sent Brahman
definitely as this or that object, its purpose is rather to show that
Brahman as the eternal subject (pratyagatman, the inward Self) is never
an object, and thereby to remove the distinction of objects known,
knowers, acts of knowledge, &c., which is fictitiously created by
Nescience. Accordingly the sastra says, 'By whom it is not thought by
him it is thought, by whom it is thought he does not know it; unknown by
those who know it, it is known by those who do not know it' (Ken. Up.
II, 3); and 'Thou couldst not see the seer of sight, thou couldst not
hear the hearer of hearing, nor perceive the perceiver of perception,
nor know the knower of knowledge' (B/ri/. Up. III, 4, 2). As thereby
(i.e. by the knowledge derived from the sastra) the imagination of the
transitoriness of Release which is due to Nescience is discarded, and
Release is shown to be of the nature of the eternally free Self, it
cannot be charged with the imperfection of non-eternality. Those, on the
other hand, who consider Release to be something to be effected properly
maintain that it depends on the action of mind, speech, or body. So,
likewise, those who consider it to be a mere modification.
Non-eternality of Release is the certain consequence of these two
opinions; for we observe in common life that things which are
modifications, such as sour milk and the like, and things which are
effects, such as jars, &c., are non-eternal. Nor, again, can it be said
that there is a dependance on action in consequence of (Brahman or
Release) being something which is to be obtained[78]; for as Brahman
constitutes a person's Self it is not something to be attained by that
person. And even if Brahman were altogether different from a person's
Self still it would not be something to be obtained; for as it is
omnipresent it is part of its nature that it is ever present to every
one, just as the (all-pervading) ether is. Nor, again, can it be
maintained that Release is something to be ceremonially purified, and as
such depends on an activity. For ceremonial purification (sa/m/skara)
results either from the accretion of some excellence or from the removal
of some blemish. The former alternative does not apply to Release as it
is of the nature of Brahman, to which no excellence can be added; nor,
again, does the latter alternative apply, since Release is of the nature
of Brahman, which is eternally pure.--But, it might be said, Release
might be a quality of th