The System of the Vedanta according to Badarayana's Brahma-Sutras and Cankara's Commentary c6.s2.t5: 5. Psychological Proof
The System of the Vedânta according to Bâdarâyana's Brahma-Sûtras and Çankara's Commentary c6.s2.t5
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5. Psychological Proof
c6.s2.t5.1
(p. 32, 4:) “Is the Brahman which is to be investigated “known or unknown? If it is known, we do not need to in- “vestigate it; if it is unknown, we cannot investigate it!— “Answer: That Being which is of its own nature is eternal, “pure, wise, free, all-knowing, almighty is Brahman. For from “the etymology of the word Brahman the meanings ‘eternal, “pure’ etc. are reached, according to the meaning of the root “barh [‘to separate;’ see above, p. 119]. But the existence of “the Brahman is demonstrated by the fact that it is the Self “(Soul, ātman) of all. For everyone assumes the existence of “himself, for he cannot say: ‘I am not.’ For if the existence “of Self were not demonstrated, then all the world could say “‘I am not.’ And the Self is the Brahman.—But if the “Brahman is universally demonstrated because it is the Self, “then it is known, and the objection that it need not be in- “vestigated, recurs?—Not so! For with reference to its “characteristics there is contradiction. For the common people “and the materialists [Lokāyatika: ‘those who follow the world’] “assert: ‘the Self is only the body invested with intelligence;’ “—others again: ‘the Self is only the [naturally] intellectual “organs of sense;’—others: ‘it is the understanding (manas);’ “—yet others: ‘it is only the perishable intellect;’—others: “‘the Void;’—others again: ‘it is the [individual soul] extend- “ing beyond the body, wandering, acting, and suffering;’—some: “‘it is only the sufferer, not the agent;’—some: ‘it is the “all-knowing, almighty Lord, who extends beyond this [world];’ “—still others: ‘it is the Self of him who suffers [or: enjoys] “there.’—Thus many oppose each other, and rely on arguments “and passages [of Scripture] or their appearance. He, there- “fore, who inconsiderately assumes the one or the other, may “compromise his salvation and come to destruction. Therefore, “because they set forth the investigation of the Brahman, the “consideration of the Vedânta [Upanishad] texts, supported “by non-contradictory reflexion, is recommended as a means “of salvation.”
c6.s2.t5.2
(p. 78, 6:) “For the eternal Spirit (*purusha*) different from “the agent [the individual soul], which is the object of the “presentation of I, dwelling as witness (*sâkshin*) in all being, “uniform, one, the highest, is not apprehended by anyone from “the Section of Works [of the Veda] or from any book based “on reflexion; he, who is the soul of all. And therefore none “can deny him, or make him an element of the Section of “Works; for he is even the Self (soul) of him who denies “him; and because he is the Self of all, it is therefore im- “possible either to flee from him or to seek him. For every- “thing that passes away, came into existence and passes away “through modification, because it finds its end in the spirit; “but the spirit is imperishable, because there is no cause of “perishableness in it, and because there is no cause of change “in it, therefore is it raised [above change], and eternal, and “for this very reason in its own nature eternal, pure and free “[or: freed].”
c6.s2.t5.3
Now in so far as God is the (metaphysical) I of man him- self, his existence cannot be proved at all, but also it does not need to be proved, because he is that which is alone known directly, and thereby the basis of all certainty, as is developed in the following most remarkable passage.
Cites (1)
- Vedānta — Sanskrit