman--which the term 'Brahman' denotes as
the Self of the world--, and not the individual soul; 'because there is
taught what is known,' i.e. because the clause 'All this is Brahman'--
for which clause the term 'tajjalan' supplies the reason--refers to
Brahman as something generally known. Since the world springs from
Brahman, is merged in Brahman, and depends on Brahman for its life,
therefore--as the text says--'All this has its Self in Brahman'; and
this shows to us that what the text understands by Brahman is that being
from which, as generally known from the Vedanta texts, there proceed the
creation, and so on, of the world. That the highest Brahman only, all-
wise and supremely blessed, is the cause of the origin, &c., of the
world, is declared in the section which begins. 'That from which these
beings are born,' &c., and which says further on, 'he knew that Bliss is
Brahman, for from bliss these beings are born' (Taitt. Up. III, 6); and
analogously the text 'He is the cause, the lord of lords of the organs,'
& c. (Svet. Up. VI, 9), declares the highest Brahman to be the cause of
the individual soul. Everywhere, in fact, the texts proclaim the
causality of the highest Self only. As thus the world which springs from
Brahman, is merged in it, and breathes through it, has its Self in
Brahman, the identity of the two may properly be asserted; and hence the
text--the meaning of which is 'Let a man meditate with calm mind on the
highest Brahman of which the world is a mode, which has the world for
its body, and which is the Self of the world'--first proves Brahman's
being the universal Self, and then enjoins meditation on it. The highest
Brahman, in its causal condition as well as in its so-called 'effected'
state, constitutes the Self of the world, for in the former it has for
its body all sentient and non-sentient beings in their subtle form, and
in the latter the same beings in their gross condition. Nor is there any
contradiction between such identity with the world on Brahman's part,
and the fact that Brahman treasures within itself glorious qualities
antagonistic to all evil; for the imperfections adhering to the bodies,
which are mere modes of Brahman, do not affect Brahman itself to which
the modes belong. Such identity rather proves for Brahman supreme lordly
power, and thus adds to its excellences. Nor, again, can it rightly be
maintained that of the individual soul also identity with the world can
be predicated; for the souls being separate according to the bodies with
which they are joined cannot be identical with each other. Even in the
state of release, when the individual soul is not in any way limited, it
does not possess that identity with the world on which there depends
causality with regard to the world's creation, sustentation, and
reabsorption; as will be declared in Sutra IV, 4, 17. Nor, finally, does
the Purvapakshin improve his case by contending that the individual soul
may be the cause of the creation, &c., of the world because it (viz. the
soul) is due to karman; for although the fact given as reason is true,
all the same the Lord alone is the cause of the Universe.--All this
proves that the being to which the text refers as Brahman is none other
than the highest Self.
This second alternative interpretation of the Sutra is preferred by most
competent persons. The Vrittikara, e.g. says, 'That Brahman which the
clause "All this is Brahman" declares to be the Self of all is the Lord.'
2. And because the qualities meant to be stated are possible (in
Brahman).
The qualities about to be stated can belong to the highest Self only.
'Made of mind, having breath for its body,' &c. 'Made of mind' means to
be apprehended by a purified mind only. The highest Self can be
apprehended only by a mind purified by meditation on that Self, such
meditation being assisted by the seven means, viz. abstention, &c. (see
above, p. 17). This intimates that the highest Self is of pure goodness,
precluding all evil, and therefore different in nature from everything
else; for by the impure minded impure objects only can be apprehended.--
'Having the vital breath for its body' means--being the supporter of all
life in the world. To stand in the relation of a body to something else,
means to abide in that other thing, to be dependent on it, and to
subserve it in a subordinate capacity, as we shall fully show later on.
And all 'vital breath' or 'life' stands in that relation to the highest
Self. 'Whose form is light'; i.e. who is of supreme splendour, his form
being a divine one of supreme excellence peculiar to him, and not
consisting of the stuff of Prakriti.--'Whose purposes are true'; i.e.
whose purposes realise themselves without any obstruction. 'Who is the
(or "of the") Self of ether'; i.e. who is of a delicate and transparent
nature, like ether; or who himself is the Self of ether, which is the
causal substance of everything else; or who shines forth himself and
makes other things shine forth.--'To whom all works belong'; i.e. he of
whom the whole world is the work; or he to whom all activities belong.--
'To whom all wishes belong'; i.e. he to whom all pure objects and means
of desire and enjoyment belong. 'He to whom all odours and tastes
belong'; i.e. he to whom there belong, as objects of enjoyment, all
kinds of uncommon, special, perfect, supremely excellent odours and
tastes; ordinary smells and tastes being negatived by another text, viz.
'That which is without sound, without touch, without taste,' &c. (Ka. Up.
I, 3, 15).--'He who embraces all this'; i.e. he who makes his own the
whole group of glorious qualities enumerated.--'He who does not speak,'
because, being in possession of all he could desire, he 'has no regard
for anything'; i.e. he who, in full possession of lordly power, esteems
this whole world with all its creatures no higher than a blade of grass,
and hence abides in silence.--All these qualities stated in the text can
belong to the highest Self only.
3. But, on account of impossibility, not the embodied soul.
Those who fully consider this infinite multitude of exalted qualities
will recognise that not even a shadow of them can belong to the
individual soul--whether in the state of bondage or that of release--
which is a thing as insignificant as a glow-worm and, through its
connexion with a body, liable to the attacks of endless suffering. It is
not possible therefore to hold that the section under discussion should
refer to the individual soul.
4. And because there is (separate) denotation of the object and the
agent.
The clause 'When I shall have departed from hence I shall obtain him'
denotes the highest Brahman as the object to be obtained, and the
individual soul as that which obtains it. This shows that the soul which
obtains is the person meditating, and the highest Brahman that is to be
obtained, the object of meditation: Brahman, therefore, is something
different from the attaining soul.
5. On account of the difference of words.
The clause 'That is the Self of me, within the heart' designates the
embodied soul by means of a genitive form, while the object of
meditation is exhibited in the nominative case. Similarly, a text of the
Vajasaneyins, which treats of the same topic, applies different terms to
the embodied and the highest Self, 'Like a rice grain, or a barley grain,
or a canary seed, or the kernel of a canary seed, thus that golden
Person is within the Self' (Sat. Br. X, 6, 3, 2). Here the locative form,
'within the Self,' denotes the embodied Self, and the nominative, 'that
golden Person,' the object to be meditated on.--All this proves the
highest Self to be the object of meditation.
6. And on account of Smriti.
'I dwell within the hearts of all, from me come memory and knowledge, as
well as their loss'; 'He who free from delusion knows me to be the
highest Person'; 'The Lord, O Arjuna, is seated in the heart of all
Beings, driving round by his mysterious power all beings as if mounted
on a machine; to him fly for refuge' (Bha. Gi. XV, 15, 19; XVIII, 61).
These Smriti-texts show the embodied soul to be the meditating subject,
and the highest Self the object of meditation.
7. Should it be said that (the passage does) not (refer to Brahman) on
account of the smallness of the abode, and on account of the denotation
of that (viz. minuteness of the being meditated on); we say no, because
(Brahman) has thus to be meditated upon, and because (in the same
passage) it is said to be like ether.
It might be contended that, as the text 'he is my Self within the heart'
declares the being meditated on to dwell within a minute abode, viz. the
heart; and as moreover another text--'smaller than a grain of rice,' &c.,
declares it to be itself of minute size, that being cannot be the
highest Self, but only the embodied soul. For other passages speak of
the highest Self as unlimited, and of the embodied soul as having the
size of the point of a goad (cp. e.g. Mu. Up. I, 1, 6, and Svet. Up. V,
8).--This objection the Sutra rebuts by declaring that the highest Self
is spoken of as such, i.e. minute, on account of its having to be
meditated upon as such. Such minuteness does not, however, belong to its
true nature; for in the same section it is distinctly declared to be
infinite like ether--'greater than the earth, greater than the sky,
greater than heaven, greater than all these worlds' (Ch. Up. III, 14, 3).
This shows that the designation of the highest Self as minute is for the
purpose of meditation only.--The connexion of the whole section then is
as follows. The clause 'All this is Brahman; let a man meditate with
calm mind on this world as beginning, ending, and breathing in Brahman,'
enjoins meditation on Brahman as being the Self of all, in so far as it
is the cause of the origin and destruction of all, and entering into all
beings as their soul gives life to them. The next clause, 'Man is made
of thought; according as his thought is in this world, so will he be
when he has departed this life,' declares the attainment of the desired
object to depend on the nature of the meditation; and the following
clause, 'Let him therefore form the following thought,' thereupon
repeats the injunction with a view to the declaration of details. The
clause 'He who consists of mind,' &c., up to 'who is never surprised,'
then states the nature and qualities, of the being to be meditated upon,
which are to be comprised in the meditation. Next, the clause 'He is my
Self,' up to 'the kernel of a canary seed,' declares that the highest
Person, for the purpose of meditation, abides in the heart of the
meditating devotee; representing it as being itself minute, since the
heart is minute. After this the clause 'He also is my Self,' up to 'who
is never surprised,' describes those aspects of the being meditated upon
as within the heart, which are to be attained by the devotee. Next, the
words 'this my Self within the heart is that Brahman' enjoins the
reflection that the highest Brahman, as described before, is, owing to
its supreme kindness, present in our hearts in order thereby to refresh
and inspirit us. Then the clause 'When I shall have departed from hence
I shall obtain him' suggests the idea that there is a certainty of
obtaining him on the basis of devout meditation; and finally the clause
'He who has this faith has no doubt' declares that the devotee who is
firmly convinced of his aim being attainable in the way described, will
attain it beyond any doubt.--From all this it appears that the 'limitation of abode,' and the 'minuteness' ascribed to Brahman, are merely for the purpose of meditation. |
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