of the word, as being with Brahman and becoming the origin of the world, too closely to the Greek conception of the Logos, I subjoin a literal translation of a passage in Sutfkara's commentary (p. 96, i). He holds that Brah- man is pure intelligence, and when the opponent remarks that intelligence is possible only if there are objects of in- telligence, he replies: 'As the sun would shine even if there were no objects to illuminate, Brahman would be intelli- gence even if there were no objects on which to exercise his intelligence. Such an object, however, exists even before the creation, namely, Nama-rftpa, the names and forms, as yet undeveloped, but striving for development (avy&bTte, vy&fcikirshite), that is the words of the Veda living in the mind of the creator even before the creation V Might not this have been written by Plato himself?
rv&di creourifo
We may try now another door for an entrance into the VedSnta-philosophy, which may help in bringing the Ved&nta nearer to ourselves, or ourselves nearer to the Veddnta, so that it may be looked upon not simply as a strange and curious system, but as a system of thought with which we can sympathise, nay, which, with certain modifications, we can appropriate for our own purposes 3 .
One of the most ancient commands of Greek philosophy was the famous Tv&6i owvrfv, know thyself. Here the Hindu philosopher would step in at once and say that
1 See Denssen, Das System des Vednta, pp. 75, 147. 1 Cf. Deussen, 1. c. p. 60 seq.
