The conscious subject persists in the state of release.
To maintain that the consciousness of the 'I' does not persist in the
state of final release is again altogether inappropriate. It in fact
amounts to the doctrine--only expressed in somewhat different words--
that final release is the annihilation of the Self. The 'I' is not a
mere attribute of the Self so that even after its destruction the
essential nature of the Self might persist--as it persists on the
cessation of ignorance; but it constitutes the very nature of the Self.
Such judgments as 'I know', 'Knowledge has arisen in me', show, on the
other hand, that we are conscious of knowledge as a mere attribute of
the Self.--Moreover, a man who suffering pain, mental or of other kind--
whether such pain be real or due to error only--puts himself in relation
to pain--'I am suffering pain'--naturally begins to reflect how he may
once for all free himself from all these manifold afflictions and enjoy
a state of untroubled ease; the desire of final release thus having
arisen in him he at once sets to work to accomplish it. If, on the other
hand, he were to realise that the effect of such activity would be the
loss of personal existence, he surely would turn away as soon as
somebody began to tell him about 'release'. And the result of this would
be that, in the absence of willing and qualified pupils, the whole
scriptural teaching as to final release would lose its authoritative
character.--Nor must you maintain against this that even in the state of
release there persists pure consciousness; for this by no means improves
your case. No sensible person exerts himself under the influence of the
idea that after he himself has perished there will remain some entity
termed 'pure light!'--What constitutes the 'inward' Self thus is the 'I',
the knowing subject.
This 'inward' Self shines forth in the state of final release also as an
'I'; for it appears to itself. The general principle is that whatever
being appears to itself appears as an 'I'; both parties in the present
dispute establish the existence of the transmigrating Self on such
appearance. On the contrary, whatever does not appear as an 'I', does
not appear to itself; as jars and the like. Now the emancipated Self
does thus appear to itself, and therefore it appears as an 'I'. Nor does
this appearance as an 'I' imply in any way that the released Self is
subject to Nescience and implicated in the Samsara; for this would
contradict the nature of final release, and moreover the consciousness
of the 'I' cannot be the cause of Nescience and so on. Nescience
(ignorance) is either ignorance as to essential nature, or the cognition
of something under an aspect different from the real one (as when a
person suffering from jaundice sees all things yellow); or cognition of
what is altogether opposite in nature (as when mother o' pearl is
mistaken for silver). Now the 'I' constitutes the essential nature of
the Self; how then can the consciousness of the 'I,' i.e. the
consciousness of its own true nature, implicate the released Self in
Nescience, or, in the Samsara? The fact rather is that such
consciousness destroys Nescience, and so on, because it is essentially
opposed to them. In agreement with this we observe that persons like the
rishi Vamadeva, in whom the intuition of their identity with Brahman had
totally destroyed all Nescience, enjoyed the consciousness of the
personal 'I'; for scripture says, 'Seeing this the rishi Vamadeva
understood,_I_ was Manu and the Sun' (Bri. Up. I, 4, 10). And the
highest Brahman also, which is opposed to all other forms of Nescience
and denoted and conceived as pure Being, is spoken of in an analogous
way; cp. 'Let me make each of these three deities,' &c. (Ch. Up. VI, 3,
3); 'May I be many, may I grow forth' (Ch. Up. VI, 2, 3); 'He thought,
shall I send forth worlds?' (Ait. Ar. II, 4, 1, 1); and again, 'Since I
transcend the Destructible, and am higher also than the Indestructible,
therefore I am proclaimed in the world and in the Veda as the highest
Person' (Bha. Gi. XV, 18); 'I am the Self, O Gudakesa.' (Bha. Gi. X, 20);
'Never was I not' (Bha. Gi. II, 12); 'I am the source and the
destruction of the whole world' (Bha. Gi. VII, 6); 'I am the source of
all; from me proceeds everything' (Bha. Gi. X, 8); 'I am he who raises
them from the ocean of the world of death' (Bha. Gi. XII, 7); 'I am the
giver of seed, the father' (Bha. Gi. XIV, 4); 'I know the things past'
(Bha. Gi. VII, 26).--But if the 'I' (aham) constitutes the essential
nature of the Self, how is it that the Holy One teaches the principle of
egoity (ahamkara) to belong to the sphere of objects, 'The great
elements, the ahamkara, the understanding (buddhi), and the Unevolved'
(Bha. Gi. XIII, 5)?--As in all passages, we reply, which give
information about the true nature of the Self it is spoken of as the 'I',
we conclude that the 'I' constitutes the essential nature of the inward
Self. Where, on the other hand, the Holy One declares the ahamkara--a
special effect of the Unevolved--to be comprised within the sphere of
the Objective, he means that principle which is called ahamkara, because
it causes the assumption of Egoity on the part of the body which belongs
to the Not-self. Such egoity constitutes the ahamkara also designated as
pride or arrogance, which causes men to slight persons superior to
themselves, and is referred to by scripture in many places as something
evil. Such consciousness of the 'I' therefore as is not sublated by
anything else has the Self for its object; while, on the other hand,
such consciousness of the 'I' as has the body for its object is mere
Nescience. In agreement with this the Reverend Parasara has said, 'Hear
from me the essential nature of Nescience; it is the attribution of
Selfhood to what is not the Self.' If the Self were pure consciousness
then pure consciousness only, and not the quality of being a knowing
subject, would present itself in the body also, which is a Not-self
wrongly imagined to be a Self. The conclusion therefore remains that the
Self is nothing but the knowing 'I'. Thus it has been said, 'As is
proved by perception, and as also results from reasoning and tradition,
and from its connexion with ignorance, the Self presents itself as a
knowing 'I'. And again,'That which is different from body, senses, mind,
and vital airs; which does not depend on other means; which is permanent,
pervading, divided according to bodies-that is the Self blessed in
itself.' Here 'not dependent on other means' means 'self-luminous'; and
'pervading' means 'being of such a nature as to enter, owing to
excessive minuteness, into all non-sentient things.'
In cases of Scripture conflicting with Perception, Scripture is not
stronger. The True cannot be known through the Untrue.
With reference to the assertion (p. 24 ff.) that Perception, which
depends on the view of plurality, is based on some defect and hence
admits of being otherwise accounted for--whence it follows that it is
sublated by Scripture; we ask you to point out what defect it is on
which Perception is based and may hence be accounted for otherwise.--'
The beginningless imagination of difference' we expect you to reply.--
But, we ask in return, have you then come to know by some other means
that this beginningless imagination of difference, acting in a manner
analogous to that of certain defects of vision, is really the cause of
an altogether perverse view of things?--If you reply that this is known
just from the fact that Perception is in conflict with Scripture, we
point out that you are reasoning in a circle: you prove the
defectiveness of the imagination of plurality through the fact that
Scripture tells us about a substance devoid of all difference; and at
the same time you prove the latter point through the former. Moreover,
if Perception gives rise to perverse cognition because it is based on
the imagination of plurality, Scripture also is in no better case--for
it is based on the very same view.--If against this you urge that
Scripture, although based on a defect, yet sublates Perception in so far
as it is the cause of a cognition which dispels all plurality
apprehended through Perception, and thus is later in order than
Perception; we rejoin that the defectiveness of the foundation of
Scripture having once been recognised, the circumstance of its being
later is of no avail. For if a man is afraid of a rope which he mistakes
for a snake his fear does not come to an end because another man, whom
he considers to be in error himself, tells him 'This is no snake, do not
be afraid.' And that Scripture _is_ founded on something defective is
known at the very time of hearing Scripture, for the reflection (which
follows on hearing) consists in repeated attempts to cognise the oneness
of Brahman--a cognition which is destructive of all the plurality
apprehended through the first hearing of the Veda.--We further ask, 'By
what means do you arrive at the conclusion that Scripture cannot
possibly be assumed to be defective in any way, while defects may be
ascribed to Perception'? It is certainly not Consciousness--self-proved
and absolutely devoid of all difference--which enlightens you on this
point; for such Consciousness is unrelated to any objects whatever, and
incapable of partiality to Scripture. Nor can sense-perception be the
source of your conviction; for as it is founded on what is defective it
gives perverse information. Nor again the other sources of knowledge;
for they are all based on sense-perception. As thus there are no
acknowledged means of knowledge to prove your view, you must give it up.
But, you will perhaps say, we proceed by means of the ordinary empirical
means and objects of knowledge!--What, we ask in reply, do you
understand by 'empirical'?--What rests on immediate unreflective
knowledge, but is found not to hold good when tested by logical
reasoning!--But what is the use, we ask, of knowledge of this kind? If
logical reasoning refutes something known through some means of
knowledge, that means of knowledge is no longer authoritative!--Now you
will possibly argue as follows: 'Scripture as well as Perception is
founded on Nescience; but all the same Perception is sublated by
Scripture. For as the object of Scripture, i.e. Brahman, which is one
and without a second, is not seen to be sublated by any ulterior
cognition, Brahman, i.e. pure non-differenced Consciousness, remains as
the sole Reality.'--But here too you are wrong, since we must decide
that something which rests on a defect is unreal, although it may remain
unrefuted. We will illustrate this point by an analogous instance. Let
us imagine a race of men afflicted with a certain special defect of
vision, without being aware of this their defect, dwelling in some
remote mountain caves inaccessible to all other men provided with sound
eyes. As we assume all of these cave dwellers to be afflicted with the
same defect of vision, they, all of them, will equally see and judge
bright things, e.g. the moon, to be double. Now in the case of these
people there never arises a subsequent cognition sublating their
primitive cognition; but the latter is false all the same, and its
object, viz., the doubleness of the moon, is false likewise; the defect
of vision being the cause of a cognition not corresponding to reality.--
And so it is with the cognition of Brahman also. This cognition is based
on Nescience, and therefore is false, together with its object, viz.
Brahman, although no sublating cognition presents itself.--This
conclusion admits of various expressions in logical form. 'The Brahman
under dispute is false because it is the object of knowledge which has
sprung from what is affected with Nescience; as the phenomenal world is.'
'Brahman is false because it is the object of knowledge; as the world
is.' 'Brahman is false because it is the object of knowledge, the rise
of which has the Untrue for its cause; as the world is.'
You will now perhaps set forth the following analogy. States of dreaming
consciousness--such as the perception of elephants and the like in one's
dreams--are unreal, and yet they are the cause of the knowledge of real
things, viz. good or ill fortune (portended by those dreams). Hence
there is no reason why Scripture--although unreal in so far as based on
Nescience--should not likewise be the cause of the cognition of what is
real, viz. Brahman.--The two cases are not parallel, we reply. The
conscious states experienced in dreams are not unreal; it is only their
objects that are false; these objects only, not the conscious states,
are sublated by the waking consciousness. Nobody thinks 'the cognitions
of which I was conscious in my dream are unreal'; what men actually
think is 'the cognitions are real, but the things are not real.' In the
same way the illusive state of consciousness which the magician produces
in the minds of other men by means of mantras, drugs, &c., is true, and
hence the cause of love and fear; for such states of consciousness also
are not sublated. The cognition which, owing to some defect in the
object, the sense organ, &c., apprehends a rope as a snake is real, and
hence the cause of fear and other emotions. True also is the imagination
which, owing to the nearness of a snake, arises in the mind of a man
though not actually bitten, viz. that he has been bitten; true also is
the representation of the imagined poison, for it may be the cause of
actual death. In the same way the reflection of the face in the water is
real, and hence enables us to ascertain details belonging to the real
face. All these states of consciousness are real, as we conclude from
their having a beginning and actual effects.--Nor would it avail you to
object that in the absence of real elephants, and so on, the ideas of
them cannot be real. For ideas require only _some_ substrate in general;
the mere appearance of a thing is a sufficient substrate, and such an
appearance is present in the case in question, owing to a certain defect.
The thing we determine to be unreal because it is sublated; the idea is
non-sublated, and therefore real.
Nor can you quote in favour of your view--of the real being known
through the unreal--the instance of the stroke and the letter. The
letter being apprehended through the stroke (i.e. the written character)
does not furnish a case of the real being apprehended through the unreal;
for the stroke itself is real.--But the stroke causes the idea of the
letter only in so far as it is apprehended as being a letter, and this
'being a letter' is untrue!--Not so, we rejoin. If this 'being a letter'
were unreal it could not be a means of the apprehension of the letter;
for we neither observe nor can prove that what is non-existent and
indefinable constitutes a means.--Let then the idea of the letter
constitute the means!--In that case, we rejoin, the apprehension of the
real does not spring from the unreal; and besides, it would follow
therefrom that the means and what is to be effected thereby would be one,
i.e. both would be, without any distinction, the idea of the letter only.
Moreover, if the means were constituted by the stroke in so far as it is
_not_ the letter, the apprehension of all letters would result from the
sight of one stroke; for one stroke may easily be conceived as _not_
being _any_ letter.--But, in the same way as the word 'Devadatta'
conventionally denotes some particular man, so some particular stroke
apprehended by the eye may conventionally symbolise some particular
letter to be apprehended by the ear, and thus a particular stroke may be
the cause of the idea of a particular letter!--Quite so, we reply, but
on this explanation the real is known through the real; for both stroke
and conventional power of symbolisation are real. The case is analogous
to that of the idea of a buffalo being caused by the picture of a
buffalo; that idea rests on the similarity of picture and thing
depicted, and that similarity is something real. Nor can it be said
(with a view to proving the purvapaksha by another analogous instance)
that we meet with a cognition of the real by means of the unreal in the
case of sound (sabda) which is essentially uniform, but causes the
apprehension of different things by means of difference of tone (nada).
For sound is the cause of the apprehension of different things in so far
only as we apprehend the connexion of sound manifesting itself in
various tones, with the different things indicated by those various
tones [FOOTNOTE 77:1]. And, moreover, it is not correct to argue on the
ground of the uniformity of sound; for only particular significant
sounds such as 'ga,' which can be apprehended by the ear, are really
'sound.'--All this proves that it is difficult indeed to show that the
knowledge of a true thing, viz. Brahman, can be derived from Scripture,
if Scripture--as based on Nescience--is itself untrue.
Our opponent may finally argue as follows:--Scripture is not unreal in
the same sense as a sky-flower is unreal; for antecedently to the
cognition of universal non-duality Scripture is viewed as something that
_is_, and only on the rise of that knowledge it is seen to be unreal. At
this latter time Scripture no longer is a means of cognising Brahman,
devoid of all difference, consisting of pure Intelligence; as long on
the other hand as it is such a means, Scripture _is_; for then we judge
'Scripture is.'--But to this we reply that if Scripture is not (true),
the judgment 'Scripture is' is false, and hence the knowledge resting on
false Scripture being false likewise, the object of that knowledge, i.e.
Brahman itself, is false. If the cognition of fire which rests on mist
being mistaken for smoke is false, it follows that the object of that
cognition, viz. fire itself, is likewise unreal. Nor can it be shown
that (in the case of Brahman) there is no possibility of ulterior
sublative cognition; for there may be such sublative cognition, viz. the
one expressed in the judgment 'the Reality is a Void.' And if you say
that this latter judgment rests on error, we point out that according to
yourself the knowledge of Brahman is also based on error. And of our
judgment (viz. 'the Reality is a Void') it may truly be said that all
further negation is impossible.--But there is no need to continue this
demolition of an altogether baseless theory.
[FOOTNOTE 77:1. And those manifestations of sound by means of various
tones are themselves something real.]
No scriptural texts teach a Brahman devoid of all difference.
We now turn to the assertion that certain scriptural texts, as e.g.
'Being only was this in the beginning,' are meant to teach that there
truly exists only one homogeneous substance, viz. Intelligence free from
all difference.--This we cannot allow. For the section in which the
quoted text occurs, in order to make good the initial declaration that
by the knowledge of one thing all things are known, shows that the
highest Brahman which is denoted by the term 'Being' is the substantial
and also the operative cause of the world; that it is all-knowing,
endowed with all powers; that its purposes come true; that it is the
inward principle, the support and the ruler of everything; and that
distinguished by these and other good qualities it constitutes the Self
of the entire world; and then finally proceeds to instruct Svetaketu
that this Brahman constitutes his Self also ('Thou art that'). We have
fully set forth this point in the Vedartha-samgraha and shall establish
it in greater detail in the present work also, in the so-called
arambhana-adhikarana.--In the same way the passage 'the higher knowledge
is that by which the Indestructible is apprehended, &c.' (Mu. Up. I, 1,
5) first denies of Brahman all the evil qualities connected with Prakriti,
and then teaches that to it there belong eternity, all-pervadingness,
subtilty, omnipresence, omniscience, imperishableness, creativeness with
regard to all beings, and other auspicious qualities. Now we maintain
that also the text 'True, knowledge, infinite is Brahman', does not
prove a substance devoid of all difference, for the reason that the
co-ordination of the terms of which it consists explains itself in so
far only as denoting one thing distinguished by several attributes. For
'co-ordination' (samanadhikaranya, lit.'the abiding of several things in
a common substrate') means the reference (of several terms) to one
thing, there being a difference of reason for the application (of
several terms to one thing). Now whether we take the several terms,'
True','Knowledge','Infinite', in their primary sense, i. e. as denoting
qualities, or as denoting modes of being opposed to whatever is contrary
to those qualities; in either case we must needs admit a plurality of
causes for the application of those several terms to one thing. There is
however that difference between the two alternatives that in the former
case the terms preserve their primary meaning, while in the latter case
their denotative power depends on so-called 'implication' (lakshana).
Nor can it be said that the opposition in nature to non-knowledge,
& c.(which is the purport of the terms on the hypothesis of lakshana),
constitutes nothing more than the essential nature (of one
non-differenced substance; the three terms thus having one purport
only); for as such essential nature would be sufficiently apprehended
through one term, the employment of further terms would be purposeless.
This view would moreover be in conflict with co-ordination, as it would
not allow of difference of motive for several terms applied to one
thing. On the other hand it cannot be urged against the former
alternative that the distinction of several attributes predicated of one
thing implies a distinction in the thing to which the attributes belong,
and that from this it follows that the several terms denote several
things--a result which also could not be reconciled with
'co-ordination'; for what 'co-ordination' aims at is just to convey the
idea of one thing being qualified by several attributes. For the
grammarians define 'coordination' as the application, to one thing, of
several words, for the application of each of which there is a different
motive.
You have further maintained the following view:--In the text 'one only
without a second', the phrase 'without a second' negatives all duality
on Brahman's part even in so far as qualities are concerned. We must
therefore, according to the principle that all Sakhas convey the same
doctrine, assume that all texts which speak of Brahman as cause, aim at
setting forth an absolutely non-dual substance. Of Brahman thus
indirectly defined as a cause, the text 'The True, knowledge, infinite
is Brahman,' contains a direct definition; the Brahman here meant to be
defined must thus be devoid of all qualities. Otherwise, moreover, the
text would be in conflict with those other texts which declare Brahman
to be without qualities and blemish.--But this also cannot be admitted.
What the phrase 'without a second' really aims at intimating is that
Brahman possesses manifold powers, and this it does by denying the
existence of another ruling principle different from Brahman. That
Brahman actually possesses manifold powers the text shows further on,
'It thought, may I be many, may I grow forth,' and 'it sent forth fire,'
and so on.--But how are we to know that the mere phrase 'without a
second' is meant to negative the existence of all other causes in
general?--As follows, we reply. The clause 'Being only this was in the
beginning, one only,' teaches that Brahman when about to create
constitutes the substantial cause of the world. Here the idea of some
further operative cause capable of giving rise to the effect naturally
presents itself to the mind, and hence we understand that the added
clause 'without a second' is meant to negative such an additional cause.
If it were meant absolutely to deny all duality, it would deny also the
eternity and other attributes of Brahman which you yourself assume. You
in this case make just the wrong use of the principle of all the--Sakhas
containing the same doctrine; what this principle demands is that the
qualities attributed in all--Sakhas to Brahman as cause should be taken
over into the passage under discussion also. The same consideration
teaches us that also the text 'True, knowledge', &c., teaches Brahman to
possess attributes; for this passage has to be interpreted in agreement
with the texts referring to Brahman as a cause. Nor does this imply a
conflict with the texts which declare Brahman to be without qualities;
for those texts are meant to negative the evil qualities depending on
Prakriti.--Those texts again which refer to mere knowledge declare
indeed that knowledge is the essential nature of Brahman, but this does
not mean that mere knowledge constitutes the fundamental reality. For
knowledge constitutes the essential nature of a knowing subject only
which is the substrate of knowledge, in the same way as the sun, lamps,
and gems are the substrate of Light. That Brahman is a knowing subject
all scriptural texts declare; cp. 'He who is all knowing' (Mu. Up. I, 1,
9); 'It thought' (Ch. Up. VI, 2, 3); 'This divine being thought' (Ch. Up.
VI, 3, 2); 'He thought, let me send forth the worlds' (Ait. Ar. II,4, 1,
2); 'He who arranges the wishes--as eternal of those who are not eternal,
as thinker of (other) thinkers, as one of many' (Ka. Up. II, 5, 13);
'There are two unborn ones--one who knows, one who does not know--one
strong, the other weak' (Svet. Up. I, 9); 'Let us know Him, the highest
of Lords, the great Lord, the highest deity of deities, the master of
masters, the highest above the god, the lord of the world, the adorable
one' (Svet. Up. VI, 7); 'Of him there is known no effect (body) or
instrument; no one is seen like unto him or better; his high power is
revealed as manifold, forming his essential nature, as knowledge,
strength, and action' (Svet. Up. VI, 8); 'That is the Self, free from
sin, ageless, deathless, griefless, free from hunger and thirst, whose
wishes are true, whose purposes are true' (Ch. Up. VIII, 1, 5). These
and other texts declare that to Brahman, whose essential nature is
knowledge, there belong many excellent qualities--among which that of
being a knowing subject stands first, and that Brahman is free from all
evil qualities. That the texts referring to Brahman as free from
qualities, and those which speak of it as possessing qualities, have
really one and the same object may be inferred from the last of the
passages quoted above; the earlier part of which--'free from sin,' up to
'free from thirst'--denies of Brahman all evil qualities, while its
latter part--'whose wishes are true,' and so on--asserts of its certain
excellent qualities. As thus there is no contradiction between the two
classes of texts, there is no reason whatever to assume that either of
them has for its object something that is false.--With regard to the
concluding passage of the Taittiriya-text, 'from whence all speech,
together with the mind, turns away, unable to reach it [FOOTNOTE 82:1],'
we point out that with the passage 'From terror of it the wind blows,'
there begins a declaration of the qualities of Brahman, and that the
next section 'one hundred times that human bliss,' &c., makes statements
as to the relative bliss enjoyed by the different classes of embodied
souls; the concluding passage 'He who knows the bliss of that Brahman
from whence all speech, together with the mind, turns away unable to
reach it,' hence must be taken as proclaiming with emphasis the infinite
nature of Brahman's auspicious qualities. Moreover, a clause in the
chapter under discussion--viz. 'he obtains all desires, together with
Brahman the all-wise' (II, 1)--which gives information as to the fruit
of the knowledge of Brahman clearly declares the infinite nature of the
qualities of the highest all-wise Brahman. The desires are the
auspicious qualities of Brahman which are the objects of desire; the man
who knows Brahman obtains, together with Brahman, all qualities of it.
The expression 'together with' is meant to bring out the primary
importance of the qualities; as also described in the so-called dahara-
vidya (Ch. Up. VIII, 1). And that fruit and meditation are of the same
character (i.e. that in meditations on Brahman its qualities are the
chief matter of meditation, just as these qualities are the principal
point in Brahman reached by the Devotee) is proved by the text
'According to what a man's thought is in this world, so will he be after
he has departed this life' (Ch. Up. III, 14, 1). If it be said that the
passage 'By whom it is not thought by him it is thought', 'not
understood by those who understand' (Ke. Up. II, 3), declares Brahman
not to be an object of knowledge; we deny this, because were it so,
certain other texts would not teach that final Release results from
knowledge; cp. 'He who knows Brahman obtains the Highest' (Taitt. Up. II,
1, 1); 'He knows Brahman, he becomes Brahman.' And, moreover, the text
'He who knows Brahman as non-existing becomes himself non-existing; he
who knows Brahman as existing, him we know himself as existing' (Taitt
Up. II, 6, 1), makes the existence and non-existence of the Self
dependent on the existence and non-existence of knowledge which has
Brahman for its object. We thus conclude that all scriptural texts
enjoin just the knowledge of Brahman for the sake of final Release. This
knowledge is, as we already know, of the nature of meditation, and what
is to be meditated on is Brahman as possessing qualities. (The text from
the Ke. Up. then explains itself as follows:--) We are informed by the
passage 'from whence speech together with mind turns away, being unable
to reach it', that the infinite Brahman with its unlimited excellences
cannot be defined either by mind or speech as being so or so much, and
from this we conclude the Kena text to mean that Brahman is not thought
and not understood by those who understand it to be of a definitely
limited nature; Brahman in truth being unlimited. If the text did not
mean this, it would be self-contradictory, parts of it saying that
Brahman is _not_ thought and _not_ understood, and other parts, that it
_is_ thought and _is_ understood.
Now as regards the assertion that the text 'Thou mayest not see the seer
of seeing; thou mayest not think the thinker of thinking' (Bri. Up. III,
5, 2), denies the existence of a seeing and thinking subject different
from mere seeing and thinking--This view is refuted by the following
interpretation. The text addresses itself to a person who has formed the
erroneous opinion that the quality of consciousness or knowledge does
not constitute the essential nature of the knower, but belongs to it
only as an adventitious attribute, and tells him 'Do not view or think
the Self to be such, but consider the seeing and thinking Self to have
seeing and thinking for its essential nature.'--Or else this text may
mean that the embodied Self which is the seer of seeing and the thinker
of thinking should be set aside, and that only the highest Self--the
inner Self of all beings--should be meditated upon.--Otherwise a
conflict would arise with texts declaring the knowership of the Self,
such as 'whereby should he know the knower?' (Bri. Up. IV, 5, 15).
Your assertion that the text 'Bliss is Brahman' (Taitt. Up. III, 6, 1)
proves pure Bliss to constitute the essential nature of Brahman is
already disposed of by the refutation of the view that knowledge
(consciousness) constitutes the essential nature of Brahman; Brahman
being in reality the substrate only of knowledge. For by bliss we
understand a pleasing state of consciousness. Such passages as
'consciousness, bliss is Brahman,' therefore mean 'consciousness--the
essential character of which is bliss--is Brahman.' On this identity of
the two things there rests that homogeneous character of Brahman, so
much insisted upon by yourself. And in the same way as numerous passages
teach that Brahman, while having knowledge for its essential nature, is
at the same time a knowing subject; so other passages, speaking of
Brahman as something separate from mere bliss, show it to be not mere
bliss but a subject enjoying bliss; cp. 'That is one bliss of Brahman'
(Taitt. Up. II, 8, 4); 'he knowing the bliss of Brahman' (Taitt. Up. II,
9, 1). To be a subject enjoying bliss is in fact the same as to be a
conscious subject.
We now turn to the numerous texts which, according to the view of our
opponent, negative the existence of plurality.--'Where there is duality
as it were' (Bri. Up. IV, 5, 15); 'There is not any plurality here; from
death to death goes he who sees here any plurality' (Bri. Up. IV, 4, 19);
'But when for him the Self alone has become all, by what means, and whom,
should he see?' (Bri. Up. IV, 5, 15) &c.--But what all these texts deny
is only plurality in so far as contradicting that unity of the world
which depends on its being in its entirety an effect of Brahman, and
having Brahman for its inward ruling principle and its true Self. They
do not, on the other hand, deny that plurality on Brahman's part which
depends on its intention to become manifold--a plurality proved by the
text 'May I be many, may I grow forth' (Ch. Up. VI, 2, 3). Nor can our
opponent urge against this that, owing to the denial of plurality
contained in other passages this last text refers to something not real;
for it is an altogether laughable assertion that Scripture should at
first teach the doctrine, difficult to comprehend, that plurality as
suggested by Perception and the other means of Knowledge belongs to
Brahman also, and should afterwards negative this very doctrine!
Nor is it true that the text 'If he makes but the smallest "antaram" (i.
e. difference, interval, break) in it there is fear for him' (Taitt. Up.
II, 7) implies that he who sees plurality within Brahman encounters fear.
For the other text 'All this is Brahman; let a man meditate with calm
mind on all this as beginning, ending and breathing in it, i.e. Brahman'
(Ch. Up. III, 14, 1) teaches directly that reflection on the plurality
of Brahman is the cause of peace of mind. For this passage declares that
peace of mind is produced by a reflection on the entire world as
springing from, abiding within, and being absorbed into Brahman, and
thus having Brahman for its Self; and as thus the view of Brahman
constituting the Self of the world with all its manifold distinctions of
gods, men, animals, inanimate matter and so on, is said to be the cause
of peace of mind, and, consequently, of absence of fear, that same view
surely cannot be a _cause_ of fear!--But how then is it that the Taitt.
text declares that 'there is fear for him'?--That text, we reply,
declares in its earlier part that rest in Brahman is the cause of
fearlessness ('when he finds freedom from fear, rest, in that which is
invisible, incorporeal, undefined, unsupported; then he has obtained
fearlessness'); its latter part therefore means that fear takes place
when there is an interval, a break, in this resting in Brahman. As the
great Rishi says 'When Vasudeva is not meditated on for an hour or even
a moment only; that is loss, that is great calamity, that is error, that
is change.'
The Sutra III, 2, ii does not, as our opponent alleges, refer to a
Brahman free from all difference, but to Brahman as possessing
attributes--as we shall show in its place. And the Sutra IV, 2, 3
declares that the things seen in dreams are mere 'Maya' because they
differ in character from the things perceived in the waking state; from
which it follows that the latter things are real.
[FOOTNOTE 82:1. Which passage appears to refer to a nirguna brahman,
whence it might be inferred that the connected initial passage--'Satyam
jnanam,' &c.--has a similar purport.]
Nor do Smriti and Purana teach such a doctrine.
Nor is it true that also according to Smriti and Puranas only non-
differenced consciousness is real and everything else unreal.--'He who
knows me as unborn and without a beginning, the supreme Lord of the
worlds' (Bha. Gi. X, 3); 'All beings abide in me, I abide not in them.
Nay, the beings abide not in me--behold my lordly power. My Self
bringing forth the beings supports them but does not abide in them' (Bha.
Gi. IX, 4, 5); 'I am the origin and the dissolution of the entire world;
higher than I there is nothing else: on me all this is strung as pearls
on a thread' (Bha. Gi. VII, 6, 7); 'Pervading this entire Universe by a
portion (of mine) I abide' (Bha. Gi. X, 42); 'But another, the highest
Person, is called the highest Self who, pervading the three worlds
supports them, the eternal Lord. Because I transcend the Perishable and
am higher than the Imperishable even, I am among the people and in the
Veda celebrated as the supreme Person' (Bha. Gi. XV, 17, 18).
'He transcends the fundamental matter of all beings, its modifications,
properties and imperfections; he transcends all investing (obscuring)
influences, he who is the Self of all. Whatever (room) there is in the
interstices of the world is filled by him; all auspicious qualities
constitute his nature. The whole creation of beings is taken out of a
small part of his power. Assuming at will whatever form he desires he
bestows benefits on the whole world effected by him. Glory, strength,
dominion, wisdom, energy, power and other attributes are collected in
him, Supreme of the supreme in whom no troubles abide, ruler over high
and low, lord in collective and distributive form, non-manifest and
manifest, universal lord, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, highest
Lord. The knowledge by which that perfect, pure, highest, stainless
homogeneous (Brahman) is known or perceived or comprehended--that is
knowledge: all else is ignorance' (Vishnu Purana VI, 5, 82-87).--'To
that pure one of mighty power, the highest Brahman to which no term is
applicable, the cause of all causes, the name "Bhagavat" is suitable.
The letter bha implies both the cherisher and supporter; the letter ga
the leader, mover and creator. The two syllables bhaga indicate the six
attributes--dominion, strength, glory, splendour, wisdom, dispassion.
That in him--the universal Self, the Self of the beings--all beings
dwell and that he dwells in all, this is the meaning of the letter va.
Wisdom, might, strength, dominion, glory, without any evil qualities,
are all denoted by the word bhagavat. This great word bhagavat is the
name of Vasudeva who is the highest Brahman--and of no one else. This
word which denotes persons worthy of reverence in general is used in its
primary sense with reference to Vasudeva only; in a derived sense with
regard to other persons' (Vi. Pu. VI, 5, 72 ff.); 'Where all these
powers abide, that is the form of him who is the universal form: that is
the great form of Hari. That form produces in its sport forms endowed
with all powers, whether of gods or men or animals. For the purpose of
benefiting the worlds, not springing from work (karman) is this action
of the unfathomable one; all-pervading, irresistible' (Vi. Pu. VI, 7, 69-
71); 'Him who is of this kind, stainless, eternal, all-pervading,
imperishable, free from all evil, named Vishnu, the highest abode' (Vi.
Pu. I, 22,53); 'He who is the highest of the high, the Person, the
highest Self, founded on himself; who is devoid of all the
distinguishing characteristics of colour, caste and the like; who is
exempt from birth, change, increase, decay and death; of whom it can
only be said that he ever is. He is everywhere and in him everything
abides; hence he is called Vasudeva by those who know. He is Brahman,
eternal, supreme, imperishable, undecaying; of one essential nature and
ever pure, as free from all defects. This whole world is Brahman,
comprising within its nature the Evolved and the Unevolved; and also
existing in the form of the Person and in that of time' (Vi. Pu. I, 2,
10-14); 'The Prakriti about which I told and which is Evolved as well as
Unevolved, and the Person--both these are merged in the highest Self.
The highest Self is the support of all, the highest Lord; as Vishnu he
is praised in the Vedas and the Vedanta-texts' (Vi. Pu. VI, 4, 38, 39).
'Two forms are there of that Brahman, one material, the other immaterial.
These two forms, perishable and imperishable, are within all things: the
imperishable one is the highest Brahman, the perishable one this whole
world. As the light of a fire burning in one place spreads all around,
so the energy of the highest Brahman constitutes this entire world' (Vi.
Pu. I, 23,53-55). 'The energy of Vishnu is the highest, that which is
called the embodied soul is inferior; and there is another third energy
called karman or Nescience, actuated by which the omnipresent energy of
the embodied soul perpetually undergoes the afflictions of worldly
existence. Obscured by Nescience the energy of the embodied soul is
characterised in the different beings by different degrees of
perfection' (Vi. Pu. VI, 7, 61-63).
These and other texts teach that the highest Brahman is essentially free
from all imperfection whatsoever, comprises within itself all auspicious
qualities, and finds its pastime in originating, preserving, reabsorbing,
pervading, and ruling the universe; that the entire complex of
intelligent and non-intelligent beings (souls and matter) in all their
different estates is real, and constitutes the form, i.e. the body of
the highest Brahman, as appears from those passages which co-ordinate it
with Brahman by means of terms such as sarira (body), rupa (form), tanu
(body), amsa (part), sakti (power), vibhuti (manifestation of power),
and so on;--that the souls which are a manifestation of Brahman's power
exist in their own essential nature, and also, through their connexion
with matter, in the form of embodied souls (kshetrajna);--and that the
embodied souls, being engrossed by Nescience in the form of good and
evil works, do not recognise their essential nature, which is knowledge,
but view themselves as having the character of material things.--The
outcome of all this is that we have to cognise Brahman as carrying
plurality within itself, and the world, which is the manifestation of
his power, as something real.
When now the text, in the sloka 'where all difference has vanished' (Vi.
Pu. VI, 7, 53), declares that the Self, although connected with the
different effects of Prakriti, such as divine, human bodies, and so on,
yet is essentially free from all such distinctions, and therefore not
the object of the words denoting those different classes of beings, but
to be defined as mere knowledge and Being; to be known by the Self and
not to be reached by the mind of the practitioner of Yoga (yogayuj);
this must in no way be understood as denying the reality of the world.--
But how is this known?--As follows, we reply. The chapter of the Purana
in which that sloka occurs at first declares concentration (Yoga) to be
the remedy of all the afflictions of the Samsara; thereupon explains the
different stages of Yoga up to the so-called pratyahara (complete
restraining of the senses from receiving external impressions); then, in
order to teach the attainment of the 'perfect object' (subhasraya)
required for dharana, declares that the highest Brahman, i. e. Vishnu,
possesses two forms, called powers (sakti), viz. a denned one (murta)
and an undefined one (amurta); and then teaches that a portion of the
'defined' form, viz. the embodied soul (kshetrajna), which is
distinguished by its connexion with matter and involved in Nescience--
that is termed 'action,' and constitutes a third power--is not perfect.
The chapter further teaches that a portion of the undefined form which
is free from Nescience called action, separated from all matter, and
possessing the character of pure knowledge, is also not the 'perfect
object,' since it is destitute of essential purity; and, finally,
declares that the 'perfect object' is to be found in that defined form
which is special to Bhagavat, and which is the abode of the three powers,
viz. that non-defined form which is the highest power, that non-defined
form which is termed embodied soul, and constitutes the secondary
(apara) power, and Nescience in the form of work--which is called the
third power, and is the cause of the Self, which is of the essence of
the highest power, passing into the state of embodied soul. This defined
form (which is the 'perfect object') is proved by certain Vedanta-texts,
such as 'that great person of sun-like lustre' (Svet. Up. III, 8). We
hence must take the sloka, 'in which all differences vanish,' &c., to
mean that the pure Self (the Self in so far as knowledge only) is not
capable of constituting the 'perfect object.' Analogously two other
passages declare 'Because this cannot be reflected upon by the beginner
in Yoga, the second (form) of Vishnu is to be meditated upon by Yogins-
the highest abode.' 'That in which all these powers have their abode,
that is the other great form of Hari, different from the (material)
Visva form.'
In an analogous manner, Parasara declares that Brahma, Katurmukha,
Sanaka, and similar mighty beings which dwell within this world, cannot
constitute the 'perfect object' because they are involved in Nescience;
after that goes on to say that the beings found in the Samsara are in
the same condition--for they are essentially devoid of purity since they
reach their true nature, only later on, when through Yoga knowledge has
arisen in them--; and finally teaches that the essential individual
nature of the highest Brahman, i.e. Vishnu, constitutes the 'perfect
object.' 'From Brahma down to a blade of grass, all living beings that
dwell within this world are in the power of the Samsara due to works,
and hence no profit can be derived by the devout from making them
objects of their meditation. They are all implicated in Nescience, and
stand within the sphere of the Samsara; knowledge arises in them only
later on, and they are thus of no use in meditation. Their knowledge
does not belong to them by essential nature, for it comes to them
through something else. Therefore the stainless Brahman which possesses
essential knowledge,' &c. &c.--All this proves that the passage 'in
which all difference vanishes' does not mean to deny the reality of the
world.
Nor, again, does the passage 'that which has knowledge for its essential
nature' (Vi. Pu. 1,2,6) imply that the whole complex of things different
from knowledge is false; for it declares only that the appearance of the
Self--the essential nature of which is knowledge--as gods, men, and so
on, is erroneous. A declaration that the appearance of mother o' pearl
as silver is founded on error surely does not imply that all the silver
in the world is unreal!--But if, on the ground of an insight into the
oneness of Brahman and the world--as expressed in texts where the two
appear in co-ordination--a text declares that it is an error to view
Brahman, whose essential nature is knowledge, under the form of material
things, this after all implies that the whole aggregate of things is
false!--By no means, we rejoin. As our sastra distinctly teaches that
the highest Brahman, i. e. Vishnu, is free from all imperfections
whatsoever, comprises within himself all auspicious qualities, and
reveals his power in mighty manifestations, the view of the world's
reality cannot possibly be erroneous. That information as to the oneness
of two things by means of co-ordination does not allow of sublation (of
either of the two), and is non-contradictory, we shall prove further on.
Hence also the sloka last referred to does not sublate the reality of
the world.
'That from whence these beings are born, by which, when born, they live,
into which they enter when they die, endeavour to know that; that is
Brahman' (Taitt. Up. III, 1). From this scriptural text we ascertain
that Brahman is the cause of the origination, and so on, of the world.
After this we learn from a Purana text ('He should make the Veda grow by
means of Itihasa and Purana; the Veda fears that a man of little reading
may do it harm') that the Veda should be made to grow by Itihasa and
Purana. By this 'making to grow' we have to understand the elucidation
of the sense of the Vedic texts studied by means of other texts,
promulgated by men who had mastered the entire Veda and its contents,
and by the strength of their devotion had gained full intuition of Vedic
truth. Such 'making to grow' must needs be undertaken, since the purport
of the entire Veda with all its Sakhas cannot be fathomed by one who has
studied a small part only, and since without knowing that purport we
cannot arrive at any certitude.
The Vishnu Purana relates how Maitreya, wishing to have his knowledge of
Vedic matters strengthened by the holy Parasara, who through the favour
of Pulastya and Vasishtha had obtained an insight into the true nature
of the highest divinity, began to question Parasara, 'I am desirous to
hear from thee how this world originated, and how it will again
originate in future, and of what it consists, and whence proceed animate
and inanimate things; how and into what it has been resolved, and into
what it will in future be resolved?' &c. (Vi. Pu. I, 1). The questions
asked refer to the essential nature of Brahman, the different modes of
the manifestation of its power, and the different results of
propitiating it. Among the questions belonging to the first category,
the question 'whence proceed animate and inanimate things?' relates to
the efficient and the material cause of the world, and hence the clause
'of what the world consists' is to be taken as implying a question as to
what constitutes the Self of this world, which is the object of creation,
sustentation, and dissolution. The reply to this question is given in
the words 'and the world is He.' Now the identity expressed by this
clause is founded thereon that he (i.e. Brahman or Vishnu) pervades the
world as its Self in the character of its inward Ruler; and is not
founded on unity of substance of the pervading principle and the world
pervaded. The phrase 'consists of' (-maya) does not refer to an effect
(so that the question asked would be as to the causal substance of which
this world is an effect), for a separate question on this point would be
needless. Nor does the--maya express, as it sometimes does-e.g. in the
case of prana-maya [FOOTNOTE 92:1], the own sense of the word to which it
is attached; for in that case the form of the reply 'and the world is
He' (which implies a distinction between the world and Vishnu) would be
inappropriate; the reply would in that case rather be 'Vishnu only.'
What 'maya' actually denotes here is abundance, prevailingness, in
agreement with Panini, V, 4, 21, and the meaning is that Brahman
prevails in the world in so far as the entire world constitutes its body.
The co-ordination of the two words 'the world' and 'He' thus rests on
that relation between the two, owing to which the world is the body of
Brahman, and Brahman the Self of the world. If, on the other hand, we
maintained that the sastra aims only at inculcating the doctrine of one
substance free from all difference, there would be no sense in all those
questions and answers, and no sense in an entire nastra devoted to the
explanation of that one thing. In that case there would be room for one
question only, viz. 'what is the substrate of the erroneous imagination
of a world?' and for one answer to this question, viz. 'pure
consciousness devoid of all distinction!'--And if the co-ordination
expressed in the clause 'and the world is he' was meant to set forth the
absolute oneness of the world and Brahman, then it could not be held
that Brahman possesses all kinds of auspicious qualities, and is opposed
to all evil; Brahman would rather become the abode of all that is impure.
All this confirms the conclusion that the co-ordination expressed in
that clause is to be understood as directly teaching the relation
between a Self and its body.--The sloka, 'From Vishnu the world has
sprung: in him he exists: he is the cause of the subsistence and
dissolution of this world: and the world is he' (Vi. Pu. I, 1, 35),
states succinctly what a subsequent passage--beginning with 'the highest
of the high' (Vi. Pu. I, 2, 10)--sets forth in detail. Now there the
sloka,'to the unchangeable one' (I, 2, 1), renders homage to the holy
Vishnu, who is the highest Brahman in so far as abiding within his own
nature, and then the text proceeds to glorify him in his threefold form
as Hiranyagarbha, Hari, and Sankara, as Pradhana, Time, and as the
totality of embodied souls in their combined and distributed form. Here
the sloka, 'Him whose essential nature is knowledge' (I, 2, 6),
describes the aspect of the highest Self in so far as abiding in the
state of discrete embodied souls; the passage cannot therefore be
understood as referring to a substance free from all difference. If the
sastra aimed at teaching that the erroneous conception of a manifold
world has for its substrate a Brahman consisting of non-differenced
intelligence, there would be room neither for the objection raised in I,
3, I ('How can we attribute agency creative and otherwise to Brahman
which is without qualities, unlimited, pure, stainless?') nor for the
refutation of that objection, 'Because the powers of all things are the
objects of (true) knowledge excluding all (bad) reasoning, therefore
there belong to Brahman also such essential powers as the power of
creating, preserving, and so on, the world; just as heat essentially
belongs to fire [FOOTNOTE 94:1].' In that case the objection would rather
be made in the following form: 'How can Brahman, which is without
qualities, be the agent in the creation, preservation, and so on, of the
world?' and the answer would be, 'Creation by Brahman is not something
real, but something erroneously imagined.'--The purport of the objection
as it stands in the text is as follows: 'We observe that action creative
and otherwise belongs to beings endowed with qualities such as goodness,
and so on, not perfect, and subject to the influence of karman; how then
can agency creative, and so on, be attributed to Brahman which is devoid
of qualities, perfect, not under the influence of karman, and incapable
of any connexion with action?' And the reply is, 'There is nothing
unreasonable in holding that Brahman as being of the nature described
above, and different in kind from all things perceived, should possess
manifold powers; just as fire, which is different in kind from water and
all other material substances, possesses the quality of heat and other
qualities.' The slokas also, which begin with the words 'Thou alone art
real' (Vi. Pu. I, 4, 38 ff.), do not assert that the whole world is
unreal, but only that, as Brahman is the Self of the world, the latter
viewed apart from Brahman is not real. This the text proceeds to confirm,
'thy greatness it is by which all movable and immovable things are
pervaded.' This means--because all things movable and immovable are
pervaded by thee, therefore all this world has thee for its Self, and
hence 'there is none other than thee' and thus thou being the Self of
all art alone real. Such being the doctrine intended to be set forth,
the text rightly says, 'this all-pervasiveness of thine is thy
greatness'; otherwise it would have to say, 'it is thy error.' Were this
latter view intended, words such as 'Lord of the world,' 'thou,' &c.,
could not, moreover, be taken in their direct sense, and there would
arise a contradiction with the subject-matter of the entire chapter, viz.
the praise of the Holy one who in the form of a mighty boar had uplifted
in play the entire earth.--Because this entire world is thy form in so
far as it is pervaded as its Self by thee whose true nature is knowledge;
therefore those who do not possess that devotion which enables men to
view thee as the Self of all, erroneously view this world as consisting
only of gods, men, and other beings; this is the purport of the next
sloka, 'this which is seen.'--And it is an error not only to view the
world which has its real Self in thee as consisting of gods, men, and so
on, but also to consider the Selfs whose true nature is knowledge as
being of the nature of material beings such as gods, men, and the like;
this is the meaning of the next sloka, 'this world whose true nature is
knowledge.'--Those wise men, on the other hand, who have an insight into
the essentially intelligent Self, and whose minds are cleared by
devotion--the means of apprehending the Holy one as the universal Self--,
they view this entire world with all its manifold bodies--the effects of
primeval matter--as thy body--a body the Self of which is constituted by
knowledge abiding apart from its world-body; this is the meaning of the
following sloka: 'But those who possess knowledge,' &c.--If the
different slokas were not interpreted in this way, they would be mere
unmeaning reiterations; their constitutive words could not be taken in
their primary sense; and we should come into conflict with the sense of
the passages, the subject-matter of the chapter, and the purport of the
entire sastra. The passage, further, 'Of that Self although it exists in
one's own and in other bodies, the knowledge is of one kind' (Vi. Pu. II,
14, 31 ff.), refers to that view of duality according to which the
different Selfs--although equal in so far as they are all of the essence
of knowledge--are constituted into separate beings, gods, men, &c., by
their connexion with different portions of matter all of which are
modifications of primary matter, and declares that view to be false. But
this does not imply a denial of the duality which holds good between
matter on the one hand and Self on the other: what the passage means is
that the Self which dwells in the different material bodies of gods, men,
and so on, is of one and the same kind. So the Holy one himself has said,
'In the dog and the low man eating dog's flesh the wise see the same';
'Brahman, without any imperfection, is the same' (Bha. Gi. V, 18, 19).
And, moreover, the clause 'Of the Self although existing in one's own
and in other bodies' directly declares that a thing different from the
body is distributed among one's own and other bodies. |
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