The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48
Religion
The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48
Vedanta
extension or continuance of a certain generic character is, on the other
hand, not apprehended on the apprehension of the first individual, and
perception of the latter kind thence is 'non-determinate.' That it is
such is not due to non-apprehension of structure, colour, generic
character and so on, for all these attributes are equally objects of
sensuous perception (and hence perceived as belonging to the first
individual also). Moreover that which possesses structure cannot be
perceived apart from the structure, and hence in the case of the
apprehension of the first individual there is already perception of
structure, giving rise to the judgment 'The thing is such and such.' In
the case of the second, third, &c., individuals, on the other hand, we
apprehend, in addition to the thing possessing structure and to the
structure itself, the special attribute of the persistence of the
generic character, and hence the perception is 'determinate.' From all
this it follows that perception never has for its object that which is
devoid of all difference.
The bhedâbheda view is untenable.
The same arguments tend to refute the view that there is difference and
absence of difference at the same time (the so-called bhedâbheda view).
Take the judgment 'This is such and such'; how can we realise here the
non-difference of 'being this' and 'being such and such'? The 'such and
such' denotes a peculiar make characterised, e.g. by a dewlap, the
'this' denotes the thing distinguished by that peculiar make; the
non-difference of these two is thus contradicted by immediate
consciousness. At the outset the thing perceived is perceived as
separate from all other things, and this separation is founded on the
fact that the thing is distinguished by a special constitution, let us
say the generic characteristics of a cow, expressed by the term 'such
and such.' In general, wherever we cognise the relation of
distinguishing attribute and thing distinguished thereby, the two
clearly present themselves to our mind as absolutely different.
Somethings--e.g. staffs and bracelets--appear sometimes as having a
separate, independent existence of their own; at other times they
present themselves as distinguishing attributes of other things or
beings (i.e. of the persons carrying staffs or wearing bracelets). Other
entities--e.g. the generic character of cows--have a being only in so
far as they constitute the form of substances, and thus always present
themselves as distinguishing attributes of those substances. In both
cases there is the same relation of distinguishing attribute and thing
distinguished thereby, and these two are apprehended as absolutely
different. The difference between the two classes of entities is only
that staffs, bracelets, and similar things are capable of being
apprehended in separation from other things, while the generic
characteristics of a species are absolutely incapable thereof. The
assertion, therefore, that the difference of things is refuted by
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account