A History of Indian Philosophy v2.c19.s5.5

v2.c19.s5.5

Ultimately, everything comes from Brahman; for that is the source of all powers, and therefore all powers (*śaktayaḥ*) are seen in Brahman—existence, non-existence, unity, duality and multiplicity all proceed from Brahman. The *citta*, or mind, has evolved out of pure consciousness (*cit*) or Brahman, as has already been mentioned, and it is through the latter that all power of action (*karma*), root desires (*vāsanā*), and all mental modifications appear. But, if everything has proceeded from Brahman, how is it that the world-appearance happens to be so different from its source, the Brahman? When anything comes out of any other thing, it is naturally expected to be similar thereto in substance. If, therefore, the world-appearance has sprung forth from Brahman, it ought to be similar in nature thereto; but Brahman is sorrowless, while the world-appearance is full of sorrow; how is this to be explained? To such a question the answer is, that to a person who has a perfect realization of the nature of the world-appearance, as being a mere conceptual creation from the Brahman and having no existence at all, there is no sorrow in this world-appearance nor any such quality which is different from Brahman. Only in the eyes of a person who has not the complete realization does this difference between the world-appearance and Brahman seem to be so great, and the mere notion of the identity of Brahman and the universe, without its complete realization, may lead to all sorts of mischief. On this account instruction in the identity of the Brahman and the world-appearance should never be given to anyone whose mind has not been properly purified by the essential virtues of self-control and disinclination to worldly pleasures¹. As in magic (*indrajāla*), non-existent things are produced and existent things are destroyed, a jug becomes a cloth, and a cloth becomes a jug, and all sorts of wonderful sights are shown, though none of these appearances have the slightest essence of their own; so is the entire world-appearance produced out of the imagination of the mind. There is no active agent (*kartṛ*) and no one enjoyer (*bhoktṛ*) of the pleasures and sorrows of the world, and there is no destruction whatsoever².