हेयत्वावचनाच्च ॥ ८ ॥
heyatvāvacanācca || 8 ||
heyatvāvacanāt—Fitness to be abandoned not being stated (by the scriptures); ca—and.
8. And because it is not stated (by the scriptures) that It (Sat) has to be abandoned, (Pradhana cannot be denoted by the word ‘Sat’).
If the intention of the scriptures had been to take the aspirant step by step from grosser to subtler truths till finally the real nature of the Atman was presented to him, and for this purpose they had referred to the Pradhana—denoted by the word ‘Sat’ .according to the Sankhyar—as the Self, then there would have been later on a statement to the effect that this Pradhana must be dropped, for it vas not the real Self. But there is no such statement in the texts in question. On the contrary, the whole chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad, in which the texts occur, deals with the Self as nothing but that Sat. Moreover, this chapter begins with the question, “What is that which being known everything is known ?” Now if the Pradhana were the First Cause, then by knowing it everything would be known, which is not a fact. The enjoyer (Purusha), which is different from it, not being a product of the Pradhana like the objects of enjoyment, cannot be known by knowing the Pradhana. Therefore the Pradhana is not the First Cause, knowing which everything is known, according to the scriptures. Such a view will contradict the premise.