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CHAPTER IX
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ABSOLUTE SELF
Well: if you say that immortality is unreal, then,
every man entertains the hope that the reward which he wishes
to obtain from a king should be available for enjoyment after
his death to his sons, grand-sons etc., so long as the Sun and
the Moon last ; or, we even find that, if there is a chance for a
man to acquire long-standing or permanent fame, he does not
care even for life. 5ot only are there prayers of the ancient
Bsislike: "O Indra! give us ' aksita srava', that is, imperi-
shable fame or wealth" (Bg. 1. 9. 7) or, " Soma! make me
immortal in the sphere of Vaivasvata (Yama)" (Bg. 9. 133. 8)
to he found in extremely ancient works like the Rgveda, but
even in modern times, pure Materialists like Spencer, Kant,
and others are found maintaining that " it is the highest moral
duty of mankind in this world to try to obtain the permanent
happiness of the present and future generations, without being
deluded by transient happiness". From where has this idea of
permanent happiness, beyond the span of one 's own life, that
is to say, of immortality come ? If one says that it is inherent
nature, then, one is bound to admit that there is some immortal
substance beyond this perishable body ; and, if one says that
such an immortal substance does not exist, then, one cannot
explain in any other way that mental tendency which one
oneself actually experiences. In this difficulty, many Materi-
alists advise that, as these questions can never be solved, we
should not attempt to solve them, or allow our minds to travel
beyond the qualities or objects which are to be found in the
visible world. This advice seems easy to follow ; but, who is
going to control the natural desire for philosophy which exists
in the human mind, and how ? ; and, if this unquenchable desire
for knowledge is once killed, how is knowledge to be increased?
Ever since the day when the human being came into this world r
he has been continually thinking of what the fundamental
immortal principle at the root of this visible and perishable
world, is; and, how he will reach it; and, however much the
Material sciences are developed, this inherent tendency of the.
human mind towards the knowledge of the immortal principle
will not be lessened. Let the material sciences be developed as
much as they can, philosophy will always packet all the know
ledge of Nature contained in them, and run beyond ! That was'
the state of things three or four thousand years ago, and the
same state of things is now seen in Western countries. Nay, on
that day when this ambition of a human being comes to an end,
we will have to say of him " so mi mukto 'thava, pasuh. ", that
is, " he is either a Released soul, or a brute ! "
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