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

[SŪ. 4. 4. 4. 862 VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA ADH. 2.] between one who approaches (viz. the individual soul) and the goal approached (viz the Lord). With regard to this, the author now points out. On the doubt, viz. whether the individual soul, the real nature of which has become manifest and which has attained the highest light, realizes itself as distinct from the Highest Self or as non- distinct from Him being His part,—the prima facie view is: In accordance with the scriptural and Smṛti texts like: "Stainless, he approaches the highest identity" (Muṇḍ. 3 1.3), "He enjoys all desires together with Brahman, the all-knowing" (Taitt. 2.1), '"They have come to attain similarity with me"' (Gītā 14.2), it realizes itself as distinct With regard to it, the author replies: "As non-divided". That is, the individual soul, freed from all fetters, realizes itself as non- divided or non-distinct from the Highest Self, the Highest Person. Why? "On account of being seen," that is, because at that time (viz. during release) the Highest Self, the soul of all, is intuited by the freed soul. Through the influence of nescience, the individual soul comes to have a perverse notion about itself But, when through the influence of the repeated practice of hearing, thinking and meditating, the Highest Lord is intuited, all the obstacles to the real knowledge regarding the real nature of itself as well as of the Highest Self are immediately destroyed, in accordance with the scriptural text: "The knot of the heart is broken, all doubts are cut off, and all his works perish when he who is high and low is seen" (Muṇḍ. 2.2.8). Hence there can be no doubt whatsoever that the freed soul, a part of the Lord, having intuited the Soul of all, the Whole, realizes itself, all the more clearly, as non-distinct from Him. The individual soul, having Him for its essence, has no distinction from Him; and hence in spite of a distinction of nature between the individual soul and Brahman, there is still a non-distinction between them,—a non-distinction which is compatible with distinction,—just as there is between an attribute and its substratum. This relation between the individual soul and Brahman has been demonstrated many times before,¹ and a multitude of scriptural and Smṛti texts too has been quoted there. We do not mean to say that there is any non-distinction of nature between the 1 Vide e.g. V.K. 1.1.1; 1.1.7; 1.2.21; 1.4.9; 1.4.20; 1.4.21; 2.1.13; 2.1.21; 2.2.33, etc. etc.