वेदान्त पारिजात सौरभ (भगवद् निम्बार्काचार्य - द्वैताद्वैत वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

[SŪ. 1 3. 8.
152 VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA ADH. 2.]
in contrast to smallness in the passage: 'There is no pleasure in the
small' (Chānd 7 23.1), its meaning is nothing but 'immensity'.
Thus, there is no pleasure in the small, but the Plenty alone is pleasure.
Hence 'The Plenty alone is to be enquired into' (Chānd 7 23 1).
That is, the Plenty, or the Supreme Soul alone, who is of the form of
pleasure characterized by unsurpassed greatness, should be enquired
after by one desiring salvation and wishing to attain pleasure charac-
terized by unsurpassed greatness When the reverend Sanatkumāra
said this, the reverend Nārada said: '"I enquire, sir, after the Plenty"'
(Chānd 7 23.1) That is, 'Sir', meaning, O reverend teacher ! I
desire to know the Plenty alone in particular. Therefore, Sanat-
kumāra told him the characteristic marks of the Plenty by means of
a positive (indicating what it is) and a negative (indicating what it is
not) proposition, thus 'where' (Chānd. 7 24 1) and so on,--this is
the sense of the text.
Here, a doubt arises, viz. whether the Plenty is the vital-breath
or the Supreme Soul. The vital-breath, holds the prima facie view,
because in the previous passage. 'The vital-breath is more than hope'
(Chānd. 7.15.1), the vital-breath alone is indicated, and because after
the teaching about the vital-breath, there are no further question
and answer (as there were in the previous cases), viz. '"Is there, sir,
more than name" ?' (Chānd. 7 1.5), '"Speech, verily, is more than
name"' (Chānd. 7.2.1) By the term 'vital-breath', the individual
soul, endowed with the vital-breath, is to be understood, and not
merely a kind of air,--because, from the passage: 'The vital-breath is
the father, the vital-breath the mother' (Chānd 7.15 1), the vital-
breath is known to be a sentient being; and because in the introductory
text, viz. 'One who knows the soul crosses over sorrow' (Chānd
7.1.3), as well as in the concluding text 'To the soul alone belongs
all this' 1 (Chānd. 7.25.2), the term 'soul' is found employed The
passage. 'Where one does not see another' (Chānd. 7.24.1) and so
on, too, fittingly applies to the individual soul, because all its activities
like seeing and the rest cease during its state of deep sleep; and further,
because all its practical activities like external perceptions and the
rest cease when its own real nature, different from the body, the sense-
organs, buddhi and the rest, is known. Hereby, it should be known
that texts like: 'Verily, the Plenty is pleasure' (Chānd 7.23 1),
1 Correct quotation · 'Ātmaivedam sarvam'. Vide Chānd 7 25 2, p. 402.