________________
410
VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
If it be said that there results the fault of there being no room for certain Smritis.'
The same Sútra replies 'no; because there would result the fault of want of room for other Smritis.' For other Smritis, that of Manu e.g., teach that Brahman is the universal cause. Thus Manu says, This (world) existed in the shape of darkness, and so on. Then the divine Self existent, indiscernible but making discernible all this, the great elements and the rest, appeared with irresistible power, dispelling the darkness. He, desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body, first with a thought created the waters, and placed his seed in them' (Manu I, 5-8). And the Bhagavad-gitâ, 'I am the origin and the dissolution of the whole Universe' (VII, 6). 'I am the origin of all; everything proceeds from me' (X, 8). Similarly, in the Mahabharata, to the question
Whence was created this whole world with its movable and immovable beings ?' the answer is given, Narayana assumes the form of the world, he the infinite, eternal one'; and from him there originates the Unevolved consisting of the three gunas'; and the Unevolved is merged in the non-acting Person.' And Parâsara says, 'From Vishnu there sprang the world and in him it abides; he makes this world persist and he rules it-he is the world. Thus also Åpastamba, · The living beings are the dwelling of him who lies in all caves, who is not killed, who is spotless'; and 'From him spring all bodies; he is the primary cause, he is eternal, permanent' (Dharmasů. I, 8, 22, 4; 23, 2).-If the question as to the meaning of the Vedanta-texts were to be settled by means of Kapila's Smriti, we should have to accept the extremely undesirable conclusion that all the Smritis quoted are of no authority. It is true that the Vedanta-texts are concerned with theoretical truth lying outside the sphere of Perception and the other means of knowledge, and that hence students possessing only a limited knowledge of the Veda require some help in order fully to make out the meaning of the Vedanta. But what must be avoided in this case is to give any opening for the conclusion that the very numerous
Digitized by
Digitized by Google
