SAIVA-SIDDHANTA

"
26 AN ANOTHER SIDE.
very different from that 4 realit}^ or those different states of
reality of which he becomes conscious when he enters
1
Sushupti and Turiya, and all these are, again, other real
ities
*
than that as which the Mukta realizes Atman. Viewed
from the standpoint of any
of these different states of con
sciousness, all the other conceptions of reality appear as
Maya, as illusion or as unreal. The material scientist, to
gether with most European philosophers, would even not
hesitate a minute to declare the alleged realisation of Atman
an illusion, although he would not deny that this might be
some state of consciousness."
And, by the way, he objects to translating Avidya as
ignorance or nescience, but as not-Vidya or not-yet-wise or
other-than-wise. That is, Asat does not mean non-existent, but
not-Sat or other-than-Sat. This is Sankara s view according to
Dr. Hubbe Schleiden ;
and this is the view we have taken
trouble to expound above, and yet how many
Safikara
followers of
hesitate before reading Maya as illusion and delusion,
and Avidya. as ignorance and nescience. In the very article
under review, we read in one sentence that each soul is a spark,
a part in the next
;
sentence, no, it is not a part, but the whole
of Brahman. In the very next sentence, all these souls are
but reflexions
of Brahman, and are not real.
Men,
women
and animals &c., are but reflexions of Him, and are unreal in
themselves." If they are mere reflexions, and unreal, how is it
reconcilable with the statement, that each soul is
not even apart
but the whole of Brahman. The whole argument is made up
by the use of similes and by not sticking to one, but by jumping
from one into another, to meet the difficulty arising in the former.
Either the argument -must proceed on simple
facts and
inferences, and without the use of similes, or, when it is
attempted to be proved solely from figures, then no apology
should be presented that it is
only a figure, and it should not be
strained. The simile was expressly used for demonstrating to
the ignorant, how it he thing is possible and conceivable, and
when the ignorant man following the simile, asks if the same