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CHAPTER II
A. The Philosophy of Being or Identity
The Upanisads taught that Brahman is the ultimate reality' although they are not definitely committed to the vivartavāda of Sankara according to which the world is empirical or phenomenal (māyā or vivarta). Both the Vedic and the Upanisadic seers did not see any incompatibility between conceiving Brahman with and without form (rūpa and arūpa), the whole and its parts and both unity and diversity. The difference (bheda), between Brahman and the world was considered to be internal (svagata) or homogeneous (sajātīya) rather than external or heterogeneous (vijātīya). As a matter
1. The following Upanisadic utterances declare unity but do so without perhaps repudiating difference as māyā which is not unreasonably believed to have been foisted on them by Sankara: mrtyoḥ sa mrtyum gacchati ya iha naneva pasyati (Katha IV. 11, Twelve Principal Upanisads, TPH. Edn., Vol. I, p. 80). vācāraṁbhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyam mṛttiketyeva satyam (Chandogya, VI. 1.4, ibid., Vol. III, p. 189). ekamevādvitiyam (Ibid., VI. 2.1, pp. 190-1).
2. See supra, pp. 15-18 and the footnotes thereon, for the views of Thibaut and Bhandarkar as well as for the references to the views of Jacobi and Sukthankar.
3. See Thibaut's remarks, supra, p. 16, f.n. 1 and 2.
4. The notion of difference has been conceived in three forms, viz., sajātīya, or the difference which exists between something and something else of the same class; vijātīya, or the difference which exists between something belonging to one class and another thing belonging to another class; and,
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