उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

256 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XVIII
125. The possibility of a void comes in owing to
the witness being unknown ¹ if the non-Self be meant
to be negated by means of the evidence of words.²
चेतनस्त्वं कथं देह इति चेन्नाप्रसिद्धितः ।
चेतनस्यान्यतः सिद्धावेवं स्यादन्यहानतः ॥ १२६ ॥
126. (Objection). ‘You are a conscious being,
how³ can you be the body?’
(Reply). It cannot be so proved as the Self is not
known (from any other evidence). It might be proved
by negating the non-Self if Pure Conciousness were
known to exist through an evidence.
अध्यक्षः स्वयमस्त्येव चेतनस्यापरोक्षतः ।
तुल्य एवं प्रबोधः स्यादन्यस्यासत्त्ववादिना ॥ १२७ ॥
127. (Objection). The Self is self-existent as Pure
Consciousness is immediately known. (Reply). The
knowledge of the Self (according to you) then becomes
similar⁴ to that of the void assumed by the Nihilist.
अहमज्ञासिषं चेदमिति लोकस्मृतेरिह ।
करणं कर्म कर्ता च सिद्धास्त्वेकक्षणे किल ॥ १२८ ॥
128. (Objection). That the agent, the object and
instrument are known to exist simultaneously is proved
by memory, (e.g., when one says) ‘I⁵ knew it.’
¹ By any other evidence. ² The Srutis.
³ The idea is that the Self and the non-Self being contradictory
to each other, the former is left over when the latter is negated.
⁴ As regards the want of an evidence.
⁵ The objector tries to prove the independent existence of the Self
by showing that there must be a Self-evident principle through which
the three things are known simultaneously. And that is the Self.