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


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Page 1702
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494
VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
proximity. Moreover, the ever unchanging soul is not capable of an approximation which does not form an element of its unchanging nature.—Moreover, if you define the seeing as mere proximity and declare this to be the cause of Release, we point out that it equally is the cause of bondage-so that bondage and release would both be permanent.--Let it then be said that what causes bondage is wrong seeing-while intuition of the true nature of things is the cause of Release !--But as both these kinds of seeing are nothing but proximity, it would follow that both take place permanently. And if, on the other hand, the proximity of Soul and Prakriti were held not to be permanent, then the cause of such proximity would have to be assigned, and again the cause of that, and so on ad infinitum.-Let us then, to escape from these difficulties, define proximity as nothing more than the true nature of soul and Prakriti !
-As the true nature is permanent, we reply, it would follow therefrom that bondage and release would be alike permanent.-On account of all these contradictory views the system of the Sankhyas is untenable.
We finally remark that the arguments here set forth by us at the same time prove the untenableness of the view of those who teach that there is an eternally unchanging Brahman whose nature is pure, non-differenced intelligence, and which by being conscious of Nescience experiences unreal bondage and release. For those philosophers can show no more than the Sankhyas do how their Brahman can be conscious of Nescience, can be subject to adhyasa, and so on. There is, however, the following difference between the two theories. The Sankhyas, in order to account for the definite individual distribution of birth, death, and so on, assume a plurality of souls. The Vedantins, on the other hand, do not allow even so much, and their doctrine is thus all the more irrational. The assertion that there is a difference in favour of the Vedantins) between the two doctrines, in so far as the Vedantins hold Prakriti to be something unreal, while the Sankhyas consider it to be real, is unfounded ; for pure, homogeneous intelligence, eternally non-changing, cannot possibly be conscious of anything
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