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contingent being involves the necessary existence of Brahman.
The nerve of this proof lies in the absurdity of supposing that there
can be contingent without self-dependent Reality. ( निरधिष्ठान
कल्पनानुपपत्तिः) The necessary existence of Brahman is Its Eter
nity; for It is incapable of contingent necessity, since there
is nothing real beside It on which It could be contingent
(परानपेक्षत्वात् । न हि कारकापेकं वस्तुनस्तत्त्वम् । अविकारं च ब्रह्म, सर्वविकारहेतुत्वात् । ८.
१११, ९८..
So understood, the ontological argument is valid, and does
not come under Kant's criticism. And its validity depends upon
the unique nature of the idea of Brahman. if you apply the
ontological argument to anything except the whole and unique
system of experience, Kant's criticism is unanswerable. If ex
istence is necessarily included in the idea of Brahman, then
Brahman must exist, is an analytical judgment. It is con•
tradictory to think the subject without the predicate; but as Kant
pointed out, it is not in the least contradictory to think neither
subject nor predicate . You cannot conceive Brahman without
conceiving it to exist, if existence is included in the content of
its idea; but you need not conceive Brahman at all. But the
cogency of this reasoning disappears the monment that Brahman
stands for the whole Reality. Then you cannot get rid of the
subject of your analytical judgement without removing that
which all and any experience involves; you cannot refuse to
conceive Brahman without ceasing to think or doubt or feel,
in short, without ceasing to be (असन्नेव स भवति । असद्रौोति वेद चेत् ।
तै. उ'२.६ ). Hence, there is obviously a fundamental connection
between the uniqueness and the self-determined existence of
Brahman. ( एकमेव हि परमार्थसत्यं ब्रह्म । पृ. ९५).
The Vedanta philosophy sets forth a very high and noble idea
of God. It is not that of a personal God with which the other reli
gions are contented. To the Vedantin personal God is a lower being
(अपरब्रह्म). His God is a purely impersonal one. The Brahman
पृष्ठम्:तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्भाष्यम्.djvu/२१
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