The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Sankaracarya: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 1
Religion
The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Sankaracarya: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 1
Vedanta
The averment that the fanciful attribution of members contained in the
passage 'His head is Sutejas,' &c. may apply to the elemental fire also
which from the mantras is seen to be connected with the heavenly world,
&c., or else to the divinity whose body is fire, on account of its
power, is refuted by the following remark: For the reasons already
stated Vai/s/vanara is neither the divinity nor the element. For to the
elemental fire which is mere heat and light the heavenly world and so on
cannot properly be ascribed as head and so on, because an effect cannot
be the Self of another effect.--Again, the heavenly world cannot be
ascribed as head, &c. to the divinity of fire, in spite of the power of
the latter; for, on the one hand, it is not a cause (but a mere effect),
and on the other hand its power depends on the highest Lord. Against all
these interpretations there lies moreover the objection founded on the
inapplicability of the term 'Self.'
28. Jaimini (declares that there is) no contradiction even on the
assumption of a direct (worship of the highest Lord as Vai/s/vanara).
Above (Sutra 26) it has been said that Vai/s/vanara is the highest Lord,
to be meditated upon as having the gastric fire either for his outward
manifestation or for his limiting condition; which interpretation was
accepted in deference to the circumstance that he is spoken of as
abiding within--and so on.--The teacher Jaimini however is of opinion
that it is not necessary to have recourse to the assumption of an
outward manifestation or limiting condition, and that there is no
objection to refer the passage about Vai/s/vanara to the direct worship
of the highest Lord.--But, if you reject the interpretation based on the
gastric fire, you place yourself in opposition to the statement that
Vai/s/vanara abides within, and to the reasons founded on the term, &c.
(Su. 26).--To this we reply that we in no way place ourselves in
opposition to the statement that Vai/s/vanara abides within. For the
passage, 'He knows him as man-like, as abiding within man,' does not by
any means refer to the gastric fire, the latter being neither the
general topic of discussion nor having been mentioned by name
before.--What then does it refer to?--It refers to that which forms the
subject of discussion, viz. that similarity to man (of the highest Self)
which is fancifully found in the members of man from the upper part of
the head down to the chin; the text therefore says, 'He knows him as
man-like, as abiding within man,' just as we say of a branch that it
abides within the tree[160].--Or else we may adopt another
interpretation and say that after the highest Self has been represented
as having the likeness to man as a limiting condition, with regard to
nature as well as to man, the passage last quoted ('He knows him as
abiding within man') speaks of the same highest Self as the mere witness
(sakshin; i.e. as the pure Self, non-related to the limiting
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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