वाक्यान्वयात् ॥ १९ ॥
vākyānvayāt || 19 ||
vākya-anvayāt—On account of the connected meaning of passages.
19. (The Self to be seen, to be heard, etc. is Brahman) on account of the connected meaning of the passages.
“The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realized —should be heard of, reflected on, and meditated upon. By the realization of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection, and meditation, all this is known” (Brih. 2 . 4. 5).
In this passage the Supreme Self is referred to, and not the individual soul. Why? In the whole section Brahman is treated. It begins with Maitreyi’s question “Will wealth get me immortality?” and Yajnavalkya answers that wealth, sacrifice, etc. will not obtain that immortality. She then asks for that which will give her immortality, and Yajnavalkya teaches her the knowledge of the Self; finally the section concludes with, “Thus far goes immortality.” Now immortality cannot be gained by the knowledge of the individual soul, but only by the knowledge of the Supreme Self or Brahman. Therefore Brahman alone is the subject-matter and It alone is to be seen through hearing etc. Moreover, the text quoted says that by the knowledge of the Self spoken of there, everything is known, which clearly connects the Self referred to with Brahman; for how can the knowledge of a limited individual self give us knowledge of everything?