उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

60 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS च्छावद्विषयत्वेऽपि हि उभयोः अनवस्था पूर्ववदपरिहार्या स्यात् ॥ ९९ ॥ 99. " Whom will the desire (to know a thing) belong to if the Knower depends on an evidence in order to be known? It is admitted that one who is desirous of knowing a thing is the Knower. His desire of knowing a thing has for its object the thing to be known and not the Knower. For, in the latter case, there arises a regressus ad infinitum with regard to the Knower and also with regard to the desire to know the Knower inasmuch as the knower of the knower and so on (are to be known) ; and such is the case with regard to the desire of knowing the knower. Moreover, there being nothing intervening, the Knower, the Self cannot fall into the category of the known. For a thing to be known¹ becomes known when it is distanced from the knower by the birth of an intervening desire, memory, effort or an evidence on the part of the knower. There cannot be the knowledge of an object in any other way. Again it cannot be imagined that the knower himself is distanced from himself by anyone of his own desire etc. For memory has for its object the thing to be remember- ed and not one who remembers it ; so has desire for its object the thing to be desired and not one who desires it. There arises, as before, an inevitable regressus ad infinitum ¹ i.e., a thing to be known is distanced by the birth of an evidence before it is known ; a thing to be desired is distanced by the birth of a desire before it is desired ; a thing to be remembered is distanced by the birth of a memory before it is remembered ; and a thing to be accomplished is distanced by an effort before it is accomplished.