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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1For, as explained previously, intelli- gence which is of the nature of light cannot be hidden ; hiding in that case would be neither more nor less than destruction. Nor can that which is mere light be of the nature of bliss ; for bliss is pleasure, and to be of the nature 3 C 2 756 VED ANTA-S<JTR AS. of pleasure is to be such as to agree with the Self. But, if the Self is mere light, where is the being by which light is to be apprehended as agreeable to its own nature ? (i. e. where is the knowing subject conscious of bliss?) He, therefore, who holds the Self to be mere light, can in no way prove that it is of the nature of bliss. If, moreover, that which the soul effects on approaching the highest light is merely to attain to its own true nature, we point out that that nature is something eternally accomplished, and that hence the declaration that ' it manifests (accomplishes) itself in its own nature ' would be purportless. We hence conclude that on approaching the highest light the soul connects itself with a new form only then brought about. On this view the term * accomplishes itself' is taken in its direct sense, and the expression ' in its own shape ' also is suitable in so far as the soul accomplishes itself in a nature specially belonging to it and characterised by absolute bliss. — This view the Sutra rejects. That special condition into which the soul passes on having, on the path of the Gods, approached the highest light is a manifestation of its own true nature, not an origination of a new character. For this is proved by the specification implied in the term 'own,' in the phrase 'in its own nature.' If the soul as- sumed a new body, this specification would be without meaning; for, even without that, it would be clear that the new body belongs to the soul. — Against the assertion that the soul's own true nature is something eternally accomplished, and that hence a declaration of that nature 'accomplishing itself would be unmeaning, the next Sutra declares itself. 2. The released one ; on account of the promise. What the text says about the soul accomplishing itself in its own form refers to the released soul which, freed from its connexion with works and what depends thereon, i. e. the body and the rest, abides in its true essential nature. — That essential nature no doubt is something eternally accomplished, but as in the Sa^sara state it is obscured by Nescience in the form of Karman ; the text refers to the IV ADHYAYA, 4 PADA, 3. 757
2e. the body and the rest, abides in its true essential nature. — That essential nature no doubt is something eternally accomplished, but as in the Sa^sara state it is obscured by Nescience in the form of Karman ; the text refers to the IV ADHYAYA, 4 PADA, 3. 757 cessation of such obscuration as ' accomplishment.5 — How is this known ? — c From the promise/ i. e. from the fact that the text promises to set forth such cessation. For Pra^a- pati when saying again and again, * I will explain that further to you,' does so with a view to throw light on the individual soul — first introduced in the clause * that Self which is free from sin, &c.' (VIII, 7, 1) — in so far as freed from all connexion with the three empirical conditions of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, and released from the body which is due to Karman and the cause of joy and sorrow. When, therefore, he concludes 'that serene being, i. e. the soul, having risen from this body and having approached the highest light accomplishes itself in its true form/ we understand that such Accomplishment ' means the final release, i. e. the cessation of all bondage, which is gained by the soul, previously connected with Karman, as soon as it approaches the highest light. — The Purvapakshin had said that as in the state of deep sleep the manifestation of the true nature of the soul is seen in no way to benefit man, Scripture, if declaring that Release consists in a manifestation of the true nature of the soul, would clearly teach something likewise not beneficial to man ; and that hence the ' accomplishment in its own form ' must mean the soul's entering on such a new con- dition of existence as would be a cause of pleasure, viz. the condition of a deva or the like. To this the next Sutra replies. 3. The Self, on account of subject-matter. The subject-matter of the whole section shows that by the Self manifesting itself in its own form there is meant the Self as possessing the attributes of freedom from all evil and sin and so on. For the teaching of Pra^apati begins as follows : ' the Self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, whose desires and thoughts spontaneously realise themselves.' And that this Self which forms the subject-matter of the entire section is the individual Self we have shown under I, 3, 19. The manifestation of the true nature of the soul when 758 VEDANTA-sftTRAS.
3The manifestation of the true nature of the soul when 758 VEDANTA-sftTRAS. reaching the highest light therefore means the manifesta- tion of that Self which has freedom from sin and so on for its essential attributes — that nature being in the Sani- sara state obscured through Nescience. When therefore at the moment of Release those essential qualities assert themselves, the case is one of manifestation of what already exists, not one of origination. Thus the reverend 5aunaka says, ' As the lustre of the gem is not created by the act of polishing, so the essential intelligence of the Self is not created by the putting off of imperfections. As the well is not the cause of the production of rain water, but only serves to manifest water which already exists — for whence should that originate which is not ? — thus knowledge and the other attributes of the Self are only manifested through the putting off of evil qualities ; they are not produced, for they are eternal.' Intelligence, therefore, bliss, and the other essential qualities of the soul which were obscured and contracted by Karman, expand and thus manifest them- selves when the bondage due to Karman passes away and the soul approaches the highest light. On this view of ' manifestation ' there remains no difficulty. — Here termi- nates the adhikara^a of ' on approaching manifestation.' 4. In non-division ; because that is seen. Is the soul, when it has reached the highest light and freed itself from all bondage, conscious of itself as separate from the highest Self or as non-separate in so far as being a mere 'mode' (prakara) of that Self? — The former view is the right one. For Scriptural and Smnti texts alike declare that the released soul stands to the highest Self in the relation of fellowship, equality, equality of attributes, and all this implies consciousness of separation. Compare ' He attains all desires together with the all-knowing Brahman' (Taitt. Up. II, 1,1); 'When the seer sees the shining maker, the Lord, the Person who has his source in Brahman ; then, possessing perfect knowledge, and shaking off good and evil, free from all passions he reaches the highest equality' (Mu. Up. Ill, 1, 3); ' Taking their stand upon this knowledge they, attaining to an equality of attri- IV ADHYAYA, 4 PAD A, 5. 759
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1For, as explained previously, intelli- gence which is of the nature of light cannot be hidden ; hiding in that case would be neither more nor less than destruction. Nor can that which is mere light be of the nature of bliss ; for bliss is pleasure, and to be of the nature 3 C 2 756 VED ANTA-S<JTR AS. of pleasure is to be such as to agree with the Self. But, if the Self is mere light, where is the being by which light is to be apprehended as agreeable to its own nature ? (i. e. where is the knowing subject conscious of bliss?) He, therefore, who holds the Self to be mere light, can in no way prove that it is of the nature of bliss. If, moreover, that which the soul effects on approaching the highest light is merely to attain to its own true nature, we point out that that nature is something eternally accomplished, and that hence the declaration that ' it manifests (accomplishes) itself in its own nature ' would be purportless. We hence conclude that on approaching the highest light the soul connects itself with a new form only then brought about. On this view the term * accomplishes itself' is taken in its direct sense, and the expression ' in its own shape ' also is suitable in so far as the soul accomplishes itself in a nature specially belonging to it and characterised by absolute bliss. — This view the Sutra rejects. That special condition into which the soul passes on having, on the path of the Gods, approached the highest light is a manifestation of its own true nature, not an origination of a new character. For this is proved by the specification implied in the term 'own,' in the phrase 'in its own nature.' If the soul as- sumed a new body, this specification would be without meaning; for, even without that, it would be clear that the new body belongs to the soul. — Against the assertion that the soul's own true nature is something eternally accomplished, and that hence a declaration of that nature 'accomplishing itself would be unmeaning, the next Sutra declares itself. 2. The released one ; on account of the promise. What the text says about the soul accomplishing itself in its own form refers to the released soul which, freed from its connexion with works and what depends thereon, i. e. the body and the rest, abides in its true essential nature. — That essential nature no doubt is something eternally accomplished, but as in the Sa^sara state it is obscured by Nescience in the form of Karman ; the text refers to the IV ADHYAYA, 4 PADA, 3. 757
2e. the body and the rest, abides in its true essential nature. — That essential nature no doubt is something eternally accomplished, but as in the Sa^sara state it is obscured by Nescience in the form of Karman ; the text refers to the IV ADHYAYA, 4 PADA, 3. 757 cessation of such obscuration as ' accomplishment.5 — How is this known ? — c From the promise/ i. e. from the fact that the text promises to set forth such cessation. For Pra^a- pati when saying again and again, * I will explain that further to you,' does so with a view to throw light on the individual soul — first introduced in the clause * that Self which is free from sin, &c.' (VIII, 7, 1) — in so far as freed from all connexion with the three empirical conditions of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, and released from the body which is due to Karman and the cause of joy and sorrow. When, therefore, he concludes 'that serene being, i. e. the soul, having risen from this body and having approached the highest light accomplishes itself in its true form/ we understand that such Accomplishment ' means the final release, i. e. the cessation of all bondage, which is gained by the soul, previously connected with Karman, as soon as it approaches the highest light. — The Purvapakshin had said that as in the state of deep sleep the manifestation of the true nature of the soul is seen in no way to benefit man, Scripture, if declaring that Release consists in a manifestation of the true nature of the soul, would clearly teach something likewise not beneficial to man ; and that hence the ' accomplishment in its own form ' must mean the soul's entering on such a new con- dition of existence as would be a cause of pleasure, viz. the condition of a deva or the like. To this the next Sutra replies. 3. The Self, on account of subject-matter. The subject-matter of the whole section shows that by the Self manifesting itself in its own form there is meant the Self as possessing the attributes of freedom from all evil and sin and so on. For the teaching of Pra^apati begins as follows : ' the Self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, whose desires and thoughts spontaneously realise themselves.' And that this Self which forms the subject-matter of the entire section is the individual Self we have shown under I, 3, 19. The manifestation of the true nature of the soul when 758 VEDANTA-sftTRAS.
3The manifestation of the true nature of the soul when 758 VEDANTA-sftTRAS. reaching the highest light therefore means the manifesta- tion of that Self which has freedom from sin and so on for its essential attributes — that nature being in the Sani- sara state obscured through Nescience. When therefore at the moment of Release those essential qualities assert themselves, the case is one of manifestation of what already exists, not one of origination. Thus the reverend 5aunaka says, ' As the lustre of the gem is not created by the act of polishing, so the essential intelligence of the Self is not created by the putting off of imperfections. As the well is not the cause of the production of rain water, but only serves to manifest water which already exists — for whence should that originate which is not ? — thus knowledge and the other attributes of the Self are only manifested through the putting off of evil qualities ; they are not produced, for they are eternal.' Intelligence, therefore, bliss, and the other essential qualities of the soul which were obscured and contracted by Karman, expand and thus manifest them- selves when the bondage due to Karman passes away and the soul approaches the highest light. On this view of ' manifestation ' there remains no difficulty. — Here termi- nates the adhikara^a of ' on approaching manifestation.' 4. In non-division ; because that is seen. Is the soul, when it has reached the highest light and freed itself from all bondage, conscious of itself as separate from the highest Self or as non-separate in so far as being a mere 'mode' (prakara) of that Self? — The former view is the right one. For Scriptural and Smnti texts alike declare that the released soul stands to the highest Self in the relation of fellowship, equality, equality of attributes, and all this implies consciousness of separation. Compare ' He attains all desires together with the all-knowing Brahman' (Taitt. Up. II, 1,1); 'When the seer sees the shining maker, the Lord, the Person who has his source in Brahman ; then, possessing perfect knowledge, and shaking off good and evil, free from all passions he reaches the highest equality' (Mu. Up. Ill, 1, 3); ' Taking their stand upon this knowledge they, attaining to an equality of attri- IV ADHYAYA, 4 PAD A, 5. 759
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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