Gita Rahasya -Tilak 233

Gita Rahasya -Tilak

CHAPTER IX THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ABSOLUTE SELF The mental process of acquiring knowledge is everywhere the same, and if there is nothing else except such Jnana, then, how have the differences between a cow, a horse etc. arisen ? If someone says that the Mind creates these different divisions of Knowledge at its sweet will like a dream-world, one cannot explain this somewhat of consistency which is to be found in the Jnana acquired in a waking state, which is different from the dream-world . Besides, if you say that there is "no other thing except Jnana, and that the Mind of the 'Observer’ creates all the various things, then each ' Observer ' must get the ego-ised knowledge that " my mind, that is, I myself, am the pillar " or " I myself am the cow ". But since such is not the case, and everyone gets the experience that he himself is something different and that the pillar, the cow etc. are subst- ances which are different from himself, Samkaracarya has adduced the doctrine that there must be some other independent external things, in the external world, which are the foundation of the Knowledge acquired by the Mind of the Observer. Kant is of the same opinion, and he has clearly said that although the synthetical process of human Season is necessary for acquiring the knowledge of the world, yet, this knowledge is not something self-created, that is, unfounded or new which has been spun out by human Reason, but is always dependent on the external things in the world. Here an objection may be raised that : " What ! your Samkaracarya once says that the external world is Mithya (illusory); and lor refuting the Buddhistic doctrines, the same Samkaracarya maintains that the existence of the external world is as real as the existence of the Observer ! How are you going to reconcile these two things?" This question has already been answered before. When the Acarya calls the external world 'mithya (illusory) or 'asatya' (unreal), he is to be understood as saying that the visible Name and Form of the external universe is unreal, that is to say, perishable. But although the external appearance embodied in Name and Form is said to be illusory, yet, one doss not thereby prejudice the doctrine that there is some Real substance at the bottom of it, which is beyond the reach of the organs. In short, just as we have laid down the doctrine in the chapter on the Body and the Atman, that there is some permanent Atman- Element at the root of the perishable Names and Forms, like the bodily organs etc, so also, have we to come to the conclusion that there is some permanent substance at the root of the external universe clothed in Names and Forms. Therefore, Vedanta philosophy has laid down the doctrine that there is under the ever-varying (that is, illusory) appearance both of the physical organs and of the external world, (nitya), that is, Real (satya) substance.