Indian Philosophy v2.c27.s8.10

v2.c27.s8.10

The supremacy of God introduces order and unity into the universe, in spite of ultimate differences. Through the category of viśeṣa, which distinguishes a quality from a substance, a part from whole, the one and the many are brought into relation.⁴ Viśeṣa or particularity is numerically infinite, since it abides in eternal and non-eternal things and belongs to positive and negative being. One kind of negative being is distinguished from another by means of viśeṣa. But how can one viśeṣa be distinguished from another ? If it is through another viśeṣa, then we are faced with infinite regress. So viśeṣa is said to be self-determined. By means of the category of viśeṣa, it will be possible for us to account for the world of distinctions without assuming the latter as ultimate. It is through the functioning of viśeṣa that we have difference or bheda. If viśeṣa is different from the Supreme, it breaks the integrity of the Supreme; if it is non-different from it, we cannot call it viśeṣa.