This primâ facie view is set aside by the Sûtra. The word 'ether' in the text under discussion denotes the highest Self with its previously established characteristics—which is something quite different from the non-sentient elemental ether. For the qualities which the passage attributes to ether, viz. its being the one cause of the entire world, its being greater than all, and the rest of all, clearly indicate the highest Self. The non-intelligent elemental ether cannot be called the cause of all, since intelligent beings clearly cannot be its effects; nor can it be called the 'rest' of intelligent beings, for non-sentient things are evil and antagonistic to the true aim of man; nor can it be called 'greater' than all, for it is impossible that a non-sentient element should possess all excellent qualities whatever and thus be absolutely superior to everything else.—Nor is the Pûrvapakshin right when maintaining that, as the word 'ether' satisfies the demand for a special cause of the world, all other texts are to be interpreted in accordance herewith. The words, 'All these beings indeed spring from the ether only,' merely give expression to something generally known, and statements of this nature presuppose other means of knowledge to prove them. Now these other means required are, in our case, supplied by such texts as 'Being only was this in the beginning,' and these, as we have shown, establish the existence of Brahman. To Brahman thus established, the text mentioning the ether merely refers as to something well known. Brahman may suitably be called 'ether' (âkâsa), because being of the nature of light it shines (âkâsate) itself, and makes other things shine forth (âkâsayati). Moreover, the word 'ether' is indeed capable of conveying the idea of a special being (as cause), but as it denotes a special non-intelligent thing which cannot be admitted as the cause of the intelligent part of the world we must deny all authoritativeness to the attempt to tamper, in the interest of that one word, with the sense of other texts which have the power of giving instruction as to an entirely new thing (viz. Brahman), distinguished by the possession of omniscience, the power of realising its purposes and similar attributes, which we ascertain from certain complementary texts-such as 'it thought, may I be many, may I grow forth,' and 'it desired, may I be many, may I grow forth.' We also point out that the agreement in purport of a number of texts capable of establishing the existence of a wonderful being possessing infinite wonderful attributes is not lightly to be disregarded in favour of one single text vhich moreover (has not the power of intimating something not known before, but) only makes a reference to what is already established by other texts.—As to the averment that the word 'Self' is not exclusively limited to sentient beings, we remark that that word is indeed applied occasionally to non- sentient things, but prevailingly to that which is the correlative of a body, i.e. the soul or spirit; in texts such as 'the Self only was this in the beginning,' and 'from the Self there sprang the ether,' we must therefore understand by the 'Self,' the universal spirit. The denotative power of the term 'atman,' which is thus proved by itself, is moreover confirmed by the complementary passages 'it desired, may I send forth the worlds', 'it desired, may I be many, may I grow forth.'—We thus arrive at the following conclusion: Brahman, which—by the passage 'Being only this was in the beginning'—is established as the sole cause of the world, possessing all those manifold wonderful attributes which are ascertained from the complementary passages, is, in the text under discussion, referred to as something already known, by means of the term 'ether.'—Here terminates the adhikarana of' ether.'
24. For the same reason breath (is Brahman).
We read in the Chândogya (I, 10; ii), 'Prastotri, that deity which belongs to the Prastâva,' &c.; and further on, 'which then is that deity? He said—Breath. For all these beings merge into breath alone, and from breath they arise. This is the deity belonging to the Prastâva. If without knowing that deity you had sung forth, your head would have fallen off.' Here the word 'breath,' analogously to the word 'ether' denotes the highest Brahman, which is different from what is commonly called breath; we infer this from the fact that special characteristics of Brahman, viz. the whole world's entering into and rising from it, are in that text referred to as well-known things. There indeed here arises a further doubt; for as it is a matter of observation that the existence, activity, &c., of the whole aggregate of creatures depend on breath, breath—in its ordinary acceptation—may be called the cause of the world. This doubt is, however, disposed of by the consideration that breath is not present in things such as stones and wood, nor in intelligence itself, and that hence of breath in the ordinary sense it cannot be said that 'all beings enter into it,' &c. We therefore conclude that Brahman is here called 'breath' in so far as he bestows the breath of life on all beings. And the general result of the discussion carried on in connexion with the last two Sûtras thus is that the words 'ether' and 'breath' denote something other than what is ordinarily denoted by those terms, viz. the highest Brahman, the sole cause of this entire world, free from all evil, &c. &c.—Here terminates the adhikarana of 'breath.'
The subsequent Sûtras up to the end of the Pâda demonstrate that the being which the texts refer to as 'Light' or 'Indra'—terms which in ordinary language are applied to certain other well-known beings—, and which is represented as possessing some one or other supremely exalted quality that is invariably connected with world-creative power, is no other than the highest Brahman.
25. The light (is Brahman), on account of the mention of feet.
We read in the Chândogya. (III, 13, 7), 'Now that light which shines above this heaven, higher than everything, in the highest worlds beyond which there are no other worlds, that is the same light which is within man.'—Here a doubt arises, viz. whether the brightly shining thing here called 'light' is the well-known light of the sun and so on, viewed as a causal universal principle (Brahman); or the all-knowing, &c., highest Person of infinite splendour, who is different in nature from all sentient and non-sentient beings, and is the highest cause.—The Pûrvapakshin maintains that the reference is to ordinary light. For, he says, the passage does not mention a particular characteristic attribute which can belong to the highest Self only—while such attributes were met with in the texts referring to Ether and Breath—, and as thus there is no opening for a recognition of the highest Self, and as at the same time the text identifies 'light' with the intestinal heat of living beings, we conclude that the text represents the well-known ordinary light as Brahman, the cause of the world—which is possible as causal agency is connected with extreme light and heat.—This primâ facie view the Sûtra sets aside. The light which the text states to be connected with heaven and possessing supreme splendour can be the highest Person only, since a preceding passage in the same section—' All the beings are one foot of it, three feet are the Immortal in heaven'—refers to all beings as being a foot of that same being which is connected with heaven. Although the passage, 'That light which shines above,' &c., does not mention a special attribute of the highest Person, yet the passage previously quoted refers to the highest Person as connected with heaven, and we therefore recognise that Person as the light connected with heaven, mentioned in the subsequent passage.
Nor does the identification, made in a clause of the text, of light with the intestinal heat give rise to any difficulty; for that clause is meant to enjoin meditation on the highest Brahman in the form of intestinal heat, such meditation having a special result of its own. Moreover, the Lord himself declares that he constitutes the Self of the intestinal fire, 'Becoming the Vaisvânara-fire I abide in the body of living creatures' (Bha. Gî. XV, 14).
26. If it be objected that (Brahman is) not (denoted) on account of the metre being denoted; (we reply) not so, because thus the direction of the mind (on Brahman) is declared; for thus it is seen.
The previous section at first refers to the metre called Gâyatrî, 'The Gâyatrî indeed is everything' (III, 12, 1), and then introduces—with the words 'this is also declared by a Rik_ verse'—the verse, 'Such is the greatness of it (viz. the Gâyatrî),' &c. Now, as this verse also refers to the metre, there is not any reference to the highest Person.— To this objection the second part of the Sûtra replies. The word 'Gâyatrî' does not here denote the metre only, since this cannot possibly be the Self of all; but the text declares the application of the idea of Gâyatrî to Brahman, i.e. teaches, to the end of a certain result being obtained, meditation on Brahman in so far as similar to Gâyatrî. For Brahman having four feet, in the sense indicated by the rik_, may be compared to the Gâyatrî with its four (metrical) feet. The Gâyatrî (indeed has as a rule three feet, but) occasionally a Gâyatrî with four feet is met with; so, e.g., 'Indras sakîpatih | valena pîditah | duskyavano vrishâ | samitsu sâsahih.' We see that in other passages also words primarily denoting metres are employed in other senses; thus, e.g., in the samvargavidyâ (Ch. Up. IV, 3, 8), where Virâj (the name of a metre of ten syllables) denotes a group of ten divine beings.
For this conclusion the next Sûtra supplies a further argument.