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INTRODUCTION.
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Brahman, and the vidvân who knows only the lower Brahman, and have to refer certain Sûtras to the former and others to the latter. According to Råmânuga the vidvan is one only.
Adhik. I, II, III (1-6).-On the death of the vidvan (i.e. of him who possesses the lower knowledge, according to Sankara) his senses are merged in the manas, the manas in the chief vital air (prâna), the vital air in the individual soul (giva), the soul in the subtle elements. According to Râmânuga the combination (sampatti) of the senses with the manas, &c. is a mere conjunction (samyoga), not a merging (laya).
Adhik. IV (7).—The vidvan (i.e. according to Sankara, he who possesses the lower knowledge) and the avidvân, i.e. he who does not possess any knowledge of Brahman, pass through the same stages (i.e. those described hitherto) up to the entrance of the soul, together with the subtle elements, and so on into the nådis.—The vidvan also remains connected with the subtle elements because he has not yet completely destroyed avidya, so that the immortality which Scripture ascribes to him (amritatvam hi vidvan abhyasnute) is only a relative one.-Råmånuga quotes the following text regarding the immortality of the vidvân:
Yada sarve pramukyante kâmâ yessya hridi sthitah
atha martyos mrito bhavaty atra brahma samasnute,' and explains that the immortality which is here ascribed to the vidvân as soon as he abandons all desires can only mean the destruction-mentioned in the preceding padaof all the effects of good and evil works, while the reaching of Brahman' can only refer to the intuition of Brahman vouchsafed to the meditating devotee.
Adhik. V (8-11) raises, according to Sankara, the ques. tion whether the subtle elements of which Scripture says that they are combined with the highest deity (tegalı parasyam devatäyâm) are completely merged in the latter or not. The answer is that a complete absorption of the elements takes place only when final emancipation is reached; that, on the other hand, as long as the samsåra state lasts, the elements, although somehow combined with
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