The following passage is found in Scripture (Ch. Up. I, 6, 6 ff.), 'Now
that person bright as gold who is seen within the sun, with beard bright
as gold and hair bright as gold, bright as gold altogether to the very
tips of his nails, whose eyes are like blue lotus; his name is Ut, for
he has risen (udita) above all evil. He also who knows this rises above
all evil. So much with reference to the devas.' And further on, with
reference to the body, 'Now the person who is seen in the eye,' &c. Here
the following doubt presents itself. Do these passages point out, as the
object of devotion directed on the sphere of the sun and the eye, merely
some special individual soul, which, by means of a large measure of
knowledge and pious works, has raised itself to a position of eminence;
or do they refer to the eternally perfect highest Lord?
The purvapakshin takes the former view. An individual soul, he says, is
referred to, since Scripture speaks of a definite shape. To the person
in the sun special features are ascribed, such as the possession of a
beard as bright as gold and so on, and the same features manifestly
belong to the person in the eye also, since they are expressly
transferred to it in the passage, 'The shape of this person is the same
as the shape of that person.' That, on the other hand, no shape can be
ascribed to the highest Lord, follows from the passage (Kau. Up. I, 3,
15), 'That which is without sound, without touch, without form, without
decay.' That an individual soul is meant follows moreover from the fact
that a definite abode is mentioned, 'He who is in the sun; he who is in
the eye.' About the highest Lord, who has no special abode, but abides
in his own glory, no similar statement can be made; compare, for
instance, the two following passages, 'Where does he rest? In his own
glory?' (Ch. Up. VII, 24, 1); and 'like the ether he is omnipresent,
eternal.' A further argument for our view is supplied by the fact that
the might (of the being in question) is said to be limited; for the
passage, 'He is lord of the worlds beyond that, and of the wishes of the
devas,' indicates the limitation of the might of the person in the sun;
and the passage, 'He is lord of the worlds beneath that and of the
wishes of men,' indicates the limitation of the might of the person in
the eye. No limit, on the other hand, can be admitted of the might of
the highest Lord, as appears from the passage (B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 22),
'He is the Lord of all, the king of all things, the protector of all
things. He is a bank and a boundary so that these worlds may not be
confounded;' which passage intimates that the Lord is free from all
limiting distinctions. For all these reasons the person in the eye and
the sun cannot be the highest Lord.
To this reasoning the Sutra replies, 'The one within, on account of his
qualities being declared.' The person referred to in the passages
concerning the person within the sun and the person within the eye is
not a transmigrating being, but the highest Lord. Why? Because his
qualities are declared. For the qualities of the highest Lord are
indicated in the text as follows. At first the name of the person within
the sun is mentioned--'his name is Ut'--and then this name is explained
on the ground of that person being free from all evil, 'He has risen
above all evil.' The same name thus explained is then transferred to the
person in the eye, in the clause, 'the name of the one is the name of
the other.' Now, entire freedom from sin is attributed in Scripture to
the highest Self only; so, for instance (Ch. Up. VIII, 7, 1), 'The Self
which is free from sin,' &c. Then, again, there is the passage, 'He is
/Ri/k, he is Saman, Uktha, Yajus, Brahman,' which declares the person in
the eye to be the Self of the /Ri/k, Saman, and so on; which is possible
only if that person is the Lord who, as being the cause of all, is to be
considered as the Self of all. Moreover, the text, after having stated
in succession /Ri/k and Saman to have earth and fire for their Self with
reference to the Devas, and, again, speech and breath with reference to
the body, continues, '/Ri/k and Saman are his joints,' with reference to
the Devas, and 'the joints of the one are the joints of the other,' with
reference to the body. Now this statement also can be made only with
regard to that which is the Self of all. Further, the passage,
'Therefore all who sing to the Vina sing him, and from him also they
obtain wealth,' shows that the being spoken of is the sole topic of all
worldly songs; which again holds true of the highest Lord only. That
absolute command over the objects of worldly desires (as displayed, for
instance, in the bestowal of wealth) entitles us to infer that the Lord
is meant, appears also from the following passage of the Bhagavad-gita
(X, 41), 'Whatever being there is possessing power, glory, or strength,
know it to be produced from a portion of my energy[116].' To the
objection that the statements about bodily shape contained in the
clauses, 'With a beard bright as gold,' &c., cannot refer to the highest
Lord, we reply that the highest Lord also may, when he pleases, assume a
bodily shape formed of Maya, in order to gratify thereby his devout
worshippers. Thus Sm/ri/ti also says, 'That thou seest me, O Narada, is
the Maya emitted by me; do not then look on me as endowed with the
qualities of all beings.' We have further to note that expressions such
as, 'That which is without sound, without touch, without form, without
decay,' are made use of where instruction is given about the nature of
the highest Lord in so far as he is devoid of all qualities; while
passages such as the following one, 'He to whom belong all works, all
desires, all sweet odours and tastes' (Ch. Up. III, 14, 2), which
represent the highest Lord as the object of devotion, speak of him, who
is the cause of everything, as possessing some of the qualities of his
effects. Analogously he may be spoken of, in the passage under
discussion, as having a beard bright as gold and so on. With reference
to the objection that the highest Lord cannot be meant because an abode
is spoken of, we remark that, for the purposes of devout meditation, a
special abode may be assigned to Brahman, although it abides in its own
glory only; for as Brahman is, like ether, all-pervading, it may be
viewed as being within the Self of all beings. The statement, finally,
about the limitation of Brahman's might, which depends on the
distinction of what belongs to the gods and what to the body, has
likewise reference to devout meditation only. From all this it follows
that the being which Scripture states to be within the eye and the sun
is the highest Lord.
21. And there is another one (i.e. the Lord who is different from the
individual souls animating the sun, &c.), on account of the declaration
of distinction.
There is, moreover, one distinct from the individual souls which animate
the sun and other bodies, viz. the Lord who rules within; whose
distinction (from all individual souls) is proclaimed in the following
scriptural passage, 'He who dwells in the sun and within the sun, whom
the sun does not know, whose body the sun is, and who rules the sun
within; he is thy Self, the ruler within, the immortal' (B/ri/. Up. III,
7, 9). Here the expression, 'He within the sun whom the sun does not
know,' clearly indicates that the Ruler within is distinct from that
cognising individual soul whose body is the sun. With that Ruler within
we have to identify the person within the sun, according to the tenet of
the sameness of purport of all Vedanta-texts. It thus remains a settled
conclusion that the passage under discussion conveys instruction about
the highest Lord.
22. The aka/s/a, i.e. ether (is Brahman) on account of characteristic
marks (of the latter being mentioned).
In the Chandogya (I, 9) the following passage is met with, 'What is the
origin of this world?' 'Ether,' he replied. 'For all these beings take
their rise from the ether only, and return into the ether. Ether is
greater than these, ether is their rest.'--Here the following doubt
arises. Does the word 'ether' denote the highest Brahman or the
elemental ether?--Whence the doubt?--Because the word is seen to be used
in both senses. Its use in the sense of 'elemental ether' is well
established in ordinary as well as in Vedic speech; and, on the other
hand, we see that it is sometimes used to denote Brahman, viz. in cases
where we ascertain, either from some complementary sentence or from the
fact of special qualities being mentioned, that Brahman is meant. So,
for instance, Taitt. Up. II, 7, 'If that bliss existed not in the
ether;' and Ch. Up. VIII, 14, 'That which is called ether is the
revealer of all forms and names; that within which forms and names
are[117] that is Brahman.' Hence the doubt.--Which sense is then to be
adopted in our case?--The sense of elemental ether, the purvapakshin
replies; because this sense belongs to the word more commonly, and
therefore presents itself to the mind more readily. The word 'ether'
cannot be taken in both senses equally, because that would involve a
(faulty) attribution of several meanings to one and the same word. Hence
the term 'ether' applies to Brahman in a secondary (metaphorical) sense
only; on account of Brahman being in many of its attributes, such as all
pervadingness and the like, similar to ether. The rule is, that when the
primary sense of a word is possible, the word must not be taken in a
secondary sense. And in the passage under discussion only the primary
sense of the word 'ether' is admissible. Should it be objected that, if
we refer the passage under discussion to the elemental ether, a
complementary passage ('for all these beings take their rise from the
ether only, &c.') cannot be satisfactorily accounted for; we reply that
the elemental ether also may be represented as a cause, viz. of air,
fire, &c. in due succession. For we read in Scripture (Taitt. Up. II,
1), 'From that Self sprang ether, from ether air, from air fire, and so
on.' The qualities also of being greater and of being a place of rest
may be ascribed to the elemental ether, if we consider its relations to
all other beings. Therefore we conclude that the word 'ether' here
denotes the elemental ether.
To this we reply as follows:--The word ether must here be taken to
denote Brahman, on account of characteristic marks of the latter being
mentioned. For the sentence, 'All these beings take their rise from the
ether only,' clearly indicates the highest Brahman, since all
Vedanta-texts agree in definitely declaring that all beings spring from
the highest Brahman.--But, the opponent may say, we have shown that the
elemental ether also may be represented as the cause, viz. of air, fire,
and the other elements in due succession.--We admit this. But still
there remains the difficulty, that, unless we understand the word to
apply to the fundamental cause of all, viz. Brahman, the affirmation
contained in the word 'only' and the qualification expressed by the word
'all' (in 'all beings') would be out of place. Moreover, the clause,
'They return into the ether,' again points to Brahman, and so likewise
the phrase, 'Ether is greater than these, ether is their rest;' for
absolute superiority in point of greatness Scripture attributes to the
highest Self only; cp. Ch. Up. III, 14, 3, 'Greater than the earth,
greater than the sky, greater than heaven, greater than all these
worlds.' The quality of being a place of rest likewise agrees best with
the highest Brahman, on account of its being the highest cause. This is
confirmed by the following scriptural passage: 'Knowledge and bliss is
Brahman, it is the rest of him who gives gifts' (B/ri/. Up. III, 9, 28).
Moreover, Jaivali finding fault with the doctrine of /S/alavatya, on
account of (his saman) having an end (Ch. Up. I, 8, 8), and wishing to
proclaim something that has no end chooses the ether, and then, having
identified the ether with the Udgitha, concludes, 'He is the Udgitha
greater than great; he is without end.' Now this endlessness is a
characteristic mark of Brahman. To the remark that the sense of
'elemental ether' presents itself to the mind more readily, because it
is the better established sense of the word aka/s/a, we reply, that,
although it may present itself to the mind first, yet it is not to be
accepted, because we see that qualities of Brahman are mentioned in the
complementary sentences. That the word aka/s/a is also used to denote
Brahman has been shown already; cp. such passages as, 'Ether is the
revealer of all names and forms.' We see, moreover, that various
synonyma of aka/s/a are employed to denote Brahman. So, for instance,
/Ri/k Sa/m/h. I, 164, 39, 'In which the Vedas are[118], in the
Imperishable one (i.e. Brahman), the highest, the ether (vyoman), on
which all gods have their seat.' And Taitt. Up. III, 6, 'This is the
knowledge of Bh/ri/gu and Varu/n/a, founded on the highest ether
(vyoman).' And again, 'Om, ka is Brahman, ether (kha) is Brahman' (Ch.
Up. IV, 10, 5), and 'the old ether' (B/ri/. Up. V, 1)[119]. And other
similar passages. On account of the force of the complementary passage
we are justified in deciding that the word 'ether,' although occurring
in the beginning of the passage, refers to Brahman. The case is
analogous to that of the sentence, 'Agni (lit. the fire) studies a
chapter,' where the word agni, although occurring in the beginning, is
at once seen to denote a boy[120]. It is therefore settled that the word
'ether' denotes Brahman.
23. For the same reason breath (is Brahman).
Concerning the udgitha it is said (Ch. Up. I, 10, 9), 'Prastot/ri/, that
deity which belongs to the prastava, &c.,' and, further on (I, 11, 4;
5), '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.' With reference to this passage doubt and
decision are to be considered as analogous to those stated under the
preceding Sutra. For while in some passages--as, for instance, 'For
indeed, my son, mind is fastened to pra/n/a,' Ch. Up. VI, 8, 2; and,
'the pra/n/a of pra/n/a,' B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 18--the word 'breath' is
seen to denote Brahman, its use in the sense of a certain modification
of air is better established in common as well as in Vedic language.
Hence there arises a doubt whether in the passage under discussion the
word pra/n/a denotes Brahman or (ordinary) breath. In favour of which
meaning have we then to decide?
Here the purvapakshin maintains that the word must be held to denote the
fivefold vital breath, which is a peculiar modification of wind (or
air); because, as has been remarked already, that sense of the word
pra/n/a is the better established one.--But no, an objector will say,
just as in the case of the preceding Sutra, so here also Brahman is
meant, on account of characteristic marks being mentioned; for here also
a complementary passage gives us to understand that all beings spring
from and merge into pra/n/a; a process which can take place in connexion
with the highest Lord only.--This objection, the purvapakshin replies,
is futile, since we see that the beings enter into and proceed from the
principal vital air also. For Scripture makes the following statement
(Sat. Br. X, 3, 3, 6), 'When man sleeps, then into breath indeed speech
merges, into breath the eye, into breath the ear, into breath the mind;
when he awakes then they spring again from breath alone.' What the Veda
here states is, moreover, a matter of observation, for during sleep,
while the process of breathing goes on uninterruptedly, the activity of
the sense organs is interrupted and again becomes manifest at the time
of awaking only. And as the sense organs are the essence of all material
beings, the complementary passage which speaks of the merging and
emerging of the beings can be reconciled with the principal vital air
also. Moreover, subsequently to pra/n/a being mentioned as the divinity
of the prastava the sun and food are designated as the divinities of the
udgitha and the pratibara. Now as they are not Brahman, the pra/n/a
also, by parity of reasoning, cannot be Brahman.
To this argumentation the author of the Sutras replies: For the same
reason pra/n/a--that means: on account of the presence of characteristic
marks--which constituted the reason stated in the preceding Sutra--the
word pra/n/a also must be held to denote Brahman. For Scripture says of
pra/n/a also, that it is connected with marks characteristic of Brahman.
The sentence, 'All these beings merge into breath alone, and from breath
they arise,' which declares that the origination and retractation of all
beings depend on pra/n/a, clearly shows pra/n/a to be Brahman. In reply
to the assertion that the origination and retractation of all beings can
be reconciled equally well with the assumption of pra/n/a denoting the
chief vital air, because origination and retractation take place in the
state of waking and of sleep also, we remark that in those two states
only the senses are merged into, and emerge from, the chief vital air,
while, according to the scriptural passage, 'For all these beings, &c.,'
all beings whatever into which a living Self has entered, together with
their senses and bodies, merge and emerge by turns. And even if the word
'beings' were taken (not in the sense of animated beings, but) in the
sense of material elements in general, there would be nothing in the way
of interpreting the passage as referring to Brahman.--But, it may be
said, that the senses together with their objects do, during sleep,
enter into pra/n/a, and again issue from it at the time of waking, we
distinctly learn from another scriptural passage, viz. Kau. Up. III, 3,
'When a man being thus asleep sees no dream whatever, he becomes one
with that pra/n/a alone. Then speech goes to him with all names,'
& c.--True, we reply, but there also the word pra/n/a denotes (not the
vital air) but Brahman, as we conclude from characteristic marks of
Brahman being mentioned. The objection, again, that the word pra/n/a
cannot denote Brahman because it occurs in proximity to the words 'food'
and 'sun' (which do not refer to Brahman), is altogether baseless; for
proximity is of no avail against the force of the complementary passage
which intimates that pra/n/a is Brahman. That argument, finally, which
rests on the fact that the word pra/n/a commonly denotes the vital air
with its five modifications, is to be refuted in the same way as the
parallel argument which the purvapakshin brought forward with reference
to the word 'ether.' From all this it follows that the pra/n/a, which is
the deity of the prastava, is Brahman.
Some (commentators)[121] quote under the present Sutra the following
passages, 'the pra/n/a of pra/n/a' (B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 18), and 'for to
pra/n/a mind is fastened' (Ch. Up. VI, 8, 2). But that is wrong since
these two passages offer no opportunity for any discussion, the former
on account of the separation of the words, the latter on account of the
general topic. When we meet with a phrase such as 'the father of the
father' we understand at once that the genitive denotes a father
different from the father denoted by the nominative. Analogously we
infer from the separation of words contained in the phrase, 'the breath
of breath,' that the 'breath of breath' is different from the ordinary
breath (denoted by the genitive 'of breath'). For one and the same thing
cannot, by means of a genitive, be predicated of--and thus distinguished
from--itself. Concerning the second passage we remark that, if the
matter constituting the general topic of some chapter is referred to in
that chapter under a different name, we yet conclude, from the general
topic, that that special matter is meant. For instance, when we meet in
the section which treats of the jyotish/t/oma sacrifice with the
passage, 'in every spring he is to offer the jyotis sacrifice,' we at
once understand that the word denotes the jyotish/t/oma. If we therefore
meet with the clause 'to pra/n/a mind is fastened' in a section of which
the highest Brahman is the topic, we do not for a moment suppose that
the word pra/n/a should there denote the ordinary breath which is a mere
modification of air. The two passages thus do not offer any matter for
discussion, and hence do not furnish appropriate instances for the
Sutra. We have shown, on the other hand, that the passage about the
pra/n/a, which is the deity of the prastava, allows room for doubt,
purvapaksha and final decision.
24. The 'light' (is Brahman), on account of the mention of feet (in a
passage which is connected with the passage about the light).
Scripture says (Ch. Up. III, 13, 7), 'Now that light which shines above
this heaven, higher than all, higher than everything, in the highest
worlds beyond which there are no other worlds that is the same light
which is within man.' Here the doubt presents itself whether the word
'light' denotes the light of the sun and the like, or the highest Self.
Under the preceding Sutras we had shown that some words which ordinarily
have different meanings yet in certain passages denote Brahman, since
characteristic marks of the latter are mentioned. Here the question has
to be discussed whether, in connexion with the passage quoted,
characteristic marks of Brahman are mentioned or not.
The purvapakshin maintains that the word 'light' denotes nothing else
but the light of the sun and the like, since that is the ordinary
well-established meaning of the term. The common use of language, he
says, teaches us that the two words 'light' and 'darkness' denote
mutually opposite things, darkness being the term for whatever
interferes with the function of the sense of sight, as, for instance,
the gloom of the night, while sunshine and whatever else favours the
action of the eye is called light. The word 'shines' also, which the
text exhibits, is known ordinarily to refer to the sun and similar
sources of light; while of Brahman, which is devoid of colour, it cannot
be said, in the primary sense of the word, that it 'shines.' Further,
the word jyotis must here denote light because it is said to be bounded
by the sky ('that light which shines above this heaven'). For while it
is impossible to consider the sky as being the boundary of Brahman,
which is the Self of all and the source of all things movable or
immovable, the sky may be looked upon as forming the boundary of light,
which is a mere product and as such limited; accordingly the text says,
'the light beyond heaven.'--But light, although a mere product, is
perceived everywhere; it would therefore be wrong to declare that it is
bounded by the sky!--Well, then, the purvapakshin replies, let us assume
that the light meant is the first-born (original) light which has not
yet become tripartite[122]. This explanation again cannot be admitted,
because the non-tripartite light does not serve any purpose.--But, the
purvapakshin resumes, Why should its purpose not be found therein that
it is the object of devout meditation?--That cannot be, we reply; for we
see that only such things are represented as objects of devotion as have
some other independent use of their own; so, for instance, the sun
(which dispels darkness and so on). Moreover the scriptural passage,
'Let me make each of these three (fire, water, and earth) tripartite,'
does not indicate any difference[123]. And even of the non-tripartite
light it is not known that the sky constitutes its boundary.--Well, then
(the purvapakshin resumes, dropping the idea of the non-tripartite
light), let us assume that the light of which the text speaks is the
tripartite (ordinary) light. The objection that light is seen to exist
also beneath the sky, viz. in the form of fire and the like, we
invalidate by the remark that there is nothing contrary to reason in
assigning a special locality to fire, although the latter is observed
everywhere; while to assume a special place for Brahman, to which the
idea of place does not apply at all, would be most unsuitable. Moreover,
the clause 'higher than everything, in the highest worlds beyond which
there are no other worlds,' which indicates a multiplicity of abodes,
agrees much better with light, which is a mere product (than with
Brahman). There is moreover that other clause, also, 'That is the same
light which is within man,' in which the highest light is identified
with the gastric fire (the fire within man). Now such identifications
can be made only where there is a certain similarity of nature; as is
seen, for instance, in the passage, 'Of that person Bhu/h/ is the head,
for the head is one and that syllable is one' (B/ri/. Up. V, 5, 3). But
that the fire within the human body is not Brahman clearly appears from
the passage, 'Of this we have visible and audible proof' (Ch. Up. III,
13, 7; 8), which declares that the fire is characterised by the noise it
makes, and by heat; and likewise from the following passage, 'Let a man
meditate on this as that which is seen and heard.' The same conclusion
may be drawn from the passage, 'He who knows this becomes conspicuous
and celebrated,' which proclaims an inconsiderable reward only, while to
the devout meditation on Brahman a high reward would have to be
allotted. Nor is there mentioned in the entire passage about the light
any other characteristic mark of Brahman, while such marks are set forth
in the passages (discussed above) which refer to pra/n/a and the ether.
Nor, again, is Brahman indicated in the preceding section, 'the Gayatri
is everything whatsoever exists,' &c. (III, 12); for that passage makes
a statement about the Gayatri metre only. And even if that section did
refer to Brahman, still Brahman would not be recognised in the passage
at present under discussion; for there (in the section referred to) it
is declared in the clause, 'Three feet of it are the Immortal in
heaven'--that heaven constitutes the abode; while in our passage the
words 'the light above heaven' declare heaven to be a boundary. For all
these reasons the word jyotis is here to be taken in its ordinary
meaning, viz. light.
To this we make the following reply. The word jyotis must be held to
denote Brahman. Why? On account of the feet (quarters) being mentioned.
In a preceding passage Brahman had been spoken of as having four feet
(quarters). 'Such is the greatness of it; greater than it is the Person
(purusha). One foot of it are all the beings, three feet of it are the
Immortal in heaven.' That which in this passage is said to constitute
the three-quarter part, immortal and connected with heaven, of Brahman,
which altogether comprises four quarters; this very same entity we
recognise as again referred to in the passage under discussion, because
there also it is said to be connected with heaven. If therefore we
should set it aside in our interpretation of the passage and assume the
latter to refer to the ordinary light, we should commit the mistake of
dropping, without need, the topic started and introducing a new subject.
Brahman, in fact, continues to form the subject-matter, not only of the
passage about the light, but likewise of the subsequent section, the
so-called Sa/nd/ilya-vidya (Ch. Up. III, 14). Hence we conclude that in
our passage the word 'light' must be held to denote Brahman. The
objection (raised above) that from common use the words 'light' and 'to
shine' are known to denote effected (physical) light is without force;
for as it is known from the general topic of the chapter that Brahman is
meant, those two words do not necessarily denote physical light only to
the exclusion of Brahman[124], but may also denote Brahman itself, in so
far as it is characterised by the physical shining light which is its
effect. Analogously another mantra declares, 'that by which the sun
shines kindled with heat' (Taitt. Br. III, 12, 9, 7). Or else we may
suppose that the word jyotis here does not denote at all that light on
which the function of the eye depends. For we see that in other passages
it has altogether different meanings; so, for instance, B/ri/. Up. IV,
3, 5, 'With speech only as light man sits,' and Taitt. Sa. I, 6, 3, 3,
'May the mind, the light, accept,' &c. It thus appears that whatever
illuminates (in the different senses of the word) something else may be
spoken of as 'light.' Hence to Brahman also, whose nature is
intelligence, the term 'light' may be applied; for it gives light to the
entire world. Similarly, other scriptural passages say, 'Him the shining
one, everything shines after; by his light all this is lighted' (Kau.
Up. II, 5, 15); and 'Him the gods worship as the light of lights, as the
immortal' (B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 16). Against the further objection that the
omnipresent Brahman cannot be viewed as bounded by heaven we remark that
the assignment, to Brahman, of a special locality is not contrary to
reason because it subserves the purpose of devout meditation. Nor does
it avail anything to say that it is impossible to assign any place to
Brahman because Brahman is out of connexion with all place. For it is
possible to make such an assumption, because Brahman is connected with
certain limiting adjuncts. Accordingly Scripture speaks of different
kinds of devout meditation on Brahman as specially connected with
certain localities, such as the sun, the eye, the heart. For the same
reason it is also possible to attribute to Brahman a multiplicity of
abodes, as is done in the clause (quoted above) 'higher than all.' The
further objection that the light beyond heaven is the mere physical
light because it is identified with the gastric fire, which itself is a
mere effect and is inferred from perceptible marks such as the heat of
the body and a certain sound, is equally devoid of force; for the
gastric fire may be viewed as the outward appearance (or symbol) of
Brahman, just as Brahman's name is a mere outward symbol. Similarly in
the passage, 'Let a man meditate on it (the gastric light) as seen and
heard,' the visibility and audibility (here implicitly ascribed to
Brahman) must be considered as rendered possible through the gastric
fire being the outward appearance of Brahman. Nor is there any force in
the objection that Brahman cannot be meant because the text mentions an
inconsiderable reward only; for there is no reason compelling us to have
recourse to Brahman for the purpose of such and such a reward only, and
not for the purpose of such and such another reward. Wherever the text
represents the highest Brahman--which is free from all connexion with
distinguishing attributes--as the universal Self, it is understood that
the result of that instruction is one only, viz. final release.
Wherever, on the other hand, Brahman is taught to be connected with
distinguishing attributes or outward symbols, there, we see, all the
various rewards which this world can offer are spoken of; cp. for
instance, B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 24, 'This is he who eats all food, the giver
of wealth. He who knows this obtains wealth.' Although in the passage
itself which treats of the light no characteristic mark of Brahman is
mentioned, yet, as the Sutra intimates, the mark stated in a preceding
passage (viz. the mantra, 'Such is the greatness of it,' &c.) has to be
taken in connexion with the passage about the light as well. The
question how the mere circumstance of Brahman being mentioned in a not
distant passage can have the power of divorcing from its natural object
and transferring to another object the direct statement about light
implied in the word 'light,' may be answered without difficulty. The
passage under discussion runs[125], 'which above this heaven, the
light.' The relative pronoun with which this clause begins intimates,
according to its grammatical force[126], the same Brahman which was
mentioned in the previous passage, and which is here recognised (as
being the same which was mentioned before) through its connexion with
heaven; hence the word jyotis also--which stands in grammatical
co-ordination to 'which'--must have Brahman for its object. From all
this it follows that the word 'light' here denotes Brahman.
25. If it be objected that (Brahman is) not (denoted) on account of the
metre being denoted; (we reply) not so, because thus (i.e. by means of
the metre) the direction of the mind (on Brahman) is declared; for thus
it is seen (in other passages also).
We now address ourselves to the refutation of the assertion (made in the
purvapaksha of the preceding Sutra) that in the previous passage also
Brahman is not referred to, because in the sentence, 'Gayatri is
everything whatsoever here exists,' the metre called Gayatri is spoken
of.--How (we ask the purvapakshin) can it be maintained that, on account
of the metre being spoken of, Brahman is not denoted, while yet the
mantra 'such is the greatness of it,' &c., clearly sets forth Brahman
with its four quarters?--You are mistaken (the purvapakshin replies).
The sentence, 'Gayatri is everything,' starts the discussion of Gayatri.
The same Gayatri is thereupon described under the various forms of all
beings, earth, body, heart, speech, breath; to which there refers also
the verse, 'that Gayatri has four feet and is sixfold.' After that we
meet with the mantra, 'Such is the greatness of it.' &c. How then, we
ask, should this mantra, which evidently is quoted with reference to the
Gayatri (metre) as described in the preceding clauses, all at once
denote Brahman with its four quarters? Since therefore the metre Gayatri
is the subject-matter of the entire chapter, the term 'Brahman' which
occurs in a subsequent passage ('the Brahman which has thus been
described') must also denote the metre. This is analogous to a previous
passage (Ch. Up. III, 11, 3, 'He who thus knows this Brahma-upanishad'),
where the word Brahma-upanishad is explained to mean Veda-upanishad. As
therefore the preceding passage refers (not to Brahman, but) to the
Gayatri metre, Brahman does not constitute the topic of the entire
section.
This argumentation, we reply, proves nothing against our position.
'Because thus direction of the mind is declared,' i.e. because the
Brahma/n/a passage, 'Gayatri indeed is all this,' intimates that by
means of the metre Gayatri the mind is to be directed on Brahman which
is connected with that metre. Of the metre Gayatri, which is nothing but
a certain special combination of syllables, it could not possibly be
said that it is the Self of everything. We therefore have to understand
the passage as declaring that Brahman, which, as the cause of the world,
is connected with that product also whose name is Gayatri, is 'all
this;' in accordance with that other passage which directly says, 'All
this indeed is Brahman' (Kh. Up. III, 14, 1). That the effect is in
reality not different from the cause, we shall prove later on, under
Sutra II, 1, 14. Devout meditation on Brahman under the form of certain
effects (of Brahman) is seen to be mentioned in other passages also, so,
for instance, Ait. Ar. III, 2, 3, 12, 'For the Bahv/rik/as consider him
in the great hymn, the Adhvaryus in the sacrificial fire, the Chandogas
in the Mahavrata ceremony.' Although, therefore, the previous passage
speaks of the metre, Brahman is what is meant, and the same Brahman is
again referred to in the passage about the light, whose purport it is to
enjoin another form of devout meditation.
Another commentator[127] is of opinion that the term Gayatri (does not
denote Brahman in so far as viewed under the form of Gayatri, but)
directly denotes Brahman, on account of the equality of number; for just
as the Gayatri metre has four feet consisting of six syllables each, so
Brahman also has four feet, (i.e. quarters.) Similarly we see that in
other passages also the names of metres are used to denote other things
which resemble those metres in certain numerical relations; cp. for
instance, Ch. Up. IV, 3, 8, where it is said at first, 'Now these five
and the other five make ten and that is the K/ri/ta,' and after that
'these are again the Viraj which eats the food.' If we adopt this
interpretation, Brahman only is spoken of, and the metre is not referred
to at all. In any case Brahman is the subject with which the previous
passage is concerned.
26. And thus also (we must conclude, viz. that Brahman is the subject of
the previous passage), because (thus only) the declaration as to the
beings, &c. being the feet is possible.
That the previous passage has Brahman for its topic, we must assume for
that reason also that the text designates the beings and so on as the
feet of Gayatri. For the text at first speaks of the beings, the earth,
the body, and the heart[128], and then goes on 'that Gayatri has four
feet and is sixfold.' For of the mere metre, without any reference to
Brahman, it would be impossible to say that the beings and so on are its
feet. Moreover, if Brahman were not meant, there would be no room for
the verse, 'Such is the greatness,' &c. For that verse clearly describes
Brahman in its own nature; otherwise it would be impossible to represent
the Gayatri as the Self of everything as is done in the words, 'One foot
of it are all the beings; three feet of it are what is immortal in
heaven.' The purusha-sukta also (/Ri/k Sa/m/h. X, 90) exhibits the verse
with sole reference to Brahman. Sm/ri/ti likewise ascribes to Brahman a
like nature, 'I stand supporting all this world by a single portion of
myself' (Bha. Gita X, 42). Our interpretation moreover enables us to
take the passage, 'that Brahman indeed which,' &c. (III, 12, 7), in its
primary sense, (i.e. to understand the word Brahman to denote nothing
but Brahman.) And, moreover, the passage, 'these are the five men of
Brahman' (III, 13, 6), is appropriate only if the former passage about
the Gayatri is taken as referring to Brahman (for otherwise the
'Brahman' in 'men of Brahman' would not be connected with the previous
topic). Hence Brahman is to be considered as the subject-matter of the
previous passage also. And the decision that the same Brahman is
referred to in the passage about the light where it is recognised (to be
the same) from its connexion with heaven, remains unshaken.
27. The objection that (the Brahman of the former passage cannot be
recognised in the latter) on account of the difference of designation,
is not valid because in either (designation) there is nothing contrary
(to the recognition).
The objection that in the former passage ('three feet of it are what is
immortal in heaven'), heaven is designated as the abode, while in the
latter passage ('that light which shines above this heaven'), heaven is
designated as the boundary, and that, on account of this difference of
designation, the subject-matter of the former passage cannot be
recognised in the latter, must likewise be refuted. This we do by
remarking that in either designation nothing is contrary to the
recognition. Just as in ordinary language a falcon, although in contact
with the top of a tree, is not only said to be on the tree but also
above the tree, so Brahman also, although being in heaven, is here
referred to as being beyond heaven as well.
Another (commentator) explains: just as in ordinary language a falcon,
although not in contact with the top of a tree, is not only said to be
above the top of the tree but also on the top of the tree, so Brahman
also, which is in reality beyond heaven, is (in the former of the two
passages) said to be in heaven. Therefore the Brahman spoken of in the
former passage can be recognised in the latter also, and it remains
therefore a settled conclusion that the word 'light' denotes Brahman.
28. Pra/n/a (breath) is Brahman, that being understood from a connected
consideration (of the passages referring to pra/n/a).
In the Kaushitaki-brahma/n/a-upanishad there is recorded a legend of
Indra and Pratardana which begins with the words, 'Pratardana, forsooth,
the son of Divodasa came by means of fighting and strength to the
beloved abode of Indra' (Kau. Up. III, 1). In this legend we read: 'He
said: I am pra/n/a, the intelligent Self (praj/n/atman), meditate on me
as Life, as Immortality' (III, 2). And later on (III, 3), 'Pra/n/a
alone, the intelligent Self, having laid hold of this body, makes it
rise up.' Then, again (III, 8), 'Let no man try to find out what speech
is, let him know the speaker.' And in the end (III, 8), 'That breath
indeed is the intelligent Self, bliss, imperishable, immortal.'--Here
the doubt presents itself whether the word pra/n/a denotes merely
breath, the modification of air, or the Self of some divinity, or the
individual soul, or the highest Brahman.--But, it will be said at the
outset, the Sutra I, 1, 21 already has shown that the word pra/n/a
refers to Brahman, and as here also we meet with characteristic marks of
Brahman, viz. the words 'bliss, imperishable, immortal,' what reason is
there for again raising the same doubt?--We reply: Because there are
observed here characteristic marks of different kinds. For in the legend
we meet not only with marks indicating Brahman, but also with marks
pointing to other beings Thus Indra's words, 'Know me only' (III, 1)
point to the Self of a divinity; the words, 'Having laid hold of this
body it makes it rise up,' point to the breath; the words, 'Let no man
try to find out what speech is, let him know the speaker,' point to the
individual soul. There is thus room for doubt.
If, now, the purvapakshin maintains that the term pra/n/a here denotes
the well-known modification of air, i.e. breath, we, on our side, assert
that the word pra/n/a must be understood to denote Brahman.--For what
reason?--On account of such being the consecutive meaning of the
passages. For if we examine the connexion of the entire section which
treats of the pra/n/a, we observe that all the single passages can be
construed into a whole only if they are viewed as referring to Brahman.
At the beginning of the legend Pratardana, having been allowed by Indra
to choose a boon, mentions the highest good of man, which he selects for
his boon, in the following words, 'Do you yourself choose that boon for
me which you deem most beneficial for a man.' Now, as later on pra/n/a
is declared to be what is most beneficial for man, what should pra/n/a
denote but the highest Self? For apart from the cognition of that Self a
man cannot possibly attain what is most beneficial for him, as many
scriptural passages declare. Compare, for instance, /S/ve. Up. III, 8,
'A man who knows him passes over death; there is no other path to go.'
Again, the further passage, 'He who knows me thus by no deed of his is
his life harmed, not by theft, not by bhru/n/ahatya' (III, 1), has a
meaning only if Brahman is supposed to be the object of knowledge. For,
that subsequently to the cognition of Brahman all works and their
effects entirely cease, is well known from scriptural passages, such as
the following, 'All works perish when he has been beheld who is the
higher and the lower' (Mu. Up. II, 2, 8). Moreover, pra/n/a can be
identified with the intelligent Self only if it is Brahman. For the air
which is non-intelligent can clearly not be the intelligent Self. Those
characteristic marks, again, which are mentioned in the concluding
passage (viz. those intimated by the words 'bliss,' 'imperishable,'
'immortal') can, if taken in their full sense, not be reconciled with
any being except Brahman. There are, moreover, the following passages,
'He does not increase by a good action, nor decrease by a bad action.
For he makes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds do a good
deed; and the same makes him whom he wishes to lead down from these
worlds do a bad deed;' and, 'He is the guardian of the world, he is the
king of the world, he is the Lord of the world' (Kau. Up. III, 8). All
this can be properly understood only if the highest Brahman is
acknowledged to be the subject-matter of the whole chapter, not if the
vital air is substituted in its place. Hence the word pra/n/a denotes
Brahman.
29. If it be said that (Brahman is) not (denoted) on account of the
speaker denoting himself; (we reply that this objection is not valid)
because there is in that (chapter) a multitude of references to the
interior Self.
An objection is raised against the assertion that pra/n/a denotes
Brahman. The word pra/n/a, it is said, does not denote the highest
Brahman, because the speaker designates himself. The speaker, who is a
certain powerful god called Indra, at first says, in order to reveal
himself to Pratardana, 'Know me only,' and later on, 'I am pra/n/a, the
intelligent Self.' How, it is asked, can the pra/n/a, which this latter
passage, expressive of personality as it is, represents as the Self of
the speaker, be Brahman to which, as we know from Scripture, the
attribute of being a speaker cannot be ascribed; compare, for instance,
B/ri/. Up. III, 8, 8, 'It is without speech, without mind.' Further on,
also, the speaker, i.e. Indra, glorifies himself by enumerating a number
of attributes, all of which depend on personal existence and can in no
way belong to Brahman, 'I slew the three-headed son of Tvash/tri/; I
delivered the Arunmukhas, the devotees, to the wolves,' and so on. Indra
may be called pra/n/a on account of his strength. Scripture says,
'Strength indeed is pra/n/a,' and Indra is known as the god of strength;
and of any deed of strength people say, 'It is Indra's work.' The
personal Self of a deity may, moreover, be called an intelligent Self;
for the gods, people say, possess unobstructed knowledge. It thus being
a settled matter that some passages convey information about the
personal Self of some deity, the other passages also--as, for instance,
the one about what is most beneficial for man--must be interpreted as
well as they may with reference to the same deity. Hence pra/n/a does
not denote Brahman.
This objection we refute by the remark that in that chapter there are
found a multitude of references to the interior Self. For the passage,
'As long as pra/n/a dwells in this body so long surely there is life,'
declares that that pra/n/a only which is the intelligent interior
Self--and not some particular outward deity--has power to bestow and to
take back life. And where the text speaks of the eminence of the
pra/n/as as founded on the existence of the pra/n/a, it shows that that
pra/n/a is meant which has reference to the Self and is the abode of the
sense-organs.[129]
Of the same tendency is the passage, 'Pra/n/a, the intelligent Self,
alone having laid hold of this body makes it rise up;' and the passage
(which occurs in the passus, 'Let no man try to find out what speech
is,' &c.), 'For as in a car the circumference of the wheel is set on the
spokes and the spokes on the nave, thus are these objects set on the
subjects (the senses) and the subjects on the pra/n/a. And that pra/n/a
indeed is the Self of pra/n/a, blessed, imperishable, immortal.' So also
the following passage which, referring to this interior Self, forming as
it were the centre of the peripherical interaction of the objects and
senses, sums up as follows, 'He is my Self, thus let it be known;' a
summing up which is appropriate only if pra/n/a is meant to denote not
some outward existence, but the interior Self. And another scriptural
passage declares 'this Self is Brahman, omniscient'[130] (B/ri/. Up. II,
5, 19). We therefore arrive at the conclusion that, on account of the
multitude of references to the interior Self, the chapter contains
information regarding Brahman, not regarding the Self of some
deity.--How then can the circumstance of the speaker (Indra) referring
to himself be explained?
30. The declaration (made by Indra about himself, viz. that he is one
with Brahman) (is possible) through intuition vouched for by Scripture,
as in the case of Vamadeva.
The individual divine Self called Indra perceiving by means of
/ri/shi-like intuition[131]--the existence of which is vouched for by
Scripture--its own Self to be identical with the supreme Self, instructs
Pratardana (about the highest Self) by means of the words 'Know me
only.'
By intuition of the same kind the /ri/shi Vamadeva reached the knowledge
expressed in the words, 'I was Manu and Surya;' in accordance with the
passage, 'Whatever deva was awakened (so as to know Brahman) he indeed
became that' (B/ri/. Up. I, 4, 10). The assertion made above (in the
purvapaksha of the preceding Sutra) that Indra after saying, 'Know me
only,' glorifies himself by enumerating the slaying of Tvash/tri/'s son
and other deeds of strength, we refute as follows. The death of
Tvash/tri/'s son and similar deeds are referred to, not to the end of
glorifying Indra as the object of knowledge--in which case the sense of
the passage would be, 'Because I accomplished such and such deeds,
therefore know me'--but to the end of glorifying the cognition of the
highest Self. For this reason the text, after having referred to the
slaying of Tvash/tri/'s son and the like, goes on in the clause next
following to exalt knowledge, 'And not one hair of me is harmed there.
He who knows me thus by no deed of his is his life harmed.'--(But how
does this passage convey praise of knowledge?)--Because, we reply, its
meaning is as follows: 'Although I do such cruel deeds, yet not even a
hair of mine is harmed because I am one with Brahman; therefore the life
of any other person also who knows me thus is not harmed by any deed of
his.' And the object of the knowledge (praised by Indra) is nothing else
but Brahman which is set forth in a subsequent passage, 'I am pra/n/a,
the intelligent Self.' Therefore the entire chapter refers to Brahman.
31. If it be said (that Brahman is) not (meant), on account of
characteristic marks of the individual soul and the chief vital air
(being mentioned); we say no, on account of the threefoldness of devout
meditation (which would result from your interpretation); on account of
(the meaning advocated by us) being accepted (elsewhere); and on account
of (characteristic marks of Brahman) being connected (with the passage
under discussion).
Although we admit, the purvapakshin resumes, that the chapter about the
pra/n/a does not furnish any instruction regarding some outward deity,
since it contains a multitude of references to the interior Self; still
we deny that it is concerned with Brahman.--For what reason?--Because it
mentions characteristic marks of the individual soul on the one hand,
and of the chief vital air on the other hand. The passage, 'Let no man
try to find out what speech is, let him know the speaker,' mentions a
characteristic mark of the individual soul, and must therefore be held
to point out as the object of knowledge the individual soul which rules
and employs the different organs of action such as speech and so on. On
the other hand, we have the passage, 'But pra/n/a alone, the intelligent
Self, having laid hold of this body makes it rise up,' which points to
the chief vital air; for the chief attribute of the vital air is that it
sustains the body. Similarly, we read in the colloquy of the vital airs
(Pra. Up. II, 3), concerning speech and the other vital airs, 'Then
pra/n/a (the chief vital air) as the best said to them: Be not deceived;
I alone dividing myself fivefold support this body and keep it.' Those,
again, who in the passage quoted above read 'this one (masc.), the
body[132]' must give the following explanation, Pra/n/a having laid hold
of this one, viz. either the individual soul or the aggregate of the
sense organs, makes the body rise up. The individual soul as well as the
chief vital air may justly be designated as the intelligent Self; for
the former is of the nature of intelligence, and the latter (although
non-intelligent in itself) is the abode of other pra/n/as, viz. the
sense organs, which are the instruments of intelligence. Moreover, if
the word pra/n/a be taken to denote the individual soul as well as the
chief vital air, the pra/n/a and the intelligent Self may be spoken of
in two ways, either as being non-different on account of their mutual
concomitance, or as being different on account of their (essentially
different) individual character; and in these two different ways they
are actually spoken of in the two following passages, 'What is pra/n/a
that is praj/n/a, what is praj/n/a that is pra/n/a;' and, 'For together
do these two live in the body and together do they depart.' If, on the
other hand, pra/n/a denoted Brahman, what then could be different from
what? For these reasons pra/n/a does not denote Brahman, but either the
individual soul or the chief vital air or both.
All this argumentation, we reply, is wrong, 'on account of the
threefoldness of devout meditation.' Your interpretation would involve
the assumption of devout meditation of three different kinds, viz. on
the individual soul, on the chief vital air, and on Brahman. But it is
inappropriate to assume that a single sentence should enjoin three kinds
of devout meditation; and that all the passages about the pra/n/a really
constitute one single sentence (one syntactical whole) appears from the
beginning and the concluding part. In the beginning we have the clause
'Know me only,' followed by 'I am pra/n/a, the intelligent Self,
meditate on me as Life, as Immortality;' and in the end we read, 'And
that pra/n/a indeed is the intelligent Self, blessed, imperishable,
immortal.' The beginning and the concluding part are thus seen to be
similar, and we therefore must conclude that they refer to one and the
same matter. Nor can the characteristic mark of Brahman be so turned as
to be applied to something else; for the ten objects and the ten
subjects (subjective powers)[133] cannot rest on anything but Brahman.
Moreover, pra/n/a must denote Brahman 'on account of (that meaning)
being accepted,' i.e. because in the case of other passages where
characteristic marks of Brahman are mentioned the word pra/n/a is taken
in the sense of 'Brahman.' And another reason for assuming the passage
to refer to Brahman is that here also, i.e. in the passage itself there
is 'connexion' with characteristic marks of Brahman, as, for instance,
the reference to what is most beneficial for man. The assertion that the
passage, 'Having laid hold of this body it makes it rise up,' contains a
characteristic mark of the chief vital air, is untrue; for as the
function of the vital air also ultimately rests on Brahman it can
figuratively be ascribed to the latter. So Scripture also declares, 'No
mortal lives by the breath that goes up and by the breath that goes
down. We live by another in whom these two repose' (Ka. Up. II, 5, 5).
Nor does the indication of the individual soul which you allege to occur
in the passage, 'Let no man try to find out what speech is, let him know
the speaker,' preclude the view of pra/n/a denoting Brahman. For, as the
passages, 'I am Brahman,' 'That art thou,' and others, prove, there is
in reality no such thing as an individual soul absolutely different from
Brahman, but Brahman, in so far as it differentiates itself through the
mind (buddhi) and other limiting conditions, is called individual soul,
agent, enjoyer. Such passages therefore as the one alluded to, (viz.
'let no man try to find out what speech is, let him know the speaker,')
which, by setting aside all the differences due to limiting conditions,
aim at directing the mind on the internal Self and thus showing that the
individual soul is one with Brahman, are by no means out of place. That
the Self which is active in speaking and the like is Brahman appears
from another scriptural passage also, viz. Ke. Up. I, 5, 'That which is
not expressed by speech and by which speech is expressed that alone know
as Brahman, not that which people here adore.' The remark that the
statement about the difference of pra/n/a and praj/n/a (contained in the
passage, 'Together they dwell in this body, together they depart') does
not agree with that interpretation according to which pra/n/a is
Brahman, is without force; for the mind and the vital air which are the
respective abodes of the two powers of cognition and action, and
constitute the limiting conditions of the internal Self may be spoken of as different. The internal Self, on the other hand, which is limited by those two adjuncts, is in itself non-differentiated, so that the two may be identified, as is done in the passage 'pra/n/a is praj/n/a.' |
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