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This and some other Sditras treat o£Ananda, Bliss, and suggest that other attributes set forth for the purpose of teaching the true nature of Brah- man may be viewed as belonging to Brahman.’ ‘ Brahman being all-knowing, all-powerful, and possessing the great power of M^yS., — on that ac- count this our system founded on the Upanishads, is not open to any objection.’ ( (^ankara’s Commentary Br. S. II, 1, 37. ) ^ A “Consisting of bliss ( Anandamaya is the Highest Self) on account of the repetition (of the word ‘bliss*), as denoting the Highest Self.” ( Br. S. I, ], 12. ) This means, ‘ that as the word ‘ bliss ’ is repeatedly used (in the Sruti ) with reference to Brahman and because the Highest Self is declared to be the cause of bliss, It is through and through bliss.’ ‘ He who causes bliss must himself abound in bliss; just as we infer in ordinary life, that a man who en- riches others must himself possess abundant wealth.* ((^ankara’s Com. Br. S. I, 1, 14. ) The Bhagvad Gita^ on Brahman. I 3To 1^, 1 , The Song Celestial or The Teachings of Crishna about whom M, E. Schure, in his article in the Revue des deux Mondes, in 1888 says; — “ The idea that infinite God, truth, beauty, and goodness are revealed in conscious man with a redemptive power which regains the sublimities of divine existence by the force of love and sacrifice, thfdi prolific idea appears for the first time in Crish^.” 82 ' The Lord of all things dwells In ev’ry living being, Not dying when it dies — He who knows Him, is seeing.” “ Brahman is the imperishable (sT^), the Supreme, that (Brahman) Itself is said to be Adhydtma (sraTFJT) that which dwells in the body. ( Bli. G. VIII, 3. ) “ I will proclaim that which is the object of know- ledge, knowing which one reaches immortality; the Highest Brahman without either beginning or end, which cannot be said either to be or not to be. (XIII. 12). “ With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes and heads and mouths everywhere, with hearing every- where, That ( Brahman ) remains pervading all. (XIII. 13). “ Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet enjoying qualities. (XIII. 14). Without and within all beings; unmoving and also moving; because subtle. That (Brahman) is in- comprehensible ; and near and far away is That. (XIII. 15). "And undivided, yet remaining divided, as it were, in beings; supporter of beings is That ( Brahman ) which has to be known ; devouring yet generating. ( XIII. 16 ). "The Light even of lights. That (Brahman) is said to be beyond darkness. Knowledge, the Knowable* 83 the Goal of knowledge, (It) is seated especially in the heart of every one. ( XIII. 1 7 ). The Bhagvad (XIII, 12-17). 1. The Bhagvad Gild entitled in the English versions as ‘The Divine Lay/ ‘The Song Celestial/ ‘The Lord’s Song/ is translat- ed into almost all ancient and modern classical languages of Europe, — in Greek by Galanos, in Latin by Lassen, in Italian by S. Gatti, in French by Burnouf, in German by Lorinser. In English there are many translations, severally, by Sir Charles Wilkins (published in 1785), Mr. Cockburn Thomson, Mr. Davies, Mr. K. T. Telang ( two translations — one in verse and other in prose ), Sir Edwin Arnold, and Mrs. Annie Besant, Sir Edwin Arnold in his Sanscrita dedication says of this most noble and marvellous poem: — “So have I read this wonderful and spirit-thrilling speech; By Crishna and Prince Arjuna held, each to each; So have I to writ its wisdom here, — its hidden mystery; For England; O our India ! as dear to me as She !” He also declares in his preface : — “ In plain but noble language it enfolds a philosophical system which remains to this dy the prevailing Brahmanic belief, blending as it does the doctrines of Kapila, Patanjali, and the Vedas. So lofty are many of its declarations, so sublime its aspirations, so pure and tender its piety, that Schlegel, after his study of the poem, breaks forth into this outburst of delight and praise towards its unknown author : ‘The reverences of the great are due to the Brahman in his most sacred and holy work. And foremost to thee, O most holy poet and off-spring of the God-head, what- ever, in short, thou hast been called among mortals, O author of this song, whose oracular mind was wrapt in the Most High, Eternal, and Divine, with an inexpressible and unerring pleasure — to thee, foremost, I say, I offer my respectful salutations, and my constant adoration to the vestiges thou hast left/ Lassen re- echoes this splendid tribute, and indeed, so striking are some of the moralities here inculcated, and so close the parallelism — often- times actually verbal — between its teachings and those of the New Testament that a controversy has arisen between Panditas and 84 S'ankara on Brahman (from his Atmahodha). "One should know that to be Brahman than the gain the intuitional knowledge) of Which, there is no other gain (worth gaining); than the (highest) bliss of (experience of) Which, there is no other bliss (worth enjoying); than the knowledge of Which, there is no other knowledge (worth knowing), ( 54 ). “ One should know that to be Brahman after hav- ing seen Which there is no other ( thing to be seen); after becoming Which there is no becoming again, ({. e. no re-birth), having known Which there re- mains no other knowable. (55). " One should know that to be Brahman Which is cross-wise, above, below and complete, Which is Ex- istence, Intelligence and Bliss, and secondless, end- less, eternal, and one. (56). Missionaries on the point whether the author borrowed from Christian sources, or the Evangelists and Apostles from him.” (pp. VII.f.) Mrs. Annie Besant states in her preface : — “ Among the price- less teachings that may be found in the great Hindu poem of the Mahdhhdrata, there is none so rare and precious as this, “ The Lord’s Song.” Since it fell from the Divine lips of Sri Krishna on the field of battle, and stilled the surging emotions of his disciple and friend ( Arjuna ), how many troubled hearts has it quieted and strengthened, how many weary souls has it led to him ! It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower level of renunciation, where objects are renounced to the loftier heights, where desires are dead, and where the Yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation, while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to his lot in life. That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worMiy aflEairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but ^thin us— such is the central lesson of the Bhagvad GMt&.” ** One should know that to be Brahman, which is apprehended by the Vedintins as non-dual through the process of exclusion of non-that (i. e. phenomena), Which is entire bliss and one. (57). “ Like an iron ball heated by fire. Brahman shines by Itself, pervading all the universe — inside and out- side — and making it appear. (62). “One who has the eye of knowledge can see the all- pervading omnipresent Sat-chiddtman Brahman, but the ignorant cannot see It, just as a blind man can- not see the shining sun. (65).’^ It is impossible to predicate anything of Brahman, as It transcends all attributes and is Itself super- impersonal and absolutely homogeneous, and conse- quently all difierencG and plurality must be illusory. The appearance of a manifold world is due to M&y^, which is unable to break the unitv of Brahman on account of her own unreality. Still some ap- proximate ideas of Brahman, such as oneness, all- existence, all-knowledge, all-happiness, all-perfection, all-pervading, &c., are conspicuous in works treating and indicating It for the purpose of easier ap- 1. That gain than which there is no greater gain, That joy than which there is no greater joy, That lore than which there is no greater lore, Is the one Brahma — this is certain truth. That which is through, above, below, complete, Existence, wnsdom, bliss, without a second. Endless, eternal one — know that as Brahma. Nothing exists but Brahma, when aught else Appears to be, ^tis, like the mirage, false. lyidian 122-123* 8 prehension. They nre the attempts of thought •v^ishing to conceive and to convey information about Brahman, and adapting themselves to common notions. Brahman and the simile of the Sun. Amongst many illustrative similes a most favour- ite one employed to indicate various views in con- nection with Brahman is that of the sun, the source of light. There being an analogy in all conclusions^ similes and metaphors are considered very useful in order to make the meaning more clear. It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that in a comparison, the two things compared are similar only with reference to some particular points they have in common. Brahman is one, and devoid of form and difference, but assumes, as it were, the name and form of limit- ing adjuncts with which It appears to enter into connection. For this reason It is compared to the images of the sun reflected in the water and the like, meaning thereby that all difference in Brahman is unreal, only due to Its limiting conditions. As the one luminous sun entering into relation with many dif- ferent waters is himself rendered multiform by his limiting adjuncts, so also the one all-pervading Brahman of the universe appears multiplied. Thus Brahman is one and many at the same time. The reflected image dilates and contracts according to the surface of the water ; it trembles when the water is agitated, it divides itself when the water is divided.