விளம்பிய உள்ளத்து மெய்வாய் கண் மூக்கு
அளந்தளந்தறியா ஆங்கவைபோலத்
தாம்தம் உணர்வின் தமியருள்
காந்தம் கண்ட பசாசத்தவையே.
Sutra. The senses while perceiving the object cannot perceive themselves or the soul; and they are perceived by soul. Similarly, the soul while perceiving cannot perceive itself (while thinking cannot think thought) and God. It is moved by the Arul Sakti of God, as the magnet moves the iron, while Himself remains immoveable or unchangeable.
Commentary
This treats of the way in which God renders good or actuates the souls and consists of two arguments.
First Argument
Churnika. – The Tatwas act with the aid of the soul.
Varthikam. – It is established that the five senses perceive only as the instruments of the soul, as they can perceive nothing when not acting together with the soul.
Illustrations. – The soul has regal sway over the five senses; these are not conscious of the soul and its sway, and the soul itself will have no consciousness except through the five Senses; but if the soul itself is not active the eye though seeing cannot see, and the ear though hearing, cannot hear.
Second Argument
Churnika. – The souls understand with the aid of Hara.
Varthikam. – As the soul cannot perceive itself, in the same way, the five senses cannot feel except with the aid of the soul, it is established that the soul also perceives with the aid of God.
Illustration
(a). Thou who hast even forgotten the text of the Veda which says that the world (animate and inanimate) becomes developed in the presence of Siva, understand that the soul knows (the world) only according to its Karma with the light of Siva. As all Asat is sunya, He cannot experience Asat.
(b). Just as the stars which lose their individual light in the light of the sun and yet do not become the sun itself, so the soul receiving impressions. From all the five senses with the aid of God who is the only Truth, becomes indistinguishable and inseparable from Him (without becoming one or different from Him.)
(c). The Arul of Isa exists eternally with Him. It is His Sakti. Without Him, Sakti does not exist; and without Sakti, he cannot be. Hara (and His Sakti) appear as one to the gnanis, as the sun and its light appear as one to the eye.
NOTES
This Sutra points out the essential limitation of all human senses, faculties, and the soul. The power of each is limited to knowing or perceiving the lower one and it cannot perceive itself or the higher faculty, and one faculty cannot perform the functions of another. The external and internal senses and the soul are therefore placed in an ascending order. Of these the highest, the soul can only perceive and know what is subordinate to itself. It cannot know itself nor know God. It is on this analogy and for this reason that God is imperceivable by the human senses and inconceivable by the human mind or soul; and it will be seen further that the soul cannot see God at any time by its own powers and that even the Yogi sees nothing but a figment of his own brain.
Not only are these human powers limited in their nature but there exists an interdependence of the lower over the higher. In the last sutra, it was shown that the soul does not become conscious till the Andakarana are evolved from matter; and it is here shown that the Andakarana themselves will not act unless the soul influences them and act together; and that the Andakarana have no independent action. And it is further seen that the higher consciousness exists or even predominates when the lower one’s cease. That which stands therefore to the soul as the soul stands towards mind, is God, ‘முற்றறிவன்‘, Perfect Intelligence பேரறிவன் ‘Supreme intelligence’ or as described in the next sutra ‘Siva Sat’ or ‘Chit Sat.’ And herein consists the most important distinction between God and man, and which entitles this school of philosophers to call themselves Asthika and all the rest (theistic and atheistic) Nasthika. In the latter theistic schools, their ideal of God is a purely personal or human one i.e., man raised to a God, or as in the idealistic school, God is brought down to the level of man, in either of which cases, the conception of God does not soar higher than that of man and the true ideal of God is never reached. Coming to the distinction noted above God and man do not differ in mere place or quantity or quality or in degree of power, strength or intelligence. It is not the same order of being differing merely in the amount of strength and intelligence. Man is not a particle of God, so that the requisite number of particles of human souls will make up one God. Put thus, the idea is absurd enough, yet one finds thousands of people believing in the theory. The real difference is that God and man belong each to a different order or plane or existence. Just as we ascend from the plane of objective consciousness to the plane of subject or mental consciousness and just as we ascend from the latter to the consciousness of true subject or soul, so also do we ascend from the latter consciousness to True Sat or God. The base of the lower rests upon the higher but not as effect and cause. Such expressions as உயிருக்குயிர் (Life of life) அறிவுக்கறிவு (Intelligence of Intelligences) express the relation clearly and yet we find these expressions freely used by Idealistic philosophers without any meaning. According to the latter school, God will be an அறிவு (Intelligence) and not an அறிவுக்கறிவு (Intelligence of Intelligences). When Siddhanthis use the expression “எல்லாம் சிவன்செயல்” “All actions are God’s actions,” they are also misunderstood often times, and the expression simply means that God is He who sustains our very being and actions as He vivifies our intelligence. Though there is dependence of the soul on God in respect of its Itcha (will) Gnana (Intelligence) and Kriya (action) yet the soul’s self-action and responsibility is not destroyed. For instance when I move my arm, not only is my volition and energy (Itcha and Kriya Sakti) brought into play but the same action is sustained by and is possible only in the presence of the supreme energy (Kriya Sakti) of God. When I think also, Gnana Sakti of God is also brought into play. Only when God works, He does not work as we do. As the 1st illustration to the second argument points out, His presence produces these effects (சந்நிதிக்கே ஐந்து தொழிலாம்).
And even then, He does not suffer any change as pointed out in the Sutra. Analogous are these. All the actions of the human body are supported and aided in the end by the Force of Gravity which is one and uniform, and yet in ordinary language we do not recognize its power, though a scientic account of all the causes must include it as well. Similarly, all our visual perceptions are aided by the Sun’s Light which is one and uniform. Yet I say merely ‘I see.’ Accordingly, the ignorant do not recognize and feel the Power of the Lord, but the wise recognizing this Power, try to realize and feel it by withdrawing more and more from themselves and bringing themselves more and more into contact or rapport with Him, aided thereto by His Arul Sakti. And the last illustration appropriately discusses the nature of this Arul Sakti. The approximation of man to God results in the end in adwaitha relation as described in the 2nd illustration. In day light, the light of the star is completely lost to all sight and yet not lost. The light of the star blends with and becomes indistinguishable from the light of the Sun. Its identity is lost and not itself. There is no annihilation of the soul but its individuality or Egoism is lost, its Karma having been eaten. This is Moksha or Nirvana, according to the Saiva Siddhanti. Then and then alone will its action, if it has any, be in reality that of the Lord. The subject is further discussed in the next Sutra.
The limitation of the human intelligence is thus described in Sivagnana Siddhi, “The soul understands with the aid of the Supreme Intelligence as it understands through some sense or other, forgets what it has learnt, learns from others, is not conscious of itself, does not understand of itself.”
On the other hand, God is described as ‘Swa Para Prakasam’ ‘He who is self-luminous and illumines others.’ On this subject the same authority raises several other questions and gives beautiful replies.
If God illumines all souls, He must illumine all of them equally well. If each one’s intelligence follows his own Karma, then no God is required. The answer is that Karma itself acts through God, though God cannot change Karma. And the analogies of the earth which yields according to the labour of the peasant, and the sun who can only ripen those fruits that are matured, are pointed out.
The theory that the soul is self-luminous or self-intelligent is refuted by the fact that the soul is only conscious when in union with the senses; and the opponent is compared to a man who would say that a man, with the full power of eye sight, finds out objects by feeling with his hands.
Man’s intelligence is in fact analogous with his eyesight. He is not blind (non-intelligent) nor is his sight such as to make him see in the dark and dispense with the aid of the sun’s light (God’s grace.)