xviii Gaud'apada - Karika The view of the असत्कार्यवादिनs that असत् ( कारण ) produces सत् ( कार्य ) is ulltenable on the face of it. An असत् could produce only असत्, never a सत्. If the घट is non-existing before its production, where can the कारकसामग्री (the potter, wheel, etc. ) work upon ? If the मृत्तिका is worked upon, then we will have to say that मृत्तिका is being produced and not घट! Some try to account for the creation of the world and कार्यकारणभाव in general on the strength of the argument of अनादित्व. Thus they argue :- धर्माधर्म is the cause of देहादिसंघात, and देहादिसंघात is in turn the cause of धर्माधर्म and this series has no beginning. But this argument cannot stand. For, according to these अनादित्ववादिन्s, both धर्माधर्म and देहादिसंघात are कार्य, and as such both must have another आदि or कारण; the whole प्रपञ्च or संसार must also have an आदि in that case. To say that the कार्य देहादिसंघात ( which is the कार्य of धर्माधर्म) produces the कारण धर्माधर्म, is as absurd as to say that a son produces the father! To prove that there exists a कार्यकारणभाव between two objects, you ought to be able to indicate clearly what the order is in respect of कार्य and कारण:- (1) कार्य and कारण cannot obviously come into existence simultaneously; otherwise, we will have to admit कार्यकारणभाव between the left and right horns of a cow! (2) कार्य cannot produce कारण, for the कारण has to be there first to produce the कार्य. (-3) The mere statement that कार्य and कारण are interdependent and mutually produce each other not do. You must tell us which of these is the कारण ( which must necessarily be पूर्व) and which is the कार्य (which must be अपर). But this you are unable to do. Thus the कार्यकारणभाव stands unproven. Nobody can say, which comes first, कार्य or कारण ; and without the पूर्वापरभाव, कार्यकारणभाव cannot be proved, for कार्य and कारण cannot be produced simultane- ously. Taking all these difficulties into consideration, the wise philosophers have decreed that non-origination is the only true doctrine !
