________________
180
. VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
alone is all this' (Mu. Up. II, 2, 11); The Self is all this' (Kh. Up. VII, 25, 2); 'In it there is no diversity' (Bri. Up. IV, 4, 19); 'He to whom there is nothing superior, from whom there is nothing different' (Svet. Up. III, 9); ‘This is the Brahman without cause and without effect, without anything inside or outside' (Bri. Up. II, 5, 19).— And that there is no other Self within the highest Self, follows from that scriptural passage which teaches Brahman to be within everything (Bri. Up. II, 5, 19).
37. Thereby the omnipresence (of Brahman is established), in accordance with the statements about (Brahman's) extent.
The preceding demonstration that the texts calling Brahman a bank, and so on, are not to be taken literally, and that, on the other hand, the texts denying all plurality must be accepted as they stand, moreover, serves to prove that the Self is omnipresent. If the former texts were taken literally, banks and the like would have to be looked upon as belonging to the Self, and thence it would follow that the Self is limited. And if the texts of the latter class were not accepted as valid, there would be substances exclusive of each other, and thus the Self would again be limited.That the Self is omnipresent follows from the texts proclaiming its extent, &c., cp. Kh. Up. VIII, 1, 3,' As large as this ether is, so large is that ether within the heart;'
Like the ether, he is omnipresent and eternal ;' He is greater than the sky, greater than the ether' (Sat. Br. X, 6, 3, 2); 'He is eternal, omnipresent, firm, immoveable' (Bha. Gità II, 24); and other similar passages from Sruti and Smriti,
38. From him (.e. the Lord, there comes) the fruit (of works); for (that only) is possible.
We now turn to another characteristic belonging to Brahman, in so far as it is connected with the every-day world in which we distinguish a ruler and the objects of his rule. There arises the question whether the threefold fruits of action which are enjoyed by the creatures in their
Digitized by
Digized by Google