Page:A History of Indian Philosophy Vol 1.djvu/57

 III] The Upanlads and their interpretations 4 1 The Upaniads and their interpretations. Before entering into the philosophy of the U paniads it may be worth while to say a few words as to the reason why diverse and even contradictory explanations as to the real import of the Upaniads had been offered by the great Indian scholars of past times. The Upaniads, as we have seen, formed the concluding portion of the revealed Vedic literature, and were thus called the Vedanta. It was almost universally believed by the Hindus that the highest truths could only be found in the revelation of the Vedas. Reason was regarded generally as occupying a compara- tively subservient place, and its proper use was to be found in its judicious employment in getting out the real meaning of the apparently conflicting ideas of the Vedas. The highest know- ledge of ultimate truth and reality was thus regarded as having been once for all declared in the U paniads. Reason had only to unravel it in the light of experience. It is important that readers of Hindu philosophy should bear in mind the contrast that it presents to the ruling idea of the modern world that new truths are discovered by reason and experience every day, and even in those cases where the old truths remain, they change their hue and character every day, and that in matters of ultimate truths no finality can ever be achieved; we are to be content only with as much as comes before the purview of our reason and experience at the time. It was therefore thought to be extremely audacious that any person howsoever learned and brilliant he might be should have any right to say anything regarding the highest truths simply on the authority of his own opinion or the reasons that he might offer. In order to make himself heard it was neces- sary for him to show from the texts of the U paniads that they supported him, and that their purport was also the same. Thus it was that most schools of Hindu philosophy found it one of their principal duties to interpret the U paniads in order to show that they alone represented the true Vedanta doctrines. Anyone who should feel himself persuaded by the interpretations of any particular school might say that in following that school he was following the Vedanta. The difficulty of assuring oneself that any interpretation is absolutely the right one is enhanced by the fact that germs of diverse kinds of thoughts are found scattered over the U paniads