the mind of man that becomes our reason and intelligence. It varies
according to the medium through which it is shining. There is no
difference as soul between me and the lowest animal, only his brain
is a poorer medium through which the knowledge shines, and we call it
instinct. In man the brain is much finer, so the manifestation is
much clearer, and in the highest man it has become entirely clear,
like a piece of glass. So with existence; this existence which we
know, this limited bit of existence is simply a reflection of that
Existence Absolute which is the nature of the soul. So with bliss;
that which we call love or attraction is but the reflection of the
eternal blessedness of the Self, because with these manifestations come
limitations, but the unmanifested, the natural, essential existence
of the soul is unlimited, to that blessedness there can be no limit.
But in human love there are limitations. I may love you one day, I
may cease to love you the next. My love increases one day, decreases
the next, because it is only a limited manifestation. The first thing
therefore that we find against Kapila is that he conceives the soul
to be a mere qualitiless, colorless, inactive something. Vedânta
teaches that it is the essence of all Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss;
infinitely higher than all knowledge that we know, infinitely more
blessed than any human love that we can think of, infinitely existing.
The soul never dies. Death and birth are simply unthinkable in
connection with the Self, because it is Existence Absolute.
The second point where we will contend with Kapila is with regard to
his idea of God. Just as this series of limited manifestations of
Nature, beginning with the individual intellect and ending with the
individual body, requires the Self behind as the ruler and governor
on the throne, so in the Cosmos, we must enquire what the universal
Intelligence, the universal Mind, the universal fine and gross
materials have as their ruler and governor? How will that series
become complete without one universal Self behind it as its ruler and
governor? If we deny that there is a universal governor, we must deny
there is a soul behind the lesser series, because the whole universe is
a repetition of the same plan. When we know one lump of clay we know
the nature of all clay. If we can analyze one human being, we shall
have analyzed the whole universe, because it is all built on the same
plan. Therefore if it be true that behind this individual series there
stands one who is beyond all nature, who is not composed of materials,
the _purusha_, the very same logic will apply to this universe, and
this universe too will require such a Soul. The Universal Soul which is
behind the modifications of Nature is called by Vedânta _Isvara_, the
Supreme Ruler, God.
Now comes the more difficult point to fight. There can be but one
Soul. To begin with, we can give the _Sânkhyas_ a good blow by taking
up their theories and proving that each soul must be omnipresent,
because it is not composed of anything. Everything that is limited
must be limited by something else. Here is the existence of the table.
Its existence is circumscribed by many things, and we find that every
limitation presupposes some limiting thing. If we think of space,
we have to think of it as a little circle, but beyond that is more
space. We cannot imagine a limited space in any other way. It can only
be understood and perceived through the infinite. To perceive the
finite, in every case we must apprehend the infinite; both stand or
fall together. When you think of time, you have also to think of time
beyond any particular period of time. The latter is limited time and
the larger is unlimited time. Wherever you endeavor to perceive the
finite, you will find it impossible to separate it from the infinite.
If this be the case, we shall prove thereby that this Self must be
infinite, omnipresent. Then comes a fine question. Can the omnipresent,
the infinite be two? Suppose there are two infinites, one will limit
the other. Suppose there are two infinites,--A and B; the infinite
“A” limits the infinite “B,” because the infinite “B” you can say is
not the infinite “A,” and the infinite “A” it can be said is not the
infinite “B.” Therefore there can be but one infinite. Secondly, the
infinite cannot be divided. Infinity divided into any number of parts
must still be infinity, for it cannot be separated from itself. Suppose
there is an infinite ocean of water, could you take up one drop from
there? If you could, that ocean would no longer be infinite, that drop
would limit it. The infinite cannot be divided by any means.
But there are stronger proofs that the Self is One. Not only so, but
that the whole universe is one. We will once more take up our “X”
and “Y”. We have shown how what we call the external world is “X”
plus mind, and the internal world “Y” plus mind. “X” and “Y” are both
unknown quantities, unknown and unknowable. What is the mind? The
mind is the “time, space and causation.” This idea is the nature of
the mind. You can never think without time, you can never conceive of
anything without space, and you can never imagine anything without
causation. These three are the forms in which both “X” and “Y” are
caught, and which become the mind. Beyond that there is nothing to
the mind. Take off these three forms which of themselves do not
exist,--what remains? It is all one; “X” and “Y” are one. It is only
this mind, this form, that has limited them apparently, and made them
differ as internal and external world. “X” and “Y” are both unknown and
unknowable. We cannot attribute any quality to them. As such they are
both the same. That which is qualitiless and attributeless and absolute
must be one. There cannot be two absolutes. When there are no qualities
there can be only One. “X” and “Y” are both without qualities because
they take qualities only in the mind, therefore this “X” and “Y” are
one.
The whole universe is One. There is only One Self in the universe, only
One Existence, and that One Existence, when it is passing through the
forms of time, space and causation, is called _buddhi_, fine matter,
gross matter, etc. All physical and mental forms, everything in the
universe is that One, appearing in various ways. When a little bit of
it gets into this network of time, space and causation, it apparently
takes forms; remove the network and it is all One. This whole universe
is all one, and is called in the Advaitist philosophy _Brahman_.
_Brahman_ appearing behind the universe is called God; appearing behind
the little universe--the microcosm, is the soul. This very “Self” or
Âtman therefore is God in man. There is only one _Purusha_, and He
is called God, and when God and man are analyzed they are one. The
universe is you yourself, the unbroken you; you are throughout this
universe. “In all hands you work, through all mouths you eat, through
all nostrils you breathe, through all minds you think.” The whole
universe is you; this universe is your body; you are the universe, both
formed and unformed. You are the soul of the universe, its body also.
You are God, you are the angels, you are man, you are the animals,
you are the plants, you are the minerals, you are everything; all
manifestation is you. Whatever exists is you--the _real_ “You”--the one
undivided Self--not the little, limited personality that you have been
regarding as yourself.
The question now arises,--how have you, that Infinite Being, broken
into parts, become Mr. So-and-So, and the animals and so on? The answer
is that all this division is only apparent. We know that the infinite
cannot be divided, therefore this idea that you are a part has no
reality, and never will have: and this idea that you are Mr. So-and-So
was never true at any time; it is but a dream. Know this and be free.
That is the Advaitist conclusion. “I am neither the mind, nor the body,
nor am I the organs; I am Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute; I am He,
I am He,” This is knowledge, and everything besides this is ignorance.
Everything that is, is but ignorance, the result of ignorance. Where is
knowledge for me, for I am knowledge itself! Where is life for me, for
I am life itself! Life is a secondary manifestation of my nature. I am
sure I live, for I am life, the one Being, and nothing exists except
through me, and in me, and as me. I am manifested through elements,
but I am the one free. Who seeks freedom? Nobody seeks freedom. If you
think that you are bound, you remain bound; you make your own bondage.
If you realize that you are free, you are free this moment. This is
knowledge, knowledge of freedom. Freedom is the goal of all Nature.
IV
THE FREE SOUL
We have seen that the analysis of the _Sânkhyas_ stops with the duality
of existence, Nature and souls. There are an infinite number of souls,
which, being simple, cannot die, and must therefore be separate from
Nature. Nature in itself changes and manifests all these phenomena,
and the soul, according to the _Sânkhyas_ is inactive. It is a simple
by itself, and Nature works out all these phenomena for the liberation
of the soul, and liberation consists in the soul discriminating that
it is not Nature. At the same time we have seen that the _Sânkhyas_
were bound to admit that every soul was omnipresent. Being a simple the
soul cannot be limited, because all limitation comes either through
time, space, or causation. The soul being entirely beyond these cannot
have any limitation. To have limitation one must be in space, which
means the body, and that which is body must be in Nature. If the soul
had form, it would be identified with Nature; therefore the soul is
formless, and that which is formless cannot be said to exist here,
there, or anywhere. It must be omnipresent. Beyond this the _Sânkhya_
philosophy does not go.
The first argument of the Vedantists against this is that this analysis
is not a perfect one. If this Nature be a simple, and the soul is also
a simple, there will be two simples, and all the arguments that apply
in the case of the soul to show that it is omnipresent, will apply in
the case of Nature, and Nature too will be beyond all time, space, and
causation, and as the result there will be no change or manifestation.
Then will come the difficulty of having two simples, or two absolutes,
which is impossible. What is the solution of the Vedantist? His
solution is that, just as the _Sânkhyas_ say, it requires some sentient
being as the motive power behind, which makes the mind think and Nature
work, because Nature in all its modifications, from gross matter up to
_Mahat_ (Intelligence) is simply insentient. Now, says the Vedantist,
this sentient being which is behind the whole universe is what we
call _God_, and consequently this universe is not different from Him.
It is He Himself who has become this universe. He not only is the
instrumental cause of this universe, but also the material cause. Cause
is never different from effect, the effect is but the cause reproduced
in another form. We see that every day. So this Being is the cause
of Nature. All the forms and phases of Vedânta, either dualistic, or
qualified-monistic, or monistic, first take this position,--that God
is not only the instrumental but also the efficient cause of this
universe, that everything which exists is He. The second step in
Vedânta is that these souls are also a part of God, one spark of that
Infinite Fire. “As from a mass of fire millions of small particles
fly, even so from this Ancient One have come all these souls.” So far
so good, but it does not yet satisfy. What is meant by a part of the
Infinite? The Infinite is indivisible; there cannot be parts of the
Infinite. The Absolute cannot be divided. What is meant therefore
that all these sparks are from Him? The Advaitist, the non-dualistic
Vedantist, solves the problem by maintaining that there is really no
part; that each soul is really not a part of the Infinite, but actually
_is_ the Infinite _Brahman_. Then how can there be so many? The sun
reflected from millions of globules of water appears to be millions
of suns, and in each globule is a miniature picture of the sun-form;
so all these souls are but reflections and not real. They are not the
real “I” which is the God of this universe, the one undivided Being of
the universe. And all these little different beings, men and animals,
etc., are but reflections, and not real. They are simply illusory
reflections upon Nature. There is but one Infinite Being in the
universe, and that Being appears as you and as I, but this appearance
of division is after all delusion. He has not been divided, but only
appears to be divided. This apparent division is caused by looking at
Him through the network of time, space, and causation. When I look at
God through the network of time, space, and causation, I see Him as
the material world. When I look at Him from a little higher plane,
yet through the same network, I see Him as an animal, a little higher
as a man, a little higher as a god, but yet He is the One Infinite
Being of the universe, and that Being we are. I am That, and you are
That. Not parts of It, but the whole of It. “It is the Eternal Knower
standing behind the whole phenomena; He Himself is the phenomena.” He
is both the subject and the object, He is the “I” and the “You.” How
is this? “How to know the knower?” The Knower cannot know himself.
I see everything but cannot see myself. The Self, the Knower, the
Lord of all, the Real Being, is the cause of all the vision that is
in the universe, but it is impossible for Him to see Himself or know
Himself, excepting through reflection. You cannot see your own face
excepting in a mirror, and so the Self cannot see its own nature until
it is reflected, and this whole universe therefore is the Self trying
to realize Itself. This reflection is thrown back first from the
protoplasm, then from plants and animals, and so on and on from better
and better reflectors, until the best reflector,--the perfect man,--is
reached. Just as a man who, wanting to see his face, looks first in a
little pool of muddy water, and sees just an outline. Then he comes
to clearer water, and sees a better image, then to a piece of shining
metal, and sees a still better image, and at last to a looking-glass,
and sees himself reflected as he is. Therefore the perfect man is the
highest reflection of that Being, who is both subject and object. You
now find why man instinctively worships everything, and how perfect men
are instinctively worshipped as God in every country. You may talk as
you like, but it is they who are bound to be worshipped. That is why
men worship Incarnations, such as Christ or Buddha. They are the most
perfect manifestations of the eternal Self. They are much higher than
all the conceptions of God that you or I can make. A perfect man is
much higher than such conceptions. In him the circle becomes complete;
the subject and the object become one. In him all delusions go away
and in their place comes the realization that he has always been that
perfect Being. How came this bondage then? How was it possible for this
perfect Being to degenerate into the imperfect? How was it possible
that the free became bound? The _Advaitist_ says he was never bound,
but was always free. Various clouds of various colors come before the
sky. They remain there a minute and then pass away. It is the same
eternal blue sky stretching there forever. The sky never changes; it
is the cloud that is changing. So you are always perfect, eternally
perfect. Nothing ever changes your nature, or ever will. All these
ideas that I am imperfect, I am a man, or a woman, or a sinner, or I
am the mind, I have thought, I will think, all are hallucinations; you
never think, you never had a body; you never were imperfect. You are
the blessed Lord of this universe, the one Almighty ruler of everything
that is and ever will be, the one mighty ruler of these suns and
stars and moons and earths and plants, and all the little bits of our
universe. It is through you the sun shines, and the stars shed their
lustre, and the earth becomes beautiful. It is through your blessedness
that they all love and are attracted to each other. You are in all, and
you are all. Whom to avoid, and whom to take? You are the all in all.
When this knowledge comes delusion immediately vanishes.
I was once travelling in the desert in India. I travelled for over
a month and always found the most beautiful landscapes before me,
beautiful lakes and all that. One day I was very thirsty and I wanted
to have a drink at one of these lakes, but when I approached that
lake it vanished. Immediately with a blow came into my brain the idea
that this was a mirage about which I had read all my life, and then
I remembered and smiled at my folly, that for the last month all the
beautiful landscapes and lakes I had been seeing were this mirage, but
I could not distinguish them then. The next morning I again began my
march; there was the lake and the landscape, but with it immediately
came the idea, “This is a mirage.” Once known it had lost its powers
of illusion. So this illusion of the universe will break one day. The
whole of this will vanish, melt away. This is realization. Philosophy
is no joke or talk. It will be realized; this body will vanish, this
earth and everything will vanish, this idea that I am the body, or
the mind, will for some time vanish, or if the _Karma_ is ended it
will disappear never to come back; but if one part of the _Karma_
remains,--as a potter’s wheel after the potter has finished the pot,
will sometimes go on from the past momentum--so this body, when this
delusion has vanished altogether, will go on for some time. Again
this world will come, men and women and animals will come, just as
the mirage came the next day, but not with the same force, along with
it will come the idea that I know its nature now, and it will cause
no bondage, no more pain, nor grief, nor misery. Whenever anything
miserable will come, the mind will be able to say, “I know you as
hallucination.” When a man has reached that state he is called _jivan
mukta_, “living free,” free even while living. The aim and end in this
life for the _Jnâna Yogi_ is to become this _jivan mukta_, living
freedom. He is _jivan mukta_ who can live in this world without being
attached. He is like the lotus leaves in water, which are never wet
by the water. He is the highest of human beings, nay, the highest of
all beings, for he has realized his identity with the Absolute, he has
realized that he is one with God. So long as you think you have the
least difference from God, fear will seize you, but when you have known
that you are He, that there is no difference, entirely no difference,
that you are He, all of Him, and the whole of Him, all fear ceases.
“There who sees whom? Who worships whom? Who talks to whom? Who hears
whom? Where one sees another, where one talks to another, where one
hears another, it is in law. Where none sees none, where none speaks to
none that is the highest, that is the great, that is the _Brahman_.”
Being That, you are always That. What will become of the world then?
What good shall we do to the world? Such questions do not arise.
“What becomes of my gingerbread if I become old?” says the baby. “What
becomes of my marbles if I grow, so I will not grow,” says the boy.
“What will become of my dolls if I grow old?” says the little child. It
is the same question in connection with this world; it has no existence
in the past, present, or future. If we have known the _Âtman_ as It
is, if we have known that there is nothing else but this _Âtman_, that
everything else is but a dream, with no existence in reality, then this
world with its poverties, its miseries, its wickedness and its goodness
will cease to disturb us. If they do not exist, for whom and for what
shall we take trouble? This is what the _Jnâna Yogis_ teach. Therefore,
dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to
carry that out in your life. It is very hard to come to _jnânam_. It
is for the bravest and most daring, who dare to smash all idols, not
only intellectual, but in the senses. This body is not I; it must go.
All sorts of curious things may come out of this. A man stands up and
says I am not the body, therefore my headache must be cured, but where
is the headache if not in his body? Let a thousand headaches and a
thousand bodies come and go. What is that to me? “I have neither birth
nor death; father nor mother I never had; friends and foes I have none,
because they are all I; I am my own friend and I am my own enemy; I am
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute; I am He, I am He.” If in a thousand
bodies I am suffering from fever and other ills, in millions of bodies
I am healthy. If in a thousand bodies I am starving, in other thousand
bodies I am feasting. If in thousands of bodies I am suffering misery,
in thousands of bodies I am happy. Who shall blame whom, who praise
whom? Whom to seek, whom to avoid? I seek none, nor avoid any, for I am
all the universe, I praise myself, I blame myself, I suffer for myself,
I am happy at my own will, I am free. This is the _Jnâni_, brave and
daring. Let the whole universe tumble down; he smiles and says it never
existed. It was all an hallucination; we see the universe tumble down;
where was it? Where has it gone?
Before going into the practical part, we will take up one more
intellectual question. So far the logic is tremendously rigorous. If
man reasons, there is no place for him to stand until he comes to this,
that there is but One Existence, that everything else is nothing.
There is no other way left for rational mankind but to take this view.
But how is it that what is infinite, ever perfect, ever blessed,
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute has come under these delusions? It
is the same question that has been asked all the world over. In the
vulgar form the question becomes “How did sin come into this world?”
This is the most vulgar and sensuous form of the question, and the
other is the more philosophic form, but the answer is the same. The
same question has been asked in various grades and fashions, but in
its lower forms it finds no solution, because the stories of apples
and serpents and women do not give the explanation. In that state,
the question is childish and so is the answer. But the question has
assumed very high proportions now. “How this illusion came?” And the
answer is as fine. The answer is that we cannot expect any answer to an
impossible question. The very question is impossible in terms. You have
no right to ask that question. Why? What is perfection? That which is
beyond time, space and causation. That is perfect. Then you ask how the
perfect became imperfect. In logical language the question may be put
in this form--“How did that which is beyond causation become caused?”
You contradict yourself. You first admit it is beyond causation, and
then ask what causes it. This question can only be asked within the
limits of causation. As far as time and space and causation extend, so
far can this question be asked. But beyond that it will be nonsense
to ask it, because the question is illogical. Within time, space and
causation it can never be answered, and what answer may lie beyond
these limits can only be known when we have transcended them, therefore
the wise will let this question rest. When a man is ill, he devotes
himself to curing his disease, without insisting that he must first
learn how he came to have it.