The System of the Vedanta according to Badarayana's Brahma-Sutras and Cankara's Commentary c7.s6.t3.4

c7.s6.t3.4

This division into enjoyer and fruit, so Çankara explains, is true so long as we remain on the empirical (literally: practical, vyâvahârika) standpoint; it is no longer true, when we rise to the metaphysical (literally: absolutely real: pâramârthika) point of view (p. 443, 9); for it, the whole worldly action is one with Brahman, its cause. This is confirmed by the passage of the Chândogya-Upanishad, which we have just given. The comparison with the lump of clay (Chând, 6, 1, above p. 262) teaches that, just as all transformation of the clay into vessels only depend upon words (we might say: upon presentations) while in reality it is nothing but clay, and clay only. So all the transformations of the world, are Brahman alone, and beyond this can have no being (p. 444). In this sense, the Scripture (Chând. 6, 4—7, above p. 263) reduces all phenomena in the world to the three primitive elements, and the three primitive elements (Chând. 6, 2—3, above p. 263. 230) back to the Existent, to Brahman (p. 444, 13). And the same thing is expressed by the formula at the end of the sections Chând. 6, 8—16, that the world, and (in the words: *tat tvam asi*, that art thou) that the soul, (*tvam*) is identical with Brahman (*tat*). [This also is the meaning of *etad vai tad*, in Kâṭh. 4, 3. 5. 6 etc., above p. 155.] Thereby all plurality is declared to be unreal, as is expressly taught in the verse (Bṛih. 4, 4, 19, above p. 195):