That Brahman is a treasure as it were of all blessed qualities and free
from all imperfections, the whole body of Vedânta-texts clearly declares:
'That highest great lord of lords, that highest deity of deities'; 'He
is the cause, the lord of the lords of the organs, and there is of him
neither parent nor lord '; 'There is no effect and no cause known of him,
no one is seen like unto him or higher. His high power is revealed as
manifold, as essential action of knowledge and strength' (Svet. Up. VI,
7-9); 'He who is all-knowing, whose brooding consists of knowledge' (Mu.
I, 1,9); 'From fear of him the wind blows, from fear of him the sun
moves'; 'That is one bliss of Brahman' (Taitt. Up. II, 8); 'That from
which all speech with the mind turns away, not having reached it,
knowing the bliss of that Brahman man fears nothing' (Taitt. Up. II, 9);
'He who is without parts, without action, tranquil, without fault,
without taint' (Svet. Up. VI, 19).--And Smriti: 'He who knows me to be
unborn and without a beginning, the Supreme Lord of the worlds';
'Pervading this entire universe, by one part of mine I do abide'; 'With
me as supervisor Prakriti brings forth the universe of the movable and
the immovable, and for this reason the world does ever move round'; 'But
another is the Supreme Person, who is called the Supreme Spirit, who
pervading the three worlds supports them--the eternal Lord' (Bha. Gî. X,
3; 42; IX, 10; XV, 17); 'The all-working, all-powerful one, rich in
knowledge and strength, who becomes neither less nor more, who is self-
dependent, without beginning, master of all; who knows neither weariness
nor exhaustion, nor fear, wrath and desire; the blameless one, raised
above all, without support, imperishable.'--As thus Brahman in whatever
place it may abide has the 'twofold characteristics,' the imperfections
dependent on those places do not touch it.
18. For this very reason comparisons, such as reflected images of the
sun and the like.
Because Brahman, although abiding in manifold places, ever possesses the
twofold characteristics, and hence does not share the imperfections due
to those places, scriptural texts illustrate its purity in the midst of
inferior surroundings by comparing it to the sun reflected in water,
mirrors, and the like. Compare e.g., 'As the one ether is rendered
manifold by jars and the like, or as the one sun becomes manifold in
several sheets of water; thus the one Self is rendered manifold by
abiding in many places. For the Self of all beings, although one, abides
in each separate being and is thus seen as one and many at the same time,
as the moon reflected in water.'