Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c8.s9.11

c8.s9.11

Vācaspati Miśra approaches the issue of Īśvaravāda with his brilliant analytical mind. He divides all phenomena into three categories comprised of: things made by human beings like pot, things known as not created by human beings, viz. atoms; and things supposed to be created by God, viz. elements like the earth. With this premise, he develops the syllogism to prove that the world is not only caused by an intelligent agent, this intelligent agent also knows the material causes of this world directly.⁵⁷ On their objection that this intelligent agent has not actually been seen by anybody, he defeats the Buddhists on their own ground, i.e. they will be denying their own idea of point-instant. Developing the order of syllogisms further, Vācaspati proves that this intelligent agent is omniscient and eternal.