Advaita Vedanta

Author(s): Kalidas Bhattacharya, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 20

of its invariable associates. But what certificate can cognition itself put forward for its own existence? It will not be enough to say that its associate-any object-is directly cognised. For no certificate is acceptable till it is it self certified. What is it, then, which certifies that there has been a cognition at all? It must be some other cognition, viz. introspection. But what if one asks for a certificate for this introspection itself? Postulation of a third cognition would here be self-defeating; for not only would there be no reason why there should not be a fourth, a fifth and so an ad indefinitum, there would be the further difficulty that what is sought to be certified fails of that, and, despairingly enough, just because of the indefinite regress. 10 Unless a certificate is itself certified, either by itself or by another, it fails to certify. The only way out is to hold that the second cognition, viz. introspection, is self-certifying, self-certification meaning that it is not cognised as an object by another cognition.
The Absolute as...
There may, of course, be other alternative solutions. One of these we have stated in footnote 9, p. 10. Some, again, have held that when in answer to the question Why X?' one replies Because Y' there is in that context no immediate question like Why Y?' In that context, therefore, Y stands accepted as a sufficient answer, though it may be questioned again in another context which has nothing logically to do with the present one. What it all points to is that, contexts differing, one may go on admitting introspection after introspection ad indefinitum. As regards the first alternative, the Advaitin would only point out that he is concerned with spiritual introspection only, not with the psychological one, and to the second alternative he would reply that for the sake of discovering the ultimate truth one should be as much questioning as one could, if only to avoid pitfalls.
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Still others the Buddhists of almost all denominationshave held that as primary cognitions themselves are self-reveal10 Mulocchedika anavastha.