Vedarthasangraha of Ramanuja - 30 The theory of causation- Only real effect from

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30 The theory of causation –The unity of cause and effect

 

ethadhuktham bhavathi ekam eva kaaraNa bhootham dhravyam

avasThaantharayogena kaaryam ithuchyatha ithi ekavijnaanena sarvavijnaanam prathipaadhayishitham,thath

asadhkaaryavaadhe na sethsyathi.thaThaa hi nimitthasamavavayyasamavaayi

prbhrthibhiH kaarnaiH avayavaakhyam kaaryam dhrvyaantharameva aarabhyatha ithi

kaaraNabhoothaath vasthunaH kaaryasya vasthavantharthvaath thath jnaanena asya jnaathathaa

kaTham api na sambhavathi ithi.kaTham avayavidhrvyaantharam nirasyatha ithi

cheth, kaarNagatha avasthaantharayogasya dhravyaanthara uthpatthivaadhinaH

samprathipannasya eva ekathva naamaanthara vyavahaaraanthraadheH

upapaadhakathvaath dhrvayaanthara adharSanaath cha ithi kaarNameva

avasThaantharaapannam kaaryam ithyuchyatha ithyuktham

 

Ramanuja further

examines the asathkaaryavadha, that, the effect does not preexist in the cause

which gives rise to the statement asathaH eva idham agra aaseeth, this world did not exist in the beginning, which would mean that the

effect, the world came from non existence. This is called asathkaryavadha and it is projected by the Nyayavaiseshika

school according to which the effect is an entirely a new substance. Their theory

of causation is also known as aarambhavaadha as a new

substance has come in to being as the effect.This is opposed to the sathkarya

vadha of sankhya which is also called parinamavadha as according to this school the cause itself is transformed into the

effect.This is different from the sathkaryavadha of the upanishads, as

explained by Ramanuja because, the cause , the Brahman is not wholly

transformed into the world but the effect, the world, is only a mode or sareera

and Brahman as the innerself is not affected.

 

ethadhuktham bhavathi ekam eva kaaraNa bhootham dhravyam

avasThaantharayogena kaaryam ithuchyatha ithi ekavijnaanena sarvavijnaanam prathipaadhayishitham

 

The causation

that is in accordance with the concept of ekavijnaanena sarvavijnaanam, the

knowledge of everything by the knowldege of one, which has been proved is that,

the causal substance itself is the effect in another state of being.

 

thath asadhkaaryavaadhe na sethsyathi. This does not hold good in the case of asathkaryavadha.

 

thaThaa hi nimitthasamavavayyasamavaayi prbhrthiBhiH kaarnaiH avayavaakhyam

kaaryam dhrvyaantharameva aarabhyatha ithi kaaraNabhoothaath vasthunaH

kaaryasya vasthavantharthvaath thath jnaanena asya jnaathathaa kaTham api na

sambhavathi ithi

 

According to this

view, from the efficient, material and non inherent causes a new entity with

parts comes in to existence. Henc efrom the enity whi ch is the cause, another

entity which is the effect originates. Thus the knowledge of the causal entity

the effect cannot be known.

 

kaTham avayavidhrvyaantharam nirasyatha ithi cheth,

 

If it is asked

how could the origination of a new entity as the effect be dismissed,

 

kaarNagatha avasthaantharayogasya dhravyaanthara uthpatthivaadhinaH

samprathipannasya eva ekathva naamaanthara vyavahaaraanthraadheH upapaadhakathvaath

dhrvayaantharaadharSanaath cha ithi kaarNameva avasThaantharaapannam kaaryam

ithyuchyatha ithyuktham

 

The different state

of being of the causal entity in the form of different name and activity is

mentioned by the asthakaryavadhin as a different entity but since there is the presence of no other causal entity the effect

is only a different state of the causal entity.

 

To explain, clay

is the cause and the pot is an effect. The theory of the effect pot being a

different entity is based on the difference in its name and use etc. it is

called a pot and used for carrying water which would not have been possible if

it had remained in the causal state as clay. But still the a pot is only made of clay which is evident. Hence the

effect pot is only the different state of the cause , clay.

 

nanu niraDhishTaana bhramaasambhavajnaapanasya asthkaryavaadha niraasaH kriyathe.thathaa hi,

ekam chidhroopam sathyam eva avidhyaasakalam jagathroopEna vivarthatha

ithi,avidhyaaSrayathvaaya moolakaaranam sathyam ithi abhyupaganthavyam ithi

asathkaaryavaadha niraasaH.

 

An objection is

raised by advaitin. The refutation of asathkaryavadha which holds that the effect was nonexistent in

the cause is done in order to reject the existence of the effect as a new

substance because the effect , the world is only an illusion rising from the

cause which alone is real.The one reality, brahman the cause, gives rise to the

illusion of the world which is the effect, due to nescience. The asthkarya

vadha is thus refuted to show that the delusion that appears in the form of the

effect, the world, has a real substratum , Brahman, which through nescience

appears as the world and hence the effect is not a new entity but an erraneous

apprehension of Brhaman the cause.

 

naithath evam.ekavijnaanena sarvavijnaana prathijnaa dhrshtaanthamukhena

sathkaaryavaadhasya eva prasakthathvaath ithyuktham.

 

Ramanuja refutes

this argument by saying that the

statement ekavijnanena

sarvavijnanam and the

illustration given therein holds good only in the case of sathkaryavadha and

hence the asthkaryavadha is rejected. This has been explained earlier.