SECTION CCCLII
'Brahma said,--'Listen, O son, as to how that Purusha is indicated. He is
eternal and immutable. He is undeteriorating and immeasurable. He
pervades all things.[1918] O best of all creatures, that Purusha cannot
be seen by thee, or me, or others. Those that are endued with the
understanding and the senses but destitute of self-restraint and
tranquility of soul cannot obtain a sight of him. The Supreme Purusha is
said to be one that can be seen with the aid of knowledge alone. Though
divested of body, He dwells in every body. Though dwelling, again, in
bodies, He is never touched by the acts accomplished by those bodies. He
is my Antaratma (inner soul). He is thy inner soul. He is the all-seeing
Witness dwelling within all embodied creatures and engaged in marking
their acts. No one can grasp or comprehend him at any time. The universe
is the crown of his head. The universe is his arms. The universe is his
feet. The universe is his eyes. The universe is his nose. Alone and
single, he roves through all Kshetras (Bodies) unrestrained by any
limitations on his will and as he likes. Kshetra is another name for
body. And because he knows all Kshetras as also all good and bad deeds,
therefore he, who is the soul of Yoga, is called by the name of
Kshetrajna.[1919] No one succeeds in perceiving how he enters into
embodied creatures and how he goes out of them. Agreeably to the Sankhya
mode, as also with the aid of Yoga and the due observance of the
ordinances prescribed by it, I am engaged in thinking of the cause of
that Purusha, but alas, I am unable to comprehend that cause, excellent
as it is. I shall, however, according to the measure of my knowledge,
discourse to thee upon that eternal Purusha and his Oneness and supreme
greatness. The learned speak of him as the one Purusha. That one eternal
Being deserves the appellation of Mahapurusha (the great supreme
Purusha). Fire is an element, but it may be seen to blaze up in a
thousand places under thousand different circumstances. The Sun is one
and single, but his rays extend over the wide universe. Penances are of
diverse kinds, but they have one common origin whence they have flowed.
The Wind is one, but it blows in diverse forms in the world. The great
Ocean is the one parent of all the waters in the world seen under diverse
circumstances. Divested of attributes, that one Purusha is the universe
displayed in infinitude. Flowing from him, the infinite universe enters
into that one Purusha again who transcends all attributes, when the time
of its destruction comes. By casting off the consciousness of body and
the senses, by casting off all acts good and bad, by casting off both
truth and falsehood, one succeeds in divesting oneself of attributes. The
person who realises that inconceivable Purusha and comprehends his
subtile existence in the quadruple form of Aniruddha, Pradyumna,
Sankarshana, and Vasudeva, and who, in consequence of such comprehension,
attains to perfect tranquillity of heart, succeeds in entering into and
identifying himself with that one auspicious Purusha. Some persons
possessed of learning speak of him as the supreme soul. Others regarded
him as the one soul. A third class of learned men describe him as the
soul.[1920] The truth is that he who is the Supreme Soul is always
divested of attributes. He is Narayana. He is the universal soul, and he
is the one Purusha. He is never affected by the fruits of acts even as
the leaf of the lotus is never drenched by the water one may throw upon
it. The Karamta (acting Soul) is different. That Soul is sometimes
engaged in acts and when it succeeds in casting off acts attains to
Emancipation or identity with the Supreme Soul. The acting Soul is endued
with the seven and ten possessions.[1921] Thus it is said that there are
innumerable kinds of Purushas in due order. In reality, however, there is
but one Purusha. He is the abode of all the ordinances in respect of the
universe. He is the highest object of knowledge. He is at once the knower
and the object to be known. He is at once the thinker and the object of
thought. He is the eater and the food that is eaten. He is the smeller
and the scent that is smelled. He is at once he that touches and the
object that is touched. He is the agent that sees and the object that is
seen. He is the hearer and the object that is heard. He is the conceiver
and the object that is conceived. He is possessed of attributes and is
free from them. What has previously, O son, been named Pradhana, and is
the mother of the Mahat tattwa is no other than the Effulgence of the
Supreme Soul; because He it is who is eternal, without destruction and
any end and ever immutable. He it is who creates the prime ordinance in
respect of Dhatri himself. Learned Brahmanas call Him by the name of
Aniruddha. Whatever acts, possessed of excellent merits and fraught with
blessings, flow in the world from the Vedas, have been caused by
Him.[1922] All the deities and all the Rishis, possessed of tranquil
souls, occupying their places on the altar, dedicate to him the first
share of their sacrificial offerings.[1923] I, that am Brahma, the
primeval master of all creatures, have started into birth from Him, and
thou hast taken thy birth from me. From me have flowed the universe with
all its mobile and immobile creatures, and all the Vedas, O son, with
their mysteries. Divided into four portions (viz., Aniruddha, Pradyumna,
Sankarshana, and Vasudeva), He sports as He pleases. That illustrious and
divine Lord is even such, awakened by His own knowledge. I have thus
answered thee, O son, according to thy questions, and according to the
way in which the matter is expounded in the Sankha system and the Yoga
philosophy."
