1. Repetition, on account of the text teaching (what has to be done more
than once).
The third adhyâya was concerned with the consideration of meditation,
together with its means. The Sûtras now enter on a consideration of the
results of meditation, after a further preliminary clearing up of the
nature of meditation. The question here arises whether the act of
knowledge of Brahman inculcated in Vedânta-texts, such as 'He who knows
Brahman reaches the Highest,' 'Having known him thus he passes beyond
death,' 'He knows Brahman, he becomes Brahman,' is, in the view of
Scripture, to be performed once only, or to be repeated more than once.--
Once suffices, the Pûrvapakshin maintains; for as the text enjoins
nothing more than knowing there is no authority for a repetition of the
act. Nor can it be said that the act of knowing, analogous to the act of
beating the rice-grains until they are freed from the husks, is a
visible means towards effecting the intuition of Brahman, and hence must,
like the beating, be repeated until the effect is accomplished; for
knowing is not a visible means towards anything. Such acts as the
Jyotishtoma sacrifice and the knowledge inculcated in the Vedânta-texts
are alike of the nature of conciliation of the Supreme Person; through
whom thus conciliated man obtains all that is beneficial to him, viz.
religious duty, wealth, pleasure, and final Release. This has been shown
under III, 2, 38. The meaning of Scripture therefore is accomplished by
performing the act of knowledge once only, as the Jyotishtoma is
performed once.--This view the Sûtra sets aside. The meaning of
Scripture is fulfilled only by repeated acts of knowledge 'on account of
teaching,' i.e. because the teaching of Scripture is conveyed by means
of the term 'knowing' (vedana), which is synonymous with meditating
(dhyâna, upâsana). That these terms are so synonymous appears from the
fact that the verbs vid, upâs, dhyâi are in one and the same text used
with reference to one and the same object of knowledge. A text begins, e.
g. 'Let him meditate (upâsîta) on mind as Brahman,' and concludes 'he
who knows (veda) this shines, warms,' &c. (Ch. Up. III, 18). In the same
way the knowledge of Raikva is at first referred to by means of vid, 'He
who knows (veda) what he knows is thus spoken of by me,' and further on
by means of upâs,'teach me the deity on which you meditate' (Ch. Up. IV,
1, 2). Similarly texts which have the same meaning as the text 'He who
knows Brahman reaches the Highest'--viz. 'the Self should be seen, be
heard, be reflected on, be meditated upon (nididhyâsitavya)'--'Then he
sees him meditating (dhyâyamâna) on him as without parts' (Mu. Up. III,
1, 8), and others--use the verb dhyâi to express the meaning of vid. Now
dhyâi means to think of something not in the way of mere representation
(smriti), but in the way of _continued_ representation. And upâs has the
same meaning; for we see it used in the sense of thinking with
uninterrupted concentration of the mind on one object. We therefore
conclude that as the verb 'vid' is used interchangeably with dhyâi and
upâs, the mental activity referred to in texts such as 'he knows
Brahman' and the like is an often-repeated continuous representation.