Page:The Vedanta-sutras, with the Sri-bhashya of Ramanujacharya.djvu/77

 k ANALYTICAL OUTLINE OF CONTENTS.

In accordance with the conclusion so arrived at regarding the import of a grammatical equation, the scrip- tural .sentence ' That thou art ' is interpreted so as to shew how, by means of the word ' thou ' also, it is the Highest Self alone that is denoted as forming the internal ruler of all individual selves. This interpretation is sup- ported by means of the teaching given in the scripture re- garding the differentiation of names and forms. The Brahman wishing to become manifold created the world. All the individual souls in the world entered, each ac- cording to its karma, into such material embodiments as were most suited to them. Then the Brahman Him- self entered into these souls so as to become their internal ruler. Thus it is that all things have become things, and that all significant words denote the Highest Self as asso- ciated with non-intelligent matter and the intelligent individual self (pp. 377-379.)- Scriptural authority is then sufficiently quoted to prove that the whole world accord- ingly forms the body of the Brahman, and that He Him- self constitutes the Self thereof ; and it is thence arrived at that all things form modes of the Highest Self, and that words denoting non-intelligent material things as well as words denoting intelligent individual selves finally import the Highest Self Himself. Therefore in the sentence ' That thou art ' the grammatical equation of the word ' That ' with the word ' thou ', which also thus denotes the Highest Self, has certainly a primary and natural signific- ance ; and there is no need at all to adopt here any figura- tive interpretation of any kind whatever. As long as the material embodiment of a thing may happen to be one of its modes, it is not right to hold that it is only words denot- ing generic and other qualities that can be grammatically equated with words denoting substances. In the case of