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As for the statement that material source can become omniscient through the characteristic of knowledge belonging to its constituent lucidity,
28 that is not justifiable; for in that state [of the material source as such, when it has not already changed through a loss of balance] there can be no possibility of knowledge as a characteristic of lucidity, because the constituents of the material source are then in balance.29 |
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In the state of perfect balance among the three constituents, there is no preference for lucidity, and no basis for it to emerge as predominant and thereby as the basis for the attribution of intelligence to the material principle. In brief, no explanation plausibly supports the unconvincing Samkhyan claim that consciousness originates in an unconscious material source.30 |
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Sankara then disposes of problems which call into question the Advaita claim that Brahman is a knower: |
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The fact that Brahman is both omniscient and unchanging does not mean that Brahman is therefore not omnipotent, because it lacks the ability to stop knowing; to be omniscient by nature is not a limitation of the freedom of the knower.31 |
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It is not necessary to have a body in order to know, and Brahman requires neither a material source nor any comparable material element; for Brahman "has eternal consciousness by its very nature, so that it has no dependence on the means of knowledge"32no need for a body as an instrument of knowledge. Moreover, the Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19 clearly states that Brahman can know without a body: "Without hands and feet he grasps and moves quickly; he sees without eyes, he hears without ears, he knows all that is to be known . . ."33 |
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There is no problem in maintaining that the world exists only in/as Brahman, even if this seems to imply that the obvious limitations we see around usignorance, impurity, etc.are ultimately flaws in Brahman: "the idea of difference between the Lord and the transmigrating soul is false, having been created by non-discrimination which causes the ascription of the |
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