34. So much; on account of reflection.
Only so much, i.e. only those qualities which have to be included in all
meditations on Brahman, without which the essential special nature of
Brahman cannot be conceived, i.e. bliss, knowledge, and so on,
characterised by absence of grossness and the like. Other qualities,
such as doing all works and the like, although indeed following their
substrate, are explicitly to be meditated on in special meditations only.--
Here terminates the adhikarana of 'the idea of the Imperishable.'
35. Should it be said that (the former reply refers) to that Self to
which the aggregate of material things belongs (since) otherwise the
difference (of the two replies) could not be accounted for; we say--no;
as in the case of instruction
In the Brihad-aranyaka (III, 4; 5) the same question is asked twice in
succession ('Tell me the Brahman which is visible, not invisible, the
Self who is within all'), while Yajnavalkya gives a different answer to
each ('He who breathes in the upbreathing,' &c.; 'He who overcomes
hunger and thirst,' &c.). The question here is whether the two
meditations, suggested by these sections, are different or not. They are
different, since the difference of reply effects a distinction between
the two vidyas. The former reply declares him who is the maker of
breathing forth, and so on to be the inner Self of all; the latter
describes him as free from hunger, thirst, and so on. It thence appears
that the former passage refers to the inner (individual) Self which is
different from body, sense-organs, internal organ and vital breath;
while the latter refers to that which again differs from the inner Self,
viz. the highest Self, free from hunger, thirst, and so on. As the
individual soul is inside the aggregate of material things, it may be
spoken of as being that inner Self of all. Although this kind of
inwardness is indeed only a relative one, we nevertheless must accept it
in this place; for if, desirous of taking this 'being the inner Self of
all' in its literal sense, we assumed the highest Self to be meant, the
difference of the two replies could not be accounted for. The former
reply evidently refers to the individual soul, since the highest Self
cannot be conceived as breathing forth, and so on; and the latter reply,
which declares the Self to be raised above hunger, &c., evidently refers
to the highest Self. This is expressed in the earlier part of the Sutra:
'The former reply refers to the Self to which there belongs the
aggregate of material things, i.e. the individual soul as being the
inner Self of all; otherwise we could not account for the difference of
the two replies.'--The last words of the Sutra negative this--'not so,'
i.e. there is no difference of vidyas, since both assertions and replies
refer to the highest Self. The question says in both places, 'the
Brahman which is visible, not invisible, the Self who is within all,'
and this clearly refers to the highest Self only. We indeed observe that
in some places the term _Brahman_ is, in a derived sense, applied to the
individual soul also; but the text under discussion, for distinction's
sake, adds the qualification 'the Brahman which is manifest' (sakshat).
The quality of 'aparokshatva' (i.e. being that which does not transcend
the senses but lies openly revealed) also, which implies being connected
with all space and all time, suits Brahman only, which from texts such
as 'the True, knowledge, infinite is Brahman' is known to be infinite.
In the same way the attribute of being the inner Self of all can belong
to the highest Self only, which texts such as 'He who dwelling within
the earth,' &c., declare to be the inner ruler of the universe. The
replies to the two questions likewise can refer to Brahman only. The
unconditional causal agency with regard to breath, declared in the
clause 'he who breathes in the upbreathing,' &c., can belong to the
highest Self only, not to the individual soul, since the latter
possesses no such causal power when in the state of deep sleep. Ushasta
thereupon, being not fully enlightened, since causality with regard to
breathing may in a sense be attributed to the individual soul also,
again asks a question, in reply to which Yajnavalkya clearly indicates
Brahman, 'Thou mayest not see the seer of sight,' &c., i.e. thou must
not think that my previous speech has named as the causal agent of
breathing the individual soul, which is the causal agent with regard to
those activities which depend on the sense-organs, viz. seeing, hearing,
thinking, and knowing; for in the state of deep sleep, swoon, and so on,
the soul possesses no such power. And moreover another text also--'Who
could breathe if that bliss existed not in the ether?' (Taitt. Up. II,
7)--declares that the highest Self only is the cause of the breathing of
all living beings. In the same way the answer to the second question can
refer to the highest Self only, which alone can be said to be raised
above hunger, thirst, and so on. For this reason also both replies wind
up with the same phrase, 'Everything else is of evil.' The iteration of
question and reply serves the purpose of showing that the same highest
Brahman which is the cause of all breathing is beyond all hunger, thirst,
and so on.--The Sutra subjoins a parallel instance. 'As in the case of
instruction.' As in the vidya of that which truly is (Ch. Up. VI, 1 ff.),
question and reply are iterated several times, in order to set forth the
various greatness and glory of Brahman.--Thus the two sections under
discussion are of the same nature, in so far as setting forth that the
one Brahman which is the inner Self of all is the cause of all life and
raised beyond all imperfections; and hence they constitute one
meditation only.--To this a new objection is raised. The two sections
may indeed both refer to the highest Brahman; nevertheless there is a
difference of meditation, as according to the one Brahman is to be
meditated upon as the cause of all life, and according to the other as
raised above all defects; this difference of character distinguishes the
two meditations. And further there is a difference of interrogators; the
first question being asked by Ushasta, the second by Kahola.
36. There is interchange (of ideas), for the texts distinguish; as in
other cases.
There is no difference of vidya because both questions and answers have
one subject-matter, and because the one word that possesses enjoining
power proves the connexion of the two sections. Both questions have for
their topic Brahman viewed as the inner Self of all; and in the second
question the word 'eva' ('just,' 'very') in 'Tell me just that Brahman,'
& c., proves that the question of Kahola has for its subject the Brahman,
to the qualities of which the question of Ushasta had referred. Both
answers again refer to the one Brahman, viewed as the Self of all. The
idea of the injunction of the entire meditation again is suggested in
the second section only, 'Therefore a Brahmana, after he has done with
learning, is to wish to stand by real strength.' The object of
meditation being thus ascertained to be one, there must be effected a
mutual interchange of the ideas of Ushasta and Kahola, i.e. Ushasta's
conception of Brahman being the cause of all life must be entertained by
the interrogating Kahola also; and vice versa the conception of Kahola
as to Brahman being beyond hunger, thirst, and so on, must be
entertained by Ushasta also. This interchange being made, the difference
of Brahman, the inner Self of all, from the individual soul is
determined by both sections. For this is the very object of
Yajnavalkya's replies: in order to intimate that the inner Self of all
is different from the individual soul, they distinguish that Self as the
cause of all life and as raised above hunger, thirst, and so on. Hence
Brahman's being the inner Self of all is the only quality that is the
subject of meditation; that it is the cause of life and so on are only
means to prove its being such, and are not therefore to be meditated on
independently.--But if this is so, to what end must there be made an
interchange, on the part of the two interrogators, of their respective
ideas?--Brahman having, on the ground of being the cause of all life,
been ascertained by Ushasta as the inner Self of all, and different from
the individual soul, Kahola renews the question, thinking that the inner
Self of all must be viewed as different from the soul, on the ground of
some special attribute which cannot possibly belong to the soul; and
Yajnavalkya divining his thought thereon declares that the inner Self
possesses an attribute which cannot possibly belong to the soul, viz.
being in essential opposition to all imperfection. The interchange of
ideas therefore has to be made for the purpose of establishing the idea
of the individual nature of the object of meditation.--'As elsewhere,' i.
e. as in the case of the knowledge of that which truly is, the repeated
questions and replies only serve to define one and the same Brahman, not
to convey the idea of the object of meditation having to be meditated on
under new aspects.--But a new objection is raised--As there is, in the
Sad-vidya also, a difference between the several questions and answers,
how is that vidya known to be one?--To this question the next Sutra
replies.
37. For one and the same (highest divinity), called the 'truly being,'
and so on (is the subject of that meditation).
For the highest divinity, called there _that which is_--which was
introduced in the clause 'that divinity thought,' &c.--is intimated by
all the following sections of that chapter. This is proved by the fact
that the attributes--'that_ which truly _is' and so on--which were
mentioned in the first section and confirmed in the subsequent ones, are
finally summed up in the statement, 'in that all this has its Self, that
is the True, that is the Self.'
Some interpreters construe the last two Sutras as constituting two
adhikaranas. The former Sutra, they say, teaches that the text, 'I am
thou, thou art I,' enjoins a meditation on the soul and the highest Self
as interchangeable. But as on the basis of texts such as 'All this is
indeed Brahman,' 'all this has its Self in Brahman,' 'Thou art that,'
the text quoted is as a matter of course understood to mean that there
is one universal Self, the teaching which it is by those interpreters
assumed to convey would be nothing new; and their interpretation
therefore must be rejected. The point as to the oneness of the
individual and the highest Self will moreover be discussed under IV, I,
3. Moreover, there is no foundation for a special meditation on Brahman
as the individual soul and the individual soul as Brahman, apart from
the meditation on the Self of all being one.--The second Sutra, they say,
declares the oneness of the meditation on the True enjoined in the text,
'whosoever knows this great wonderful first-born as the True Brahman'
(_Bri_. Up. V, 4), and of the meditation enjoined in the subsequent
passage (V, 5. 2), 'Now what is true, that is the Aditya, the person
that dwells in yonder orb, and the person in the right eye.' But this
also is untenable. For the difference of abode mentioned in the latter
passage (viz. the abode in the sun and in the eye) establishes difference
of vidya, as already shown under Su. III, 3, 21. Nor is it possible to
assume that the two meditations comprised in the latter text which have
a character of their own in so far as they view the True as embodied in
syllables, and so on, and which are declared to be connected with a
special result ('he who knows this destroys evil and leaves it'), should
be identical with the one earlier meditation which has an independent
character of its own and a result of its own ('he conquers these
worlds'). Nor can it be said that the declaration of a fruit in 'he
destroys evil and leaves it' refers merely to the fruit (not of the
entire meditation but) of a subordinate part of the meditation; for
there is nothing to prove this. The proof certainly cannot be said to
lie in the fact of the vidyas being one; for this would imply reasoning
in a circle, viz. as follows--it being settled that the vidyas are one,
it follows that the fruit of the former meditation only is the main one,
while the fruits of the two later meditations are subordinate ones; and--
it being settled that those two later fruits are subordinate ones, it
follows that, as thus there is no difference depending on connexion with
fruits, the two later meditations are one with the preceding one.--All
this proves that the two Sutras can be interpreted only in the way
maintained by us.--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'being within.'
38. Wishes and the rest, here and there; (as is known from the abode,
and so on).
We read in the Chandogya (VIII, I, 1), 'There is that city of Brahman,
and in it the palace, the small lotus, and in it that small ether,' &c.;
and in the Vajasaneyaka, 'He is that great unborn Self who consists of
knowledge,' and so on. A doubt here arises whether the two texts
constitute one meditation or not.--The two meditations are separate, the
Purvapakshin maintains; for they have different characters. The
Chandogya represents as the object of meditation the ether as
distinguished by eight different attributes, viz. freedom from all evil
and the rest; while, according to the Vajasaneyaka, the being to be
meditated on is he who dwells within that ether, and is distinguished by
attributes such as lordship, and so on.--To this we reply that the
meditations are not distinct, since there is no difference of character.
For desires and so on constitute that character 'here and there,' i.e.
in both texts nothing else but Brahman distinguished by attributes, such
as having true wishes, and so on, forms the subject of meditation. This
is known 'from the abode and so on,' i.e. the meditation is recognised
as the same because in both texts Brahman is referred to as abiding in
the heart, being a bridge, and so on. Lordship and the rest, which are
stated in the Vajasaneyaka, are special aspects of the quality of being
capable to realise all one's purposes, which is one of the eight
qualities declared in the Chandogya, and as such prove that all the
attributes going together with that quality in the Chandogya are valid
for the Vajasaneyaka also. The character of the two vidyas therefore
does not differ. The connexion with a reward also does not differ, for
it consists in both cases in attaining to Brahman; cp. Ch. Up. VIII, 12,
3 'Having approached the highest light he is manifested in his own form,'
and Bri. Up. V, 4, 24 'He becomes indeed the fearless Brahman.' That,
in the Chandogya-text, the term _ether_ denotes the highest Brahman, has
already been determined under I, 3, 14. As in the Vajasaneyaka, on the
other hand, he who abides in the ether is recognised as the highest Self,
we infer that by the ether in which he abides must be understood the
ether within the heart, which in the text 'within there is a little
hollow space (sushira)' (Mahanar. Up. XI, 9) is called sushira. The two
meditations are therefore one. Here an objection is raised. It cannot be
maintained that the attributes mentioned in the Chandogya have to be
combined with those stated in the Vajasaneyaka (lordship, rulership, &c.
), since even the latter are not truly valid for the meditation. For the
immediately preceding passage, 'By the mind it is to be perceived that
there is here no plurality: from death to death goes he who sees here
any plurality; as one only is to be seen that eternal being, not to be
proved by any means of proof,' as well as the subsequent text, 'that
Self is to be described by No, no,' shows that the Brahman to be
meditated upon is to be viewed as devoid of attributes; and from this we
infer that the attributes of lordship and so on, no less than the
qualities of grossness and the like, have to be denied of Brahman. From
this again we infer that in the Chandogya also the attributes of
satyakamatva and so on are not meant to be declared as Brahman's true
qualities. All such qualities--as not being real qualities of Brahman--
have therefore to be omitted in meditations aiming at final release.--
This objection the next Sutra disposes of.
39. On account of emphasis there is non-omission.
Attributes, such as having the power of immediately realising one's
purposes, and so on, which are not by other means known to constitute
attributes of Brahman, and are in the two texts under discussion, as
well as in other texts, emphatically declared to be attributes of
Brahman, as constituting the object of meditations undertaken with a
view to final release, cannot be omitted from those meditations, but
must be comprised within them. In the Chandogya. the passage, 'Those who
depart from hence, after having cognised the Self and those self-
realising desires, move about at will in all those worlds,' enjoins the
knowledge of Brahman as distinguished by the power of realising its
desires and similar qualities, while the text, 'Those who depart from
here not having cognised the Self, &c., do _not_ move about at will,' &c.,
finds fault with the absence of such knowledge, and in this way
emphasises the importance of the possession of it. In the same way the
repeated declarations as to Brahman's ruling power ('the lord of all,
the king of all beings,' &c.) show that stress is to be laid upon the
quality indicated. It truly cannot be held that Scripture, which in
tender regard to man's welfare is superior to a thousand of parents,
should, deceitfully, give emphatic instruction as to certain qualities--
not known through any other means of knowledge--which fundamentally
would be unreal and hence utterly to be disregarded, and thus throw men
desirous of release, who as it is are utterly confused by the
revolutions of the wheel of Samsara, into even deeper confusion and
distress. That the text, 'there is not any diversity here; as one only
is to be seen that eternal being,' teaches a unitary view of the world
in so far as everything is an effect of Brahman and thus has Brahman for
its Self, and negatives the view of plurality--established antecedently
to Vedic teaching--as excluding Brahman's being the universal Self, we
have explained before. In the clause 'not so, not so' the so refers back
to the world as established by other means of proof, and the clause thus
declares that Brahman who is the Self of all is different in nature from
the world. This is confirmed by the subsequent passage, 'He is
incomprehensible, for he is not comprehended, he is undecaying,' &c.;
which means--as he is different in nature from what is comprehended by
the other means of proof he is not grasped by those means; as he is
different from what suffers decay he does not decay, and so on. And
analogously, in the Chandogya, the text 'by the old age of the body he
does not age' &c. first establishes Brahman's being different in nature
from everything else, and then declares it to be satyakama, and so on.--
But, an objection is raised, the text, 'Those who depart from hence,
having cognised the Self and those true desires, move about at will in
all worlds. Thus he who desires the world of the fathers,' &c., really
declares that the knowledge of Brahman as possessing the power of
immediately realising its wishes has for its fruit something lying
within the sphere of transmigratory existence, and from this we infer
that for him who is desirous of release and of reaching Brahman the
object of meditation is not to be found in Brahman in so far as
possessing qualities. The fruit of the highest knowledge is rather
indicated in the passage, 'Having approached the highest light it
manifests itself in its own form'; and hence the power of realising its
wishes and the rest are not to be included in the meditation of him who
wishes to attain to Brahman.--To this objection the next Sutra replies.
40. In the case of him who has approached (Brahman); just on that
account, this being declared by the text.
When the soul, released from all bonds and manifesting itself in its
true nature, has approached, i.e. attained to Brahman; then just on that
account, i.e. on account of such approach, the text declares it to
possess the power of moving about at will in all worlds. 'Having
approached the highest light he manifests himself in his true form. He
is the highest Person. He moves about there laughing, playing,' &c. This
point will be proved in greater detail in the fourth adhyaya. Meanwhile
the conclusion is that such qualities as satyakamatva have to be
included in the meditation of him also who is desirous of release; for
the possession of those qualities forms part of the experience of the
released soul itself.--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'wishes and the
rest'
41. There is non-restriction of determination, because this is seen; for
there is a separate fruit, viz. non-obstruction.
There are certain meditations connected with elements of sacrificial
actions; as e.g. 'Let a man meditate on the syllable Om as udgitha.'
These meditations are subordinate elements of the sacrificial acts with
which they connect themselves through the udgitha and so on, in the same
way as the quality of being made of parna wood connects itself with the
sacrifice through the ladle (made of parna wood), and are to be
undertaken on that very account. Moreover the statement referring to
these meditations, viz. 'whatever he does with knowledge, with faith,
with the Upanishad, that becomes more vigorous,' does not allow the
assumption of a special fruit for these meditations (apart from the
fruit of the sacrificial performance); while in the case of the ladle
being made of parna wood the text mentions a special fruit ('he whose
ladle is made of parna wood does not hear an evil sound'). The
meditations in question are therefore necessarily to be connected with
the particular sacrificial performances to which they belong.--This view
the Sutra refutes, 'There is non-restriction with regard to the
determinations.' By 'determination' we have here to understand the
definite settling of the mind in a certain direction, in other words,
meditation. The meditations on the udgitha and so on are not definitely
connected with the sacrificial performances; 'since that is seen,' i.e.
since the texts themselves declare that there is no such necessary
connexion; cp. the text, 'therefore both perform the sacrificial work,
he who thus knows it (i. e. who possesses the knowledge implied in the
meditations on the sacrifice), as well as he who does not know'--which
declares that he also who does not know the meditations may perform the
work. Were these meditations auxiliary elements of the works, there
could be no such absence of necessary connexion (as declared in this
text). It thus being determined that they are not auxiliary elements, a
special result must be assigned to the injunction of meditation, and
this we find in the greater strength which is imparted to the sacrifice
by the meditation, and which is a result different from the result of
the sacrifice itself. The _greater strength_ of the performance consists
herein, that its result is not impeded, as it might be impeded, by the
result of some other performance of greater force. This result, viz.
absence of obstruction, is something apart from the general result of
the action, such as the reaching of the heavenly world, and so on. This
the Sutra means when saying, 'for separate is non-obstruction.' As thus
those meditations also which refer to auxiliary members of sacrifices
have their own results, they may or may not be combined with the
sacrifices, according to wish. Their case is like that of the godohana
vessel which, with the view of obtaining a certain special result, may
be used instead of the kamasa.--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'non-
restriction of determination.'
42. Just as in the case of the offerings. This has been explained.
In the daharavidya (Ch. Up. VIII, 1 ff.) the text, 'those who depart
having known here the Self, and those true desires,' declares at first a
meditation on the small ether, i.e. the highest Self, and separately
therefrom a meditation on its qualities, viz. true desires, and so on.
The doubt here arises whether, in the meditation on those qualities, the
meditation on the highest Self--as that to which the qualities belong--
is to be repeated or not.--It is not to be repeated, the Purvapakshin
maintains; for the highest Self is just that which is constituted by the
qualities--freedom from all evil, and so on--and as that Self so
constituted can be comprised in one meditation, there is no need of
repeating the meditation on account of the qualities.--This view the
Sutra sets aside. The meditation has to be repeated. The highest Self
indeed is that being to which alone freedom from evil and the other
qualities belong, and it forms the object of the first meditation; yet
there is a difference between it as viewed in its essential being and as
viewed as possessing those qualities; and moreover, the clause 'free
from evil, from old age,' &c. enjoins a meditation on the Self as
possessing those qualities. It is therefore first to be meditated on in
its essential nature, and then there takes place a repetition of the
meditation on it in order to bring in those special qualities. The case
is analogous to that of 'the offerings.' There is a text 'He is to offer
a purodasa on eleven potsherds to Indra the ruler, to Indra the supreme
ruler, to Indra the self-ruler.' This injunction refers to one and the
same Indra, possessing the qualities of rulership and so on; but as,
through connexion with those several qualities, the aspects of Indra
differ, the oblation of the purodasa has to be repeated. This is
declared in the Sankarshana, 'The divinities are different on account of
separation.'--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'offerings.'
43. On account of the plurality of indicatory marks; for that (proof) is
stronger. This also is declared (in the Purva Mimamsa).
The Taittiriyaka contains another daharavidya, 'The thousand-headed god,
the all-eyed one,' &c. (Mahanar. Up. XI). Here the doubt arises whether
this vidya, as being one with the previously introduced vidya, states
qualities to be included in the meditation enjoined in that vidya, or
qualities to be included in the meditations on the highest Self as
enjoined in all the Vedanta-texts.--The former is the case, the
Purvapakshin holds, on account of the leading subject-matter. For in the
preceding section (X) the meditation on the small ether is introduced as
the subject-matter. 'There is the small lotus placed in the middle of
the town (of the body), free from all evil, the abode of the Highest;
within that there is a small space, free from sorrow--what is within
that should be meditated upon' (Mahanar. Up. X, 23). Now, as the lotus
of the heart is mentioned only in section X, the 'Narayana-section'
('the heart resembling the bud of a lotus, with its point turned
downwards,' XI, 6), we conclude that that section also is concerned with
the object of meditation to which the daharavidya refers.--Against this
view the Sutra declares itself, 'on account of the majority of
indicatory marks'; i.e. there are in the text several marks proving that
that section is meant to declare characteristics of that which
constitutes the object of meditation in all meditations on the highest
being. For that being which in those meditations is denoted as the
Imperishable, Siva, Sambhu. the highest Brahman, the highest light, the
highest entity, the highest Self, and so on, is here referred to by the
same names, and then declared to be Narayana. There are thus several
indications to prove that Narayana is none other than that which is the
object of meditation in all meditations on the Highest, viz. Brahman,
which has bliss and the rest for its qualities. By 'linga' (inferential
mark) we here understand clauses (vakya) which contain a specific
indication; for such clauses have, according to the Purva Mimamsa,
greater proving power than leading subject-matter (prakarana). The
argumentation that the clause 'the heart resembling the bud of a lotus
flower,' &c., proves that section to stand in a dependent relation to
the daharavidya, is without force; for it being proved by a stronger
argument that the section refers to that which is the object of
meditation in all meditations, the clause mentioned may also be taken as
declaring that in the daharavidya also the object of meditation is
Narayana. Nor must it be thought that the accusatives with which the
section begins (sahasrasirsham, &c.) are to be connected with the
'meditating' enjoined in the previous section; for the 'meditating' is
there enjoined by a gerundive form ('tasmin yad antas tad upasitavyam'),
and with this the subsequent accusatives cannot be construed. Moreover,
the subsequent clause ('all this is Narayana,' &c., where the nominative
case is used) shows that those accusatives are to be taken in the sense
of nominatives.--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'the plurality of
indicatory marks.'
44. There is option with regard to what precedes (i.e. the altar made of
bricks) on account of subject-matter, and hence there is action; as in
the case of the manasa cup.
In the Vajasaneyaka, in the Agnirahasya chapter, there are references to
certain altars built of mind, 'built of mind, built of speech,' &c. The
doubt here arises whether those structures of mind, and so on, which
metaphorically are called fire-altars, should be considered as being of
the nature of action, on account of their connexion with a performance
which itself is of the nature of action; or merely of the nature of
meditation, as being connected with an activity of the nature of
meditation. The Sutra maintains the former view. Since those things
'built of mind, and so on,' are, through being _built_ (or _piled _up),
constituted as fire-altars, they demand a performance with which to
connect themselves; and as in immediate proximity to them no performance
is enjoined, and as the general subject-matter of the section is the
fire-altar built of bricks--introduced by means of the clause 'Non-being
this was in the beginning'---which is invariably connected with a
performance of the nature of outward action, viz. a certain sacrificial
performance--we conclude that the altars built of mind, &c., which the
text mentions in connexion with the same subject-matter, are themselves
of the nature of action, and as such can be used as alternatives for the
altar built of bricks. [FOOTNOTE 668:1]. An analogous case is presented
by the so-called _mental_ cup. On the tenth, so-called avivakya, day of
the Soma sacrifice extending over twelve days, there takes place the
mental offering of a Soma cup, all the rites connected with which are
rehearsed in imagination only; the offering of that cup is thus really
of the nature of thought only, but as it forms an auxiliary element in
an actual outward sacrificial performance it itself assumes the
character of an action.
[FOOTNOTE 668:1. So that for the actual outward construction of a brick
altar there may optionally be substituted the merely mental construction
of an imaginary altar.]
45. And on account of the transfer.
That the altar built of thought is an optional substitute for the altar
built of bricks, and of the nature of an action, appears therefrom also
that the clause 'of these each one is as great as that previous one,'
explicitly transfers to the altars of mind, and so on, the powers of the
previous altar made of bricks. All those altars thus having equal
effects there is choice between them. The altars of mind, and so on,
therefore are auxiliary members of the sacrificial performance which
they help to accomplish, and hence themselves of the nature of action.--
Against this view the next Sutra declares itself.
46. But it is a meditation only, on account of assertion and what is
seen.
The altars built of mind, and so on, are not of the nature of action,
but of meditation only, i.e. they belong to a performance which is of
the nature of meditation only. For this is what the text asserts, viz.
in the clauses 'they are built of knowledge only,' and 'by knowledge
they are built for him who thus knows.' As the energies of mind, speech,
sight, and so on, cannot be piled up like bricks, it is indeed a matter
of course that the so-called altars constructed of mind, and so on, can
be mental constructions only; but the text in addition specially
confirms this by declaring that those altars are elements in an activity
of purely intellectual character, and hence themselves mere creatures of
the intellect. Moreover there is seen in the text a performance
consisting of thought only to which those fires stand in a subsidiary
relation, 'by the mind they were established on hearths, by the mind
they were built up, by the mind the Soma cups were drawn thereat; by the
mind they chanted, and by the mind they recited; whatever rite is
performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that, as
consisting of mind, was performed by the mind only, on those (fire-
altars) composed of mind, built up of mind.' From this declaration, that
whatever sacrificial rite is actually performed in the case of fire-
altars built of bricks is performed mentally only in the case of altars
built of mind, it follows that the entire performance is a mental one
only, i.e. an act of meditation.--But, an objection is raised, as the
entire passus regarding the altars of mind does not contain any word of
injunctive power, and as the text states no special result (from which
it appears to follow that the passus does not enjoin a new independent
performance), we must, on the strength of the fact that the leading
subject-matter is an actual sacrificial performance as suggested by the
altars built of brick, give up the idea that the altars built of mind,
& c., are mental only because connected with a performance of merely
mental nature.--This objection the next Sutra refutes.
47. And on account of the greater strength of direct statement, and so
on, there is no refutation.
The weaker means of proof, constituted by so-called leading subject-
matter, cannot refute what is established by three stronger means of
proof--direct statement, inferential mark, and syntactical connexion--
viz. that there is an independent purely mental performance, and that
the altars made of mind are parts of the latter. The direct statement is
contained in the following passage, 'Those fire-altars indeed are built
of knowledge,'--which is further explained in the subsequent passage,
'by knowledge alone these altars are built for him who knows this'--the
sense of which is: the structures of mind, and so on, are built in
connexion with a performance which consists of knowledge (i.e.
meditation).--The inferential mark is contained in the passage, 'For him
all beings at all times build them, even while he is asleep.' And the
syntactical connexion (vakya) consists in the connexion of the two words
evamvide (for him who knows this), and kinvanti (they build)--the sense
being: for him who accomplishes the performance consisting of knowledge
all beings at all times build those altars. The proving power of the
passage above referred to as containing an indicatory mark (linga) lies
therein that a construction mentally performed at all times by all
beings cannot possibly connect itself with a sacrificial performance
through the brick-altar, which is constructed by certain definite agents
and on certain definite occasions only, and must therefore be an element
in a mental performance, i.e. a meditation.--The next Sutra disposes of
the objection that the text cannot possibly mean to enjoin a new mental
performance, apart from the actual performance, because it contains no
word of injunctive force and does not mention a special result.
48. On account of connexions and the rest, as in the case of the
separateness of other cognitions. And this is seen (elsewhere also); as
declared (in the Purva Mimamsa).
That the text enjoins a meditative performance different from the actual
performance of which the brick-altar is a constituent element, follows
from the reasons proving separation, viz. _the connexions_. i.e. the
things connected with the sacrifice, such as the Soma cups, the hymns,
the recitations, and so on. What is meant is that the special mention of
the cups, and so on, made in the passage 'by the mind the Soma cups were
drawn thereat,' proves the difference of the performance.--The 'and the
rest' of the Sutra comprises the previously stated arguments, viz.
direct statement, and so on. 'As other meditations,' i.e. the case is
analogous to that of other meditations such as the meditation on the
small ether within the heart, which are likewise proved by textual
statement, and so on, to be different and separate from actual outward
sacrificial performances.--The existence of a separate meditative act
having thus been ascertained, the requisite injunction has to be
construed on the basis of the text as it stands.
Such construction of injunctions on the basis of texts of arthavada
character is seen in other places also; the matter is discussed in Pu.
Mi. Sutras III, 5, 21.--The result of the meditative performance follows
from the passage 'of these (altars made of mind, and so on) each is as
great as that former one (i.e. the altar built of bricks)'--for this
implies that the same result which the brick-altar accomplishes through
the sacrifice of which it forms an element is also attained through the
altars made of mind, and so on, through the meditations of which they
form parts.--The next Sutra disposes of the argumentation that, as this
formal transfer of the result of the brick-altar to the altars built of
mind, and so on, shows the latter to possess the same virtues as the
former, we are bound to conclude that they also form constituent
elements of an actual (not merely meditative) performance.
49. Not so, on account of this being observed on account of similarity
also; as in the case of Death; for (the person in yonder orb) does not
occupy the worlds (of Death).
From a transfer or assimilation of this kind it does not necessarily
follow that things of different operation are equal, and that hence
those altars of mind, and so on, must connect themselves with an actual
outward performance. For it is observed that such assimilation rests
sometimes on a special point of resemblance only; so in the text, 'The
person in yonder orb is Death indeed,'--where the feature of resemblance
is the destroying power of the two; for the person within yonder orb
does certainly not occupy the same worlds, i.e. the same place as Death.
Analogously, in the case under discussion, the fact that the altars made
of mind are treated as, in a certain respect, equivalent to the altar
built of bricks, does not authorise us to connect those altars with the
sacrificial performance to which the altar of bricks belongs. When the
text says that the altar made of mind is as great as the altar of bricks,
this only means that the same result which is attained through the brick-
altar in connexion with its own sacrificial performance is also attained
through the altar of mind in connexion with the meditational performance
into which it enters.
50. And by a subsequent (Brahmana) also the 'being of such a kind' of
the word (is proved). But the connexion is on account of plurality.
The subsequent Brahmana (Sat. Br. X, 5, 4) also proves that the text
treating of the altars made of mind, and so on, enjoins a meditation
only. For that Brahmana (which begins 'This brick-built fire-altar is
this world; the waters are its enclosing-stones,' &c.) declares further
on 'whosoever knows this thus comes to be that whole Agni who is the
space-filler,' and from this it appears that what is enjoined there is a
meditation with a special result of its own. And further on (X, 6) there
is another meditation enjoined, viz. one on Vaisvanara. All this shows
that the Agnirahasya book (Sat. Br. X) is not solely concerned with the
injunction of outward sacrificial acts.--But what then is the reason
that such matters as the mental (meditative) construction of fire-altars
which ought to be included in the Brihad-aranyaka are included in the
Agnirahasya?--'That connexion is on account of plurality,' i.e. the
altars made of mind, and so on, are, in the sacred text, dealt with in
proximity to the real altar made of bricks, because so many details of
the latter are mentally to be accomplished in the meditation.--Here
terminates the adhikarana of 'option with the previous one.'
51. Some, on account of the existence of a Self within a body.
In all meditations on the highest Self the nature of the meditating
subject has to be ascertained no less than the nature of the object of
meditation and of the mode of meditation. The question then arises
whether the meditating Self is to be viewed as the knowing, doing, and
enjoying Self, subject to transmigration; or as that Self which
Prajapati describes (Ch. Up. VIII, 1), viz. a Self free from all sin and
imperfection.--Some hold the former view, on the ground that the
meditating Self is within a body. For as long as the Self dwells within
a body, it _is_ a knower, doer, enjoyer, and so on, and it can bring
about the result of its meditation only as viewed under that aspect. A
person who, desirous of the heavenly world or a similar result, enters
on some sacrificial action may, after he has reached that result,
possess characteristics different from those of a knowing, doing, and
enjoying subject, but those characteristics cannot be attributed to him
as long as he is in the state of having to bring about the means of
accomplishing those ends; in the latter state he must be viewed as an
ordinary agent, and there it would be of no use to view him as something
different. And the same holds equally good with regard to a person
engaged in meditation.--But, an objection is raised, the text 'as the
thought of a man is in this world, so he will be when he has departed
this life' (Ch. Up. III, 14, 1) _does_ declare a difference (between the
agent engaged in sacrificial action, and the meditating subject), and
from this it follows that the meditating Self is to be conceived as
having a nature free from all evil, and so on.--Not so, the Purvapakshin
replies; for the clause, 'howsoever they meditate on him,' proves that
that text refers to the equality of the object meditated upon (not of
the meditating subject).--To this the next Sutra replies.
52. But this is not so, (but rather) difference; since it is of the
being of that; as in the case of intuition.
It is not true that the meditating subject must be conceived as having
the ordinary characteristics of knowing, acting, &c.; it rather
possesses those characteristic properties--freedom from evil, and so on--
which distinguish the state of Release from the Samsara state. At the
time of meditation the Self of the devotee is of exactly the same nature
as the released Self. 'For it is of the being of that,' i.e. it attains
the nature of that--as proved by the texts, 'as the thought of a man is
in this world, so he will be when he has departed,' and 'howsoever he
meditate on him, such he becomes himself.' Nor can it be maintained that
these texts refer only to meditation on the highest Self (without
declaring anything as to the personal Self of the devotee); for the
personal Self constitutes the body of Brahman which is the object of
meditation, and hence itself falls under the category of object of
meditation. The character of such meditation, therefore, is that it is a
meditation on the highest Self as having for its body the individual
Self, distinguished by freedom from evil and the other qualities
mentioned in the teaching of Prajapati. And hence the individual Self is,
in such meditation, to be conceived (not as the ordinary Self, but)
under that form which it has to attain (i.e. the pure form which belongs
to it in the state of Release). 'As in the case of intuition'--i.e. as
in the case of intuition of Brahman. As the intuition of Brahman has for
its object the essential nature of Brahman, so the intuition of the
individual soul also has for its object its permanent essential nature.
In the case of sacrificial works the conception of the true nature of
the Self forms an auxiliary factor. An injunction such as 'Let him who
is desirous of the heavenly world sacrifice,' enjoins the performance of
the sacrifice to the end of a certain result being reached; while the
conception of the Self as possessing characteristics such as being a
knowing subject, and so on--which are separate from the body--has the
function of proving its qualification for works meant to effect results
which will come about at some future time. So much only (i.e. the mere
cognition of the Self as something different from the body) is required
for works (as distinguished from meditations).--Here terminates the
adhikarana of 'being in the body.'
53. But those (meditations) which are connected with members (of
sacrifices) are not (restricted) to (particular) sakhas, but rather
(belong) to all sakhas.
There are certain meditations connected with certain constituent
elements of sacrifices-as e.g. 'Let a man meditate on the syllable Om
(as) the Udgitha '(Ch. Up. I, 1, 1); 'Let a man meditate on the fivefold
Saman as the five worlds' (Ch. Up. II, 2, 1), &c. The question here
arises whether those meditations are restricted to the members of those
sakhas in whose texts they are mentioned; or to be connected with the
Udgitha, and so on, in all sakhas. There is here a legitimate ground for
doubt, in so far as, although the general agreement of all Vedanta-texts
is established, the Udgitha, and so on, are different in each Veda since
the accents differ in the different Vedas--The Purvapakshin declares
that those meditations are limited each to its particular sakha; for, he
says, the injunction 'Let him meditate on the Udgitha' does indeed,
verbally, refer to the Udgitha in general; but as what stands nearest to
this injunction is the special Udgitha of the sakha, in whose text this
injunction occurs, and which shares the peculiarities of accent
characteristic of that sakha, we decide that the meditation is enjoined
on members of that sakha only.--The Sutra sets this opinion aside. The
injunction of meditations of this type is valid for all sakhas, since
the text expressly connects them with the Udgitha in general. They
therefore hold good wherever there is an Udgitha. The individual
Udgithas of the several sakhas are indeed distinguished by different
accentuation; but the general statement, 'Let him meditate on the
Udgitha.' suggests to the mind not any particular Udgitha, but _the_
Udgitha in general, and hence there is no reason to restrict the
meditation to a particular sakha. From the principle moreover that all
sakhas teach the same doctrine, it follows that the sacrifice enjoined
in the different sakhas is one only; and hence there is no reason to
hold that the Udgitha suggested by the injunction of the meditation is a
particular one. For the Udgitha is only an element in the sacrifice, and
the sacrifice is one and the same. The meditations are not therefore limited to particular sakhas. |
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