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XXIX. THE VARIETIES OF SOULS, AND THEIR NUMBER
Now, by way of showing the fault of those who, reiterating that the world is limited to the seven continents and oceans, because of the possibility of only a limited number of beings in a world of those dimensions, maintain a limited number of selves, he, lauding as free from fault the doctrine of an infinity of souls worked out by the Holy One, says (231)
XXIX. On the doctrine of limited selves either even one liberated should come into the world, or the world should be void of dwellers in it..
The corporation of six kinds of soul thou didst state
as of infinite number; so, O Lord! that there is not fault.
In the doctrine of limited selves, upon acceptance of selves of countable number, a pair of refutations presents itself; these in order he exhibits. Either even one liberated should come into the world': One liberated, one who has reached Nirvana; even he: api is used to express astonishment; either has the sense of addition with reference to the subsequent fault, as in 'either deity or demon'; should come into the world: should return to mundane existence. This is one faulty consequence. 'Or the world should be void of dwellers in it': the world, mundane existence; or that; void of dwellers in it, deprived of souls in mundane existence; should be, should become. This is the second faulty consequence.
Here the notion is this: If the selves are supposed to be just limited in number, then, as they in succession according to their advance in their practice of cognition of reality pass into beatification, we can imagine, of course, some time or other when all have Nirvana: and in consequence of the beginninglessness and endlessness of time, and the limitation of the selves, what is to prevent the occurrence of emptiness of mundane existence? For in the case of a pond filled with a definitely limited mass of water one concludes an emptiness at another time through wind, sun's heat, peoples' water-vessels, etc. Nor is this a matter recognized by any authority, because of the consequence of mundane existence losing its own-form. For its ownform is this: that in which, under the control of karma, living creatures pass through lives (samsaranti), did pass and will pass. And with Nirvana of all one must either perforce admit emptiness of mundane existence, or the liberated must again come into the world. But those whose karma is exhausted are not qualified for worldly life; because of the text - (232)
"As, when the seed is completely burnt, a shoot does not come forth,
So, when the seed of karma is burnt, there grows not the blade of worldly life").
And Patanjali says: "Given the root, its maturation, birth, life force and enjoyment""). And the commentary thereon: "Given defilements, a store of karma is initiative of maturation; but not if the root of defilements is annihilated. Just as rice grains encased in their husks, with their status as seeds unburnt, are capable of growth, but not when the husk has been taken away, or their seed-status burnt, so a store of karma encased in defilements, grows to
1) Source untraced.
2) Patanjali's Yoga-sutra, II. 13, and the Vyasa-bhāṣ ya thereon (M. L.).
11 Thomas, The Flower-Spray
