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veDÂNTA-SÚTRAS.
causality in which the potter and the goldsmith stand to the things mentioned ; a doubt arises to which of these two kinds the causality of Brahman belongs.
The pärvapakshin maintains that Brahman evidently is the operative cause of the world only, because Scripture declares his creative energy to be preceded by reflection. Compare, for instance, Pra. Up. VI, 3; 4: 'He reflected, he created prâna.' For observation shows that the action of operative causes only, such as potters and the like, is preceded by reflection, and moreover that the result of some activity is brought about by the concurrence of several factors'. It is therefore appropriate that we should view the prime creator in the same light. The circumstance of his being known as the Lord' furnishes another argument. For lords such as kings and the son of Vivasvat are known only as operative causes, and the highest Lord also must on that account be viewed as an operative cause only.-Further, the effect of the creator's activity, viz. this world, is seen to consist of parts, to be non-intelligent and impure; we therefore must assume that its cause also is of the same nature; for it is a matter of general observation that cause and effect are alike in kind. But that Brahman does not resemble the world in nature, we know from many scriptural passages, such as 'It is without parts, without actions, tranquil, without fault, without taint' Sve. Up. VI, 19). Hence there remains no other alternative but to admit that in addition to Brahman there exists a material cause of the world of impure nature, such as is known from Smriti?, and to limit the causality of Brahman, as declared by Scripture, to operative causality.
To this we make the following reply.-Brahman is to be acknowledged as the material cause as well as the operative cause ; because this latter view does not conflict with the promissory statements and the illustrative instances. The promissory statement chiefly ineant is the following one,
* I.e. that the operative cause and the substantial cause are separate things.
· Viz. the Sânkhya-smriti.
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