The Tattva-Muktavali | Page 7

mayst attain the happy journey, but otherwise thou wilt assuredly fall.
72. Great is the misery which thou hast experienced, O Soul, while dwelling in the womb in various births, and thou hast wandered again and again in heaven or in hell; this theory "I am He" is an error of thine,--worship thou Hari's lotus feet; thou art His worshipper, He is the adorable, for He is the lord of the three worlds.
73. Renouncing the so-called theory of identity, forthwith devote thyself to duality, if there now dwells in thy heart a supreme feeling of faith in Hari; and, having learned the doctrine in Narada's Pa?charatra and everywhere else, let all the hymns of the Vaish.nava sacred books be thoroughly examined, as is truly for thy good.
74. 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; just as the tongue of those who suffer from excess of bile cannot taste the sweetness of molasses, nor the eyes of those afflicted with gutta serena or jaundice see the whiteness of a shell.
76. He by a particle of whose intellect thou, O Soul, hast been produced the foremost of intelligent beings--say not, O knave, that thou art __He__; for who but the ingrate desires to seize the seat of his Master?
77. 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.
78. He under whose control is that mighty illusion which deceives the three worlds, He is to be recognized as the Supreme Lord, the adorable, essentially thought, existence and joy; but he who is himself always under her control like a camel drawn by a string through his nostrils, is to be recognized as the individual soul,-- vast indeed is the difference between the two!
79. Having studied the doctrines of the Sa"nkhya, Ka.nada, and Gautama, and the doctrine of Pata?jali, the doctrines of the M?ma.msa and Bha.t.tabhaskara [Footnote: Colebrooke's Essays, vol i. p. 359.], --amidst all the six current systems,--let the wise tell the final conclusion if they can as to the real nature of the supreme and the individual soul,--is it duality, or is it oneness, or is it again a oneness in duality?
80. In five of the systems I have only heard peremptorily asserted in many places the difference between the supreme and the individual souls; what is this that I hear asserted in the Vedanta system? "Plurality, unity, both,"--this is a threefold marvel! [Footnote: This is an attack on Ramanuja's system, as opposed to that of P?r.napraj?a or Madhva, cf. Sarva-dar?ana S. p. 52, l. 20, "What is the real truth? 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.__, P?r.napraj?a-dar?. p. 61, l. 11.]
81. 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?
82. There are various flavours in honey [existing distinct] through the difference of the trees [from whose flowers it is produced]; how else could it remove the three-fold disorders? [Footnote: __I.e.__ those affecting the three "humours" of the body, __i.e. vayu__ 'wind,' __pitta__ 'bile,' and __kapha__ 'phlegm.' Certain flavours of the honey counteract one disorder and others another. The Su?ruta thus describes honey (vol. i. p. 185): "When cooked it removes the three-fold disorders, but when raw or sour it causes them; when used in various applications it cures many disorders; and since it is composed of many different things it is an excellent medium for mixing. But as it consists of the juices of flowers which are mutually contrary in the action, potency, and qualities of their various ingredients, and it may happen that poisonous insects may be included, it is only good as a remedy for cold diseases."] So