________________
I ADHYAYA, I PÂDA, 2.
15
that that being is enjoying only, not acting; others believe that in addition to the individual souls, there is an allknowing, all-powerful Lord! Others, finally, i.e. the Vedântins) maintain that the Lord is the Self of the enjoyer (i.e. of the individual soul whose individual existence is apparent only, the product of Nescience).
Thus there are many various opinions, basing part of them on sound arguments and scriptural texts, part of them on fallacious arguments and scriptural texts misunderstood ?. If therefore a man would embrace some one of these opinions without previous consideration, he would bar himself from the highest beatitude and incur grievous loss. For this reason the first Sutra proposes, under the designation of an enquiry into Brahman, a disquisition of the Vedanta-texts, to be carried on with the help of conformable arguments, and having for its aim the highest beatitude.
So far it has been said that Brahman is to be enquired into. The question now arises what the characteristics of that Brahman are, and the reverend author of the Satras therefore propounds the following aphorism.
2. (Brahman is that) from which the origin, &c. (i.e. the origin, subsistence, and dissolution) of this (world proceed).
The term, &c. implies subsistence and re-absorption. That the origin is mentioned first (of the three) depends on the declaration of Scripture as well as on the natural development of a substance. Scripture declares the order
The three last opinions are those of the followers of the Nyâya, the Sânkhya, and the Yoga-philosophy respectively. The three opinions mentioned first belong to various materialistic schools; the two subsequent ones to two sects of Bauddha philosophers.
• As, for instance, the passages this person consists of the essence of sood;' 'the eye, &c. spoke;' 'non-existing this was in the beginning,' &c.
Digitized by
Digized by Google
