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VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
sleep in the form, 'I was pure consciousness free from all egoity and opposed in nature to everything else, witnessing Nescience'; what he thinks is only 'I slept well.' From this form of reflection it appears that even during sleep the Self, i. e. the 'I,' was a knowing subject and perceptive of pleasure. Nor must you urge against this that the reflection has the following form : 'As now I feel pleasure, so I slept then also'; for the reflection is distinctly not of that kind'. Nor must you say that owing to the non-permanency of the 'I' its perception of pleasure during sleep cannot connect itself with the waking state. For the l' is permanent as appears from the fact that) the person who has risen from sleep recalls things of which he was conscious before his sleep, 'I did such and such a thing,' I observed this or that," I said so or so.'-But, you will perhaps say, he also reflects, ' For such and such a time I was conscious of nothing.'-'And what does this imply?' we ask.
- It implies a negation of everything !'-By no means, we rejoin. The words. I was conscious' show that the knowing I' persisted, and that hence what is negated is only the objects of knowledge. If the negation implied in of nothing' included everything, it would also negative the pure consciousness which you hold to persist in deep sleep. In the judgment I was conscious of nothing.' the word 'I' clearly refers to the 'I,' i. e. the knowing Self which persists even during deep sleep, while the words was conscious of nothing' negative all knowledge on the part of that I'; if, now, in the face of this, you undertake to prove by means of this very judgment that knowledge—which is expressly denied-existed at the time, and that the persisting knowing Self did not exist, you may address your proof to the patient gods who give no reply 1-But-our opponent goes on to urge-I form the following judgment also: 'I then was not conscious of myself,' and from this I understand that the 'I' did not persist during deep sleep! -You do not know, we rejoin, that this denial of the per
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* I.e. the reflection as to the perception of pleasure refers to the past state of sleep only, not to the present moment of reflection.
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