Chapter 2

60. The soul is also shown to be different [from Brahman] by the evidence of Šm.riti [Footnote: Cf. Vedânta Sûtras i. 2. 6, where Ša"nkara quotes the passage from the Bhagavad Gîtâ (xviii. 61), "The Lord of all beings abides in the region of the heart,--causing all beings to revolve by his illusion as though mounted on a machine."]; thus their difference is proved to be essential. If it were not so, how could the Commentator have used such an expression as "the worshipper" and "the worshipped" [Footnote: He uses this very expression __upâsyopâsakabhâva__ in his Comment. on i. 2. 4.]?

61. I am sometimes happy, sometimes miserable; He, the supreme Soul, is always essentially happy. Such is the difference,--then how can there be identity between these two different substances?

62. He is eternally self-luminous and unobscured,-- intensely pure, the one witness of the world; not so is the individual soul,--thus a thunderbolt falls on the tree of the theory of Identity.

63. For those who maintain the identity of the individual and supreme soul, the hypothesis of a __dvandva compound__ [Footnote: __I.e.__ in the word __jîvâtmânau__] is precluded; or they bring forward such words as __d.rishadupala__ as parallel cases [Footnote: I suppose that this means that the __dvandva__ compound __d.rishadupala__ has some analogy to one like __jîvâtmânau__, which involves identity, as the upper and lower millstone form one instrument; but there (in accordance with Pâ.n. 2. 2. 34, __vârtt.__) the less important word meaning the upper and smaller stone (__upalâ__) is placed last (cf. 2. 2. 31)]; the __dvandva__ is only consistent with "difference," but in no way with "identity."

64. Where identity is the meaning, there arises the __karmadhâraya__ compound,--for [such a __karmadhâraya__ as] __nîlotpala__ "the blue-lotus" is used as implying that the two members of the compound refer to the same subject [Footnote: But __jîvâtmânau__ is a __dvandva__, not a __karmadhâraya__ compound.]

65. As there are many passages in Šruti such as that which says "food is Brahman," [Footnote: Brihad Âra.nyaka Upan. v. 12. 1.] so too this passage "I am Brahman" is to be understood as meaning worship [Footnote: __I.e.__ this is one of the modes of worshipping Brahman by meditating on him in some lower visible form, not as really expressing his real nature.]

66. The doctrine of Identity is not true; wherever it appears to be declared in Šruti, all those passages are to be taken as only meaning worship.

67. There are many sentences in the ancient Veda which speak for non-identity as also for identity; having expelled envy and discussed the truth, let the wise declare that which each thinks wholesome.

68. O soul, bewildered by a deceived opinion, drive far from thy mouth these words "I am Brahman"; how canst thou be That, O thou who art utterly at the mercy of fate, plunged as thou art in the great ocean of mundane existence hard to be crossed!

69. He who is the beloved of Lakshmi, the ambrosia-ocean, full of manifest supreme joy; the water of whose feet is Gangâ, worthy to be worshipped by Rudra and the other gods; who before creation created all instantaneously by a movement of his brow,--how canst thou say, O soul, "I am He,"--thou who art a poor beggar, not a king.

70. O slow of mind, how canst thou say, I am He with whom are filled all the vast stores of this universe in its entirety? Collect thy faculties calmly in thy heart and consider thine own power; can a host of fierce world-supporting elephants enter into the belly of a gnat?

71. Whose art thou? whence art thou come? how is the course of this mundane bondage? Ponder this matter in thy heart and forsake the path of the erring. Say not "I am He"; but worship Hari continually in the relation of adorer and adored; by this thou mayst attain the happy journey, but otherwise thou wilt assuredly fall.

72. Great is the misery which thou hast experienced, O Soul, while dwelling in the womb in various births, and thou hast wandered again and again in heaven or in hell; this theory "I am He" is an error of thine,--worship thou Hari's lotus feet; thou art His worshipper, He is the adorable, for He is the lord of the three worlds.

73. Renouncing the so-called theory of identity, forthwith devote thyself to duality, if there now dwells in thy heart a supreme feeling of faith in Hari; and, having learned the doctrine in Nârada's Pañcharâtra and everywhere else, let all the hymns of the Vaish.nava sacred books be thoroughly examined, as is truly for thy good.

74. By what foolish teacher hast thou been instructed, that thou utterest these words "I am Brahman"? How art thou that being who is continually worshipped by Rudra and all the gods? O fool, consider it and see aright.

75. The wicked cannot understand the difference between the embodied and the Supreme Souls; the great reason for this is a mind possessed by an evil obstinacy in favour of the doctrine of Illusion; just as the tongue of those who suffer from excess of bile cannot taste the sweetness of molasses, nor the eyes of those afflicted with gutta serena or jaundice see the whiteness of a shell.

76. He by a particle of whose intellect thou, O Soul, hast been produced the foremost of intelligent beings--say not, O knave, that thou art __He__; for who but the ingrate desires to seize the seat of his Master?

77. A particle of intelligence has been deposited in thee by the supreme Lord in His mercy,--it becomes thee not, O knave, to say that therefore thou art God; just as if some evil-minded man had received elephants, horses, and infantry from the king and then set his heart on seizing his kingdom.

78. He under whose control is that mighty illusion which deceives the three worlds, He is to be recognized as the Supreme Lord, the adorable, essentially thought, existence and joy; but he who is himself always under her control like a camel drawn by a string through his nostrils, is to be recognized as the individual soul,-- vast indeed is the difference between the two!

79. Having studied the doctrines of the Sâ"nkhya, Ka.nâda, and Gautama, and the doctrine of Patañjali, the doctrines of the Mîmâ.msâ and Bha.t.tabhâskara [Footnote: Colebrooke's Essays, vol i. p. 359.], --amidst all the six current systems,--let the wise tell the final conclusion if they can as to the real nature of the supreme and the individual soul,--is it duality, or is it oneness, or is it again a oneness in duality?

80. In five of the systems I have only heard peremptorily asserted in many places the difference between the supreme and the individual souls; what is this that I hear asserted in the Vedânta system? "Plurality, unity, both,"--this is a threefold marvel! [Footnote: This is an attack on Râmânuja's system, as opposed to that of Pûr.naprajña or Madhva, cf. Sarva-daršana S. p. 52, l. 20, "What is the real truth? The real truth is plurality, unity, and both. Thus unity is admitted in saying that Brahman alone subsists in all forms as all is its body; both unity and plurality are admitted in saying that one only Brahman subsists under a plurality of forms, diverse as soul and non-soul; and plurality is admitted in saying that the essential natures of soul, non-soul, and the Lord are different and not to be confounded." This doctrine is opposed by the followers of Madhva, see __ibid.__, Pûr.naprajña-darš. p. 61, l. 11.]

81. He who is the maker of all and the Lord of the world is independent by reason of his essential independence; the individual soul is notoriously dependent; how can they say then that these two are identical?

82. There are various flavours in honey [existing distinct] through the difference of the trees [from whose flowers it is produced]; how else could it remove the three-fold disorders? [Footnote: __I.e.__ those affecting the three "humours" of the body, __i.e. vâyu__ 'wind,' __pitta__ 'bile,' and __kapha__ 'phlegm.' Certain flavours of the honey counteract one disorder and others another. The Sušruta thus describes honey (vol. i. p. 185): "When cooked it removes the three-fold disorders, but when raw or sour it causes them; when used in various applications it cures many disorders; and since it is composed of many different things it is an excellent medium for mixing. But as it consists of the juices of flowers which are mutually contrary in the action, potency, and qualities of their various ingredients, and it may happen that poisonous insects may be included, it is only good as a remedy for cold diseases."] So the individual souls at the world's dissolution are absorbed in the Lord; but they do not become identified with Him, for they are again separated at the next creation.

83. There is a difference between rivers and the sea, with their respective sweet and salt water; so too God and the soul are different and possessed of distinct attributes [Footnote: In allusion to Mu.n.d. Upan. iii. 2. 8.].

84. Rivers, when joined to the sea from all sides, are not identified with it nor yet do they appear to be separate; but from the difference between salt water and sweet water [Footnote: Most of the MSS. and the Benares Pa.n.dit read __kshî roda__; but the Calcutta ed. and one of the two MSS. in the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College read __kshâroda__, which seems preferable. If we read __kshîroda__, the line would require to be rendered, "but from the difference between milk mixed with water and pure water," or perhaps "from the difference between the milk-ocean and the water- ocean."] there must be a real difference between them.

85. Others see not the difference when water is mixed with milk, but the swan at once separates the milk and the water [Footnote: Cf. Šakunt. šl. 155.]; so too when the souls are absorbed in the supreme Brahman, the Lord,--the faithful, who have received the Guru's words, can at once draw a difference between them.

86. Even when milk is mixed with milk and water with water, they do not become absolutely identified, for they still retain their fixed measure as before; so, when the souls through intense contemplation are absorbed in the Supreme Spirit, they do not become identified with Him; thus say the pure-minded saints.

87. There are certain disputants, sunk in a sea of false logic, addicted to an evil way, filled with a hundred imaginations of idle babble, deceived themselves and deceiving the world,--all that they say, "I am Brahman and all this visible universe also is Brahman,"-- is now shown clearly to be an empty desire.

88. If I and all this universe were Brahman, then there would be an identity between thee and me; then thy wealth, sons, and wife would be mine, and mine would be thine, for there would be no distinction between us.

89. And how then could there be injunction or prohibition, since all are one, and there is no distinction of caste? If the doctrine of non-duality be thus held to be established, then what offence has the Buddhist committed?

90. "The Soul is different from the elements, the senses, the internal organ, and primary matter, and also from that which is called the individual,"--thus has it been declared of old by Kapila to his mother in the third book of the Bhâgavata [Footnote: Bhâg. Pûr. iii. 28. 41.] (Purâ.na).

91. Those who study the path pointed out by the teacher, resting upon a foundation of naught, and maintain with an empty understanding that all is void and that all the recognized deities are naught,--how can many words be uttered about them, for language fails in a topic of naught; naught indeed is their wisdom, and their fruit shall be also mostly naught.

92. There are words uttered by Vyâsa in the Bhârata condemning this doctrine of the nothingness of all things [Footnote: The name __šûnyavâda__ is generally applied to Buddhism; here it is applied by way of reproach to the Vedânta, which is called in the Padma-purâ.na "secret Buddhism" (__prachchhanna.m Bauddham__)]; "their bodies are composed of the quality of darkness, and verily darkness shall be their end;" [Footnote: Mahâbh. xii. 9690.]

93. These words which were uttered of old by Kapila in the presence of the sage Syûmarašmi [Footnote: This dialogue occurs in Mahâbh. xii. 9604, ff.], were afterwards recounted by Vyâsa in the Bhâ.rata.

94. This theory of theirs concerning a void of qualities in Him who is the ocean of qualities [Footnote: The Râmânujas and the Mâdhvas deny that the Supreme Being is __nirgu.na__,--thus there is a quotation in the Sarva Daršana S. p. 64. "Vâsudeva is the supreme Brahman, endowed with auspicious attributes" (cf. p. 69, l. 18; p. 73, l. 2)], --it is but like the blind hurrying of sheep after the ewe that leads them! Having made a separate commentary of their own on the Sûtras they deceive those who follow their doctrine.

95. All these qualities, sovereignty, creation, and the like, eternally belong to the Supreme Lord; how then can He be "without qualities" who is thus "possessed of qualities"? he theory of a void of qualities is mere disputation.

96. The adorable one possesses knowledge, volition, and creative power; how then can he be destitute of qualities? or, if he is destitute of qualities, how can he be set forth by the Vedas? How can the absence of qualities be predicated of the sea of qualities, and yet all remonstrance be silent? Ponder it well in thine own mind, and then determine what is right.

97. A substance without attributes, like the sky-flower, is not admitted either in the Veda or in the world; if the knowledge of such a thing were derived from the Veda, the Veda itself would then cease to be an authority.

98. [The Vedântin may reply] "The bunch of Darbha grass [Footnote: This is the __prastara__ or bundle of sacred grass, which plays an important part in the sacrificial ritual, cf. Taittirîya S. i. 7. 4, "__yajamâna.h prastara.h,__" where Sâya.na remarks, "__yajamânavad yâgasâdhanatvât prastare yajamânatvopachâra.h.__" This description of the grass as the sacrificer is really only meant as metaphorical praise, since the actual attributes of the sacrificer are evidently absent from the grass. (Cf. Mîmâ.msâ Sûtras, i. 4. 23.)] is said to be the sacrificer, as it is the means of performing the sacrifice; [as the Darbha grass is understood by this description,] even though the attributes thus ascribed are not found in it, so is Brahman understood when we ascribe certain qualities [as 'truth,' etc., even though these qualities are precluded in a being without qualities]."

99. [I answer] A thorough Vedântin like thee does not accept any where the existence of qualities or that which possesses qualities; but if imagined qualities are done away with [by deeper insight], real qualities are nowhere done away with [Footnote: Clearer insight abolishes imagined attributes, as __e. g.__ the supposed snake in the rope; but real attributes remain untouched, and we hold Brahman's attributes to be real.--I read __abâdha.h__ in I. 2.].

100. If Brahman is understood to be destitute of qualities, then "truth," etc., will not be applicable to Him; but, if so, there arises a contradiction in such passages [of Šruti] as "he is the truthful," etc. [Footnote: I do not know where this passage occurs, but the kindred word __satyadharman__ is applied to several deities in the Rigveda.]

101. When the existence of such a thing as a quality is admitted, we can imagine it in something else [Footnote: The Vedântins hold that nothing exists besides Brahman; and yet, although they thus deny the existence of any other thing or quality, they hold that certain qualities are imagined to exist in him, forgetting that only one who has seen silver can imagine __rajatatva__ in nacre.]; but to imagine that nacre is silver, we must first know clearly what silver is.

102. This universe is based on the soul as its site, being imagined in it by ignorance; some teachers would describe it as an illusory emanation [Footnote: It is a favourite doctrine of the Vedânta that ignorance, as being imagined by ignorance, is itself false.]; but this is not a pleasing doctrine to me.

103. It cannot be said that all this universe is false; since it is really the plaything of Hari, who is eternally engaged in sport [Footnote: Manu, i. 80, "There are numberless Manvantaras, creations and destructions numberless; the being supremely exalted performs all this, as in sport, again and again."]

104. The external world is not like a dream; for in dreams there is sleep and a host of imperfections; what we eat or drink in dreams gives us no enjoyment, but these things are enjoyable in our waking state.

105. If all that is seen were false, then how could it produce effects? The carrying of water in a jar is not false; all we can say is that it is transient.

106. The idea that all this world is false, is opposed to experience; for of what use would be all the expiations for sin, prescribed in the law-books? Why are these thieves to be punished even by the king? The upholder of the doctrine of Mâyâ can assert anything on his oath, but all is false.

107. Thou canst not say that the visible world is only like the transitory enjoyment of one who smells a wreath of flowers; however closely it is scanned, there is no overpowering evidence of its unreality [to preclude the presumption founded on experience]; it continually manifests itself to us as eternal in its stream of successive events.

108. This world is not false but it is rendered true by Vish.nu's protection [Footnote: Or this may mean "since Vish.nu has accepted it as the instrument of his sport."]; thou art made pure by the knowledge of Him, as all minerals shine as gold [when brought in contact with the philosopher's stone].

109. Dispassion and enjoyment stand equally aloof as disinterested spectators and are lost in faith; the partaking of the consecrated food is in no sense to be called an "enjoyment,"--it is itself an act of faith [Footnote: "The __prasâda__ is any article of food that has been consecrated by previous presentation to an idol, after which it is distributed among the worshippers on the spot, or sent to persons of consequence at their own houses" (Wilson's Works, vol. 1. p. 116). Cf. also the legend in p. 134, where "Râm Dâs at noon halted and bathed the god, and prepared his food, and presented it, and then took the __prasâd__, and put it in a vessel, and fed upon what remained." (The food consecrated at the temple of Puri is especially called the __Mahâprasâda.__) There is a distich current among the Bhâktas:].

110. By intense devotion to his object the man of the world will become the devotee of enjoyment, and by the absence of all enjoyment a man becomes absolutely dispassionate; this is the real truth [Footnote: But the true devotee is neither devoted to enjoyment nor to dispassion, is equally apart from and superior to both.

/* __jñâna.m nirâk.ritir, Brahma tyaktvâ bhaktyâ bhajâchyutam__ | __yatra prasâdasevâpi bhaktir anyasya kâ kathâ__ || */

"Knowledge is rejection; abandon Brahman and worship Vish.nu. Here where even the homage paid to the __prasâda__ counts as faith, what need to mention anything besides?" Thus the devotee does everything by faith, and dispassion and enjoyment are to him alike swallowed up in faith].

111. By association with the good and by repeatedly listening to the story of K.rish.na's sports there has arisen in the lake of the mind the great wave of pure faith and pure affection; abandoning the doctrine of unity and without hesitation embracing that of duality, we worship with our whole heart the lotus-feet of the beloved of Lakshmî.

112. There is a rule in the things of the world, that he who is near the king may be called the king; so too in the things of Brahman and the soul must we understand the various sacred texts [which at first sight appear to identify them].

113. He in whom the universe,--sun, moon, and the rest, with the three worlds,--rose into being,--in whom it all abides until it perishes,-- and in whom, each in its own time, it is all finally dissolved,--He, the Lord, whom, being beyond all qualities [Footnote: Cf. Sarva D. S. p. 52, l. 8 infr. "The statements that the Supreme Spirit is devoid of qualities, are intended to deny his possession of phenomenal qualities (such as liking, disliking, etc.)."], even Brahman himself cannot declare in the Vedas,--why, O teacher, dost thou teach this miserable me the words "I am He"?

114. He in whom the storehouse of the universe with all its creatures great and small, was all contained like a line of insects drowned in a ripe fruit of the glomerous fig-tree,--in whom it abides until the final destruction,--and in whom it is eventually dissolved,--Ah! how can there come from my mouth, O teacher, these words "I am He"?

115. Him, the Supreme Lord, by whose compassion even the dumb becomes eloquent, the lame in a moment obtains strength to leap mountains, and even the man blind from his birth receives eyes beautiful like two lotuses,--or what still greater marvel shall I add?--Him I worship, the moon-faced son of Nanda, the philosopher's stone of the faithful.

116. Boundless is time, bounteous the earth, and great is the family of the devout worshippers of Vish.nu; somebody will be found at some time or other on the earth who will appreciate my merits [Footnote: Cf. the šloka in the prologue of the Mâlatîmâdhava.]

117. Having studied under my preceptor Nârâya.na, the best of teachers, his book, which bears the title of "The Ornament of Faith,"--having read it with all its supplements and appendices, and by his kindness to his faithful disciples having mastered all its mysteries,--and having become a receptacle of faith myself, I have now composed according to my ability this century of stanzas, a necklace of pearls of good doctrine, which have for their subject the distinction of the individual Soul and Brahman.

118. If we have uttered through inadvertence what is wrong, may the intelligent, observing it, correct all the errors; the feet of the traveller do sometimes stumble, and sometimes the speaker speaks through bewilderment what is incompatible.

119. In a poem strung of all excellences the mean man hunts for faults and never an excellence; in a palace all compact of jewels it is the ant that will see a flaw.

120. Let those who are envious and bereft of sense, detect a fault if they will; but let the connoisseurs count the merits; they who behold the merits and not the faults,--these are the good, these give the highest satisfaction.

121. Let this work of the poet Pûr.nânanda be read and be heard, which is devoted to proving the difference of the individual soul from the Supreme,--which is excellent with its sentences that distinguish truth from falsehood, and is approved by the devotees of Vish.nu,--based on the doctrine of Madhva, and pleasing with a composition full of sweet words,--O ye best of the worshippers of Bhagavat, if faith be desired in your minds.

122. On the neck of the faithful may this Tattvamuktâvalî [Footnote: Or "the necklace of the pearls of truth."] abide for ever,--whose beauty is increased by the apt arrangement of sweet and soft words but which is free from rhetorical ornaments,-- beautiful with a profusion of sentences sweet like milk, and with its parts all bright and elegant,--a special source of delight to the intelligent,--charming with a host of excellences and devoid of even the trace of a fault.

Tattva-muktavâlî by Pûr.nânanda Chakravartin

End of Project Gutenberg's The Tattva-Muktavali, by Purnananda Chakravartin