The Tattva-MuktavaliGaudapurnanandacakravarti, active 17th century
Religion
The Tattva-Muktavali
Gaudapurnanandacakravarti, active 17th century
Dvaita (Vedanta) -- Early works to 1800; Hindu philosophy -- Early works to 1800
6. The sentence "Thou art That" (__tat tvam asi__) which is
understood in its primary meaning as referring to the object of the
Veda, [Footnote: Or __vedavishaye__ may perhaps simply mean __vede__,
cf. šl. 112.]--the author thus explains its meaning, as he knows his
own doctrine, and has fixed his mind on the system of Duality; since
the word 'that' (__tat__) is here indeclinable and implies a
difference, and the word 'thou' (__tvam__) means that which is to be
differentiated, the sign of the genitive case has been elided;
[Footnote: The author here explains the sentence __tat tvam asi__, as
really meaning __tasya tvam asi__ "thou art Its."] "thou only," such
is not the meaning of the sentence [Footnote: In "Thou art that,"
'thou' and 'that' would refer to the same subject
(__sâmânâdhikara.nya__)].
7. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, Himself the three worlds, in whose
belly thou art thyself contained,--He causes at once by a movement of
the brow the creation, preservation, and absorption of all beings!
Thou art ignorant, and only seest relatively, He is the adorable, the
one Witness of all worlds; thou art changing, He is One; thou art all
dull and stained, not such is He.
8. As for the text "I am Brahman," you must take the nominative case
as only used there for the genitive by the licence of an inspired
speaker. How, if it were otherwise, would there be a genitive in the
illustration, [Footnote: This is often used as an illustration in
Vedânta works, as __e.g.__ B.rihad Âra.ny. Up. ii. 1. 20, "as the
spider proceeds with his web, as the little sparks proceed from fire,
so from this Soul proceed all vital airs, all worlds, all gods, all
beings."] as in the sentence "as the sparks of the fire"?
9. The poets call a lad fire (from his hot temper), the face the orb
of a full moon, the eye a blue lotus, the bosom mount Meru, and the
hand a young shoot; by a confusion of the superimposed appearance we
may thus have the idea of identity where there is still a real
difference; and so too must we deal with those words of Šruti "I am
Brahman." [Footnote: This is another suggested method of interpreting
the words "I am Brahman." It may be only a common case of "qualified
superimponent indication," as "the man of the Panjâb is an ox" (cf.
Kâvya Prakâša, ii. 10-12). Cf. the definition of upachâra in the
Sâhitya Darpa.na: __upachâro hi nâmâtyanta.m višakalitayoh
šâd.rišyâtišayamahimnâ bhedapratîtisthaganamâtram__].
10. As there are many waves in the sea, so are we many individual
souls in Brahman; the wave can never become the sea; how then wilt
thou, the individual soul, become Brahman?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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