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XXII] Brahman and the World
457 world is called sat and asat (being and non-being), because it represents the principle of becoming or change. It is affirmed as “this” and yet because it changes it is again not affirmed as "this.” The future forms of the changing process are also non-existent as it were in the present form and the present form is also nonexistent as it were in the future forms that are to be. Thus, any of its forms may be regarded as not existing and hence false when compared with an entity that always exists and in the same form?. All objects of the world so far as they are past and future are contradicted by their present states and are therefore regardedas false, but so far as they are perceived in their present state they are regarded as real.
The universe has, however, an eternal and immutable form as pure consciousness in the very nature of Brahman from which it is separated out as the world of matter and souls. The pure consciousness in itself is the only ultimate reality which is ever the same and is not subject to any change or process of becoming. Both the individual souls and the world of matter are ultimately dissolved and merged in Brahman, the pure and ultimate consciousness. These, therefore, are regarded as being names and forms when compared with the ultimate changeless Reality, Brahman But this does not mean that the universe of matter and souls is absolutely unreal and mere māyā or illusion. If all that appears were absolutely false, then all moral values would disappear and all notions of bondage and emancipation would become meaningless. If the falsity of all things except the pure consciousness can be proved by any means, that itself would prove that such proofs have validity and that therefore there are other things over and above pure consciousness which may be valid. If such proofs are invalid but can establish the validity of pure consciousness as against the validity of all other things, then such proofs may also prove the reality of all other things in the world. It may be held that what ordinary people consider as true can be proved to be invalid by what is regarded by them as valid means of proof; but on the Sankarite view nothing is regarded as valid and therefore there are
ieka-dharmeņa sattva-daśāyām pariņāmi-vastūnām atitā-nāgata-dharmena asattvät. Vijñānā-myta-bhāsya, I. 1. 3.
2 ghasā-dayo hi anāgatā-dy-avasthāşu vyaktā-dy-avasthābhir bādhyante iti. ghață-dayo mithya-sabdena ucyante vidyamāna-dharmaiś ca tadānim na bădhyante iti satyā ity api ucyante. Ibid.
jñāna-svarüpah paramă-tmā sa eva satyah jīvās că'mśataya amsiny ekibhūtāh athava' vayavattvena parama-tmā-pekṣayā te py asantaḥ. Ibid.
