active 17th century Gaudapurnanandacakravarti

“ A particle of intelligence has been deposited in thee by the supreme Lord in His mercy,—it becomes thee not, O knave, to say that therefore thou art God; just as if some evil-minded man had received elephants, horses, and infantry from the king and then set his heart on seizing his kingdom. ”

“ Him, the Supreme Lord, by whose compassion even the dumb becomes eloquent, the lame in a moment obtains strength to leap mountains, and even the man blind from his birth receives eyes beautiful like two lotuses,—or what still greater marvel shall I add?—Him I worship, the moon-faced son of Nanda, the philosopher's stone of the faithful. ”

“ The adorable one possesses knowledge, volition, and creative power; how then can he be destitute of qualities? or, if he is destitute of qualities, how can he be set forth by the Vedas? How can the absence of qualities be predicated of the sea of qualities, and yet all remonstrance be silent? Ponder it well in thine own mind, and then determine what is right.
97. A substance without attributes, like the sky-flower, is not admitted either in the Veda or in the world; if the knowledge of such a thing were derived from the Veda, the Veda itself would then cease to be an authority. ”

“ He who is the maker of all and the Lord of the world is independent by reason of his essential independence; the individual soul is notoriously dependent; how can they say then that these two are identical? ”

“ It cannot be said that all this universe is false; since it is really the plaything of Hari, who is eternally engaged in sport [Footnote: Manu, i. 80, "There are numberless Manvantaras, creations and destructions numberless; the being supremely exalted performs all this, as in sport, again and again."]
104. The external world is not like a dream; for in dreams there is sleep and a host of imperfections; what we eat or drink in dreams gives us no enjoyment, but these things are enjoyable in our waking state. ”

“ When the existence of such a thing as a quality is admitted, we can imagine it in something else [Footnote: The Vedântins hold that nothing exists besides Brahman; and yet, although they thus deny the existence of any other thing or quality, they hold that certain qualities are imagined to exist in him, forgetting that only one who has seen silver can imagine __rajatatva__ in nacre.] ; but to imagine that nacre is silver, we must first know clearly what silver is.
102. This universe is based on the soul as its site, being imagined in it by ignorance ”

“ The real truth is plurality, unity, and both. Thus unity is admitted in saying that Brahman alone subsists in all forms as all is its body; both unity and plurality are admitted in saying that one only Brahman subsists under a plurality of forms, diverse as soul and non-soul; and plurality is admitted in saying that the essential natures of soul, non-soul, and the Lord are different and not to be confounded." This doctrine is opposed by the followers of Madhva, see __ibid.__, Pûr.naprajña-darš. ”

“ Let those who are envious and bereft of sense, detect a fault if they will; but let the connoisseurs count the merits; they who behold the merits and not the faults,—these are the good, these give the highest satisfaction. ”

“ The idea that all this world is false, is opposed to experience; for of what use would be all the expiations for sin, prescribed in the law-books? Why are these thieves to be punished even by the king? The upholder of the doctrine of Mâyâ can assert anything on his oath, but all is false.
107. Thou canst not say that the visible world is only like the transitory enjoyment of one who smells a wreath of flowers ”

“ By what foolish teacher hast thou been instructed, that thou utterest these words "I am Brahman"? How art thou that being who is continually worshipped by Rudra and all the gods? O fool, consider it and see aright.
75. The wicked cannot understand the difference between the embodied and the Supreme Souls; the great reason for this is a mind possessed by an evil obstinacy in favour of the doctrine of Illusion ”

“ I would venture to remind my readers of the words of the manager in the prologue of the Mâlavikâgnimitra, "Every old poem is not good because it is old, nor is every modern poem to be blamed simply because it is modern." ”

“ The meaning of the word "__that__" (__tat__) is an ocean of immortality, filled with manifest and supreme felicity; the meaning of the word "__thou__" is a most miserable being, bewildered in mind through the burden of the fear of existence; these two can never be one, they are divided by the nature of things; the doctrine of Non-unity is the truth for all worlds, thou art but His slave.
18. If Brahman were meant by these words, the power employed would not be Denotation, for their literal meaning does not apply ”

“ If we have uttered through inadvertence what is wrong, may the intelligent, observing it, correct all the errors; the feet of the traveller do sometimes stumble, and sometimes the speaker speaks through bewilderment what is incompatible.
119. In a poem strung of all excellences the mean man hunts for faults and never an excellence; in a palace all compact of jewels it is the ant that will see a flaw. ”

“ He in whom the universe,—sun, moon, and the rest, with the three worlds,—rose into being,—in whom it all abides until it perishes,— and in whom, each in its own time, it is all finally dissolved,—He, the Lord, whom, being beyond all qualities [Footnote: Cf. Sarva D. S. p. 52, l. 8 infr. "The statements that the Supreme Spirit is devoid of qualities, are intended to deny his possession of phenomenal qualities (such as liking, disliking, etc.) ."] , even Brahman himself cannot declare in the Vedas,—why, O teacher, dost thou teach this miserable me the words "I am He"? ”

“ Those who study the path pointed out by the teacher, resting upon a foundation of naught, and maintain with an empty understanding that all is void and that all the recognized deities are naught,—how can many words be uttered about them, for language fails in a topic of naught ”

“ Thus we see that, although in one sense the deserts of one being cannot attach themselves to another, still they must cause certain actions in another being, or it would be impossible that each should receive its due reward or punishment. ”

“ By association with the good and by repeatedly listening to the story of K.rish.na's sports there has arisen in the lake of the mind the great wave of pure faith and pure affection; abandoning the doctrine of unity and without hesitation embracing that of duality, we worship with our whole heart the lotus-feet of the beloved of Lakshmî.
112. There is a rule in the things of the world, that he who is near the king may be called the king; so too in the things of Brahman and the soul must we understand the various sacred texts [which at first sight appear to identify them] . ”

“ So through hearing the words of the teacher and repeated study of the šâstras the conventional meaning of such words as Brahman, etc., is assuredly produced in the pupil.
37. This earth must surely have had a maker; for its having the nature of an effect is a sign, just as we see to be the case in pots, etc.
38. If it is established that the supreme Lord is the maker, then his having a body follows as a matter of course [Footnote: This is one of the tenets of Râmânujas as well as Pûr.naprajñas.] ”

“ If the supreme Lord has a body, then he will be like to beings such as we are; there cannot be a maker without an intermediate agency [Footnote: The __vyâpâra__ or intermediate agency is defined as __taj-janyatve sati taj-janya- janako hi vyâpâra.h__] ,—I see no difference whatever. ”

“ This description of the grass as the sacrificer is really only meant as metaphorical praise, since the actual attributes of the sacrificer are evidently absent from the grass. (Cf. Mîmâ.msâ Sûtras, i. 4. 23.) ] is said to be the sacrificer, as it is the means of performing the sacrifice; [as the Darbha grass is understood by this description,] even though the attributes thus ascribed are not found in it, so is Brahman understood when we ascribe certain qualities [as 'truth,' etc., even though these qualities are precluded in a being without qualities] . ”

“ He seems to imply that each of these three requisites fails in the present case,— there is no primary meaning, and still less a secondary, and there is no connexion with any other object.] .
27. There is here no Denotation from the absence of conventional agreement; there is no Indication from the absence of any reason [to establish it] ; by what reason, on the theory of Mâyâ, can Brahman be ever made known?
28. He is described [Footnote: He now proceeds to declare his own opinions] in the Veda by the primary power of words [Denotation] as the Maker of the Universe ”

“ This world is not false but it is rendered true by Vish.nu's protection [Footnote: Or this may mean "since Vish.nu has accepted it as the instrument of his sport."] ; thou art made pure by the knowledge of Him, as all minerals shine as gold [when brought in contact with the philosopher's stone] .
109. Dispassion and enjoyment stand equally aloof as disinterested spectators and are lost in faith ”

“ Nothing is known as to his date; if the work were identical with the poem of the same name mentioned in the account of the Râmânuja system in Mâdhava's Sarvadaršanasa.mgraha, it would be, of course, older than the fourteenth century, but this is very uncertain; I should be inclined to assign it to a later date. The chief interest of the poem consists in its being a vigorous attack on the Vedânta system by a follower of the Pûr.naprajña school, which was founded by Madhva (or Ânandatîrtha) in the thirteenth century in the South of India. ”

“ It has been heard of old that all this universe proceeded from the lotus of the navel of the Lord; hence is it established that be has a body, for how can there be a navel without a body?
47. The body of God is very pure,—to be enjoyed by all the senses, as being richly endowed with the six qualities [Footnote: These six qualities, according to the Commentator on the Bhâgavata P. i. 3. 36, are sovereignty, knowledge, glory, prosperity, dispassion, and virtue; a different list is given in the Sarva Darš. S. p. 54, l. 22 (but cf. p. 69, l. 18) . See also __infra__ in šl. 95.] ”

“ The soul is also shown to be different [from Brahman] by the evidence of Šm.riti [Footnote: Cf. Vedânta Sûtras i. 2. 6, where Ša"nkara quotes the passage from the Bhagavad Gîtâ (xviii. 61) , "The Lord of all beings abides in the region of the heart,—causing all beings to revolve by his illusion as though mounted on a machine."] ; thus their difference is proved to be essential. If it were not so, how could the Commentator have used such an expression as "the worshipper" and "the worshipped" [Footnote: He uses this very expression __upâsyopâsakabhâva__ in his Comment. on i. 2. 4.] ? ”

“ There is a favourite Naiyâyik example of a __kevalânvayi__ middle term, "a jar is nameable because it is cognizable as a web is."] But we cannot say so in regard to these two things in question, for Brahman alone is that which cannot be cognized.
6. The sentence "Thou art That" (__tat tvam asi__) which is understood in its primary meaning as referring to the object of the Veda, [Footnote: Or __vedavishaye__ may perhaps simply mean __vede__, cf. šl. 112.] —the author thus explains its meaning, as he knows his own doctrine, and has fixed his mind on the system of Duality ”

“ Brihad Âra.nyaka Upan. v. 12. 1.] so too this passage "I am Brahman" is to be understood as meaning worship [Footnote: __I.e.__ this is one of the modes of worshipping Brahman by meditating on him in some lower visible form, not as really expressing his real nature.]
66. The doctrine of Identity is not true; wherever it appears to be declared in Šruti, all those passages are to be taken as only meaning worship.
67. There are many sentences in the ancient Veda which speak for non-identity as also for identity ”