Book Title: Satapatha Bramhana Part 05
Author(s): Julius Eggeling
Publisher: Oxford


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Page 1624
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416
VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
pots and jars which are fashioned out of a lump of clay there persists the quality of being a lump' which belongs to the causal substance. And should you say that it suffices that there should be equality in some or any attribute, we point out that such is actually the case with regard to Brahman and the world, both of which have the attribute of existence' and others. The true state of the case rather is as follows. There is equality of nature between an effect and a cause, in that sense that those essential characteristics by which the causal substance distinguishes itself from other things persist in its effects also: those characteristic features, e.g., which distinguish gold from clay and other materials, persist also in things made of gold-bracelets and the like. But applying this consideration to Brahman and the world we find that Brahman's essential nature is to be antagonistic to all evil, and to consist of knowledge, bliss and power, while the world's essential nature is to be the opposite of all this. Brahman cannot, therefore, be the material cause of the world.
But, it may be objected, we observe that even things of different essential characteristics stand to each other in the relation of cause and effect. From man, e.g., who is a sentient being, there spring nails, teeth, and hair, which are non-sentient things; the sentient scorpion springs from nonsentient dung; and non-sentient threads proceed from the sentient spider.—This objection, we reply, is not valid ; for in the instances quoted the relation of cause and effect rests on the non-sentient elements only (i.e. it is only the non-sentient matter of the body which produces nails, &c.).
But, a further objection is raised, Scripture itself declares in many places that things generally held to be non-sentient really possess intelligence ; compare to him the earth said'; 'the water desired'; 'the pränas quarrelling among themselves as to their relative pre-eminence went to Brahman. And the writers of the Puranas also attribute consciousness to rivers, hills, the sea, and so on. Hence there is after all no essential difference in nature between
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