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INTRODUCTION
 
perhaps be able to enumerate one ten-thousandth part of Yout
qualities, or may not. Best of the gods, be pleased with me.
In the Matsya Purana: "Innumerable are the qualities of the
Supreme Soul as are the gems hidden in the ocean'. The
Vishnu Dharma also says: "The qualities of the Supreme Soul
who is devoid of qualities like sattva or rajas of Prakriti,
cannot be told by all the groups of rishis". In conclusion,
the Mahabharata and the Rāmāyaṇa contain many passages
of a similar nature.
 
Those who (like Bhaskara) say that the Brahman Itself,
becomes involved in samsāra, conditioned by some limitation, as
well as those who. (like Yadava prakāśa) say that the Brahman
Itself becomes involved in samsāra by evolution of Its essen-
tial nature, have to admit that the Brahman is liable to
all kinds of imperfections like being conditioned and being
subject to changes. Hence, the names of the Lord like
'purity', 'auspiciousness', 'the highest', will get angry. i. e.
will be inappropriate. Besides, others like Sri Sankara say from
passages like "From Him speech and mind turn away
unable to reach Him". (Taitt. Up. II. 9), that the Vedas and
other authorities cannot adequately speak of the Brahman.
This is not correct either. For, otherwise the Brahman will
become tuchcha, an imaginary and non-existent thing, like a
mare's nest.
 
Moreover, in
the very
passage quoted, it is said,
"The bliss of the Brahman" and "From whom words".
There will be contradiction of the quality (of bliss) attributed
(to the Brahman here). Again, if bliss is not a quality of the
Brahman, one will naturally expect the Upanishad to say that
the Brahman has no ānanda (bliss); but it says that mind and
speech turn away from His bliss. If the Brahman cannot be
established by the sastras, all the sastras will become of no use.
Even the study of the knowledge of the Brahman (Brahma.
mīmāmsa) which is begun with. "Then therefore the desire
to know the Brahman" (Vedanta Sutras, I. i. 1) need not
have been started at all. Such a theory will conflict with a
number of other passages like "By all words, He is the person
ultimately indicated"; and "A person not versed in the Vedas
cannot think of Him, the Great". Again the Vedanta Sutras
(I. t. 3) say: "Because the śāstras form the source of knowledge
 
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