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CHAPTER I
about some rival theory which in his opinion makes that mistake. To predicate a further career for the Paramâtma leading to a further manifestation would certainly be considered by our author as an eironeous hypothesis Probably he is thinking of the Upanishadic system which not only presupposes that Atman or Brahman is the original cause of the world but also postulates the periodic evolution and involution in the life career of the ultimate Brahman which our author evidently thinks reduces the Brahman to a Samsârıc entity and therefore amounts to predicating bondage to the Paramâtma Swarūpa It would probably be more plausible to suggest that he was thinking of the popular deities of the Puranic Hinduism But such a suggestion would be an anachionism, because Puranic Hinduism and Puranic deities were not fully developed about the ist century B C, which is the date of our author. Internal evidence clearly shows that he was fully acquainted with Upanishadic literature, hence our suggestion that the author was having in his mind the Brahman's periodic career of manifestation and dissolution, an idea prominently present in the Upanishadic thought This Upanishadıc Brahman, which is also designated as Paramâtma, is the same as our author's Sva-Samaya-the Ego-in-itself; but the Vedẫntic Brahman or Paramâtma is credited with periodic manifestation and dissolution, a characteristic entirely foreign to our author's concept of Sva-Samaya. This is only offered as a suggestion of a probable implication of the author's intention and we cannot assert anything dogmatically about that
Next, the author goes to show that of these two Egos, the empirical Fgo and the metempirical Ego, the former is easily apprehended whereas the latter is very difficult to realise.
सुदपरिचिदाणुभूदा सव्वस्स वि कामभोगबधकहा ।
एयत्तस्सुवलंभो णवरि ण सुलभो विभत्तस्स ॥४॥ Sudaparichidâņubhuda savvassa vi kamabhogabandhakaha Eyattassuvalambho ņavati na sulabho vibhattassa (4)
श्रुतपरिचितानुभूता सर्वस्याऽपि कामभोगबन्धकथा।
एकत्वस्योपलम्भ. केवलं न सुलभो विभक्तस्य ॥४॥ 4. The proposition that all living beings are characterised
