Verse 162-163

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

क्रीडासाध्या च या प्रीतिस्तस्या यदपि साधनम् ।
तत्सर्वं युगपत्कुर्याद्यदि तत्कृतिशक्तिमान् ॥ १६२ ॥
क्रमेणापि न शक्तः स्यान्नो चेदादौ स शक्तिमान् ।
नाविभक्तस्य युज्येते शक्त्यशक्ती हि वस्तुनः ॥ १६३ ॥

krīḍāsādhyā ca yā prītistasyā yadapi sādhanam |
tatsarvaṃ yugapatkuryādyadi tatkṛtiśaktimān || 162 ||
krameṇāpi na śaktaḥ syānno cedādau sa śaktimān |
nāvibhaktasya yujyete śaktyaśaktī hi vastunaḥ || 163 ||

If he had the power to create them, he would have created, at one and the same time, all the implements conducive to the pleasure to be accomplished by the ‘amusement’.—if he did not have that power in the beginning, then he could not have it for creating them consecutively either. because for an indivisible thing, it is not possible to have power and also to be without power.—(162-163)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

Further, those various implements of Amusement that are there,—if he has the power to create them, then he should create them all at the same time; if he does not have that power in the beginning, then he could not create them subsequently, one by one either; as the ‘powerless condition’ would be there still; it is not possible for one and the same thing to have the power and not to have the power—to do a certain act—at one and the same time,—the two, power and absence of power, being mutually exclusive.

The arguments that have been urged before against the doctrine of God,—e.g. why does He undertake such an operation as creation and so forth,—are applicable to this doctrine also.

This also disposes of the following arguments set forth by Praśastamati:—“God undertakes activity for the purpose of helping others. Just as a certain sage, who has had all his own purposes accomplished and hence for whom there is nothing to be done for either acquiring what is desirable or avoiding what is not desirable, undertakes the work of teaching for the benefit of others,—similarly God also, having made known the majesty of His own power, proceeds to act for the purpose of helping living beings.—Or, just as, on account of the natural potency of Time, the Spring and other seasons come about by turns, upon which animate and inanimate products com© about by their own inherent nature,—similarly in the case of God also, the faculties of creating, maintaining and dissolving become manifested by turns, and through these, He becomes the Cause of the creation, sustenance and dissolution of all living beings.”

This argument becomes set aside by what has been said above. For instance, the assertion that “Spirit acts for the purpose of helping others” is to be met by this reasoning:—If it were kindness towards others, then He should have created the world absolutely happy, etc. etc.

As regards the statement that “it is due to the nature of his powers”;—the objection against this is as follows:—If he had his powers fully manifested, he would bring about creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world simultaneously; if he has not his powers manifested, then the creation and the rest could not be brought about even consecutively; if then, the Being with manifested power were someone else, then how could there be a single Being in the shape of Spirit?

The assertion regarding Time being the cause operating towards the consecutive appearance of Spring and other seasons is also open to the same objection. Time, in fact, is nothing more than Things of the world themselves as beset with such diversities as those of heat and cold; as we are going to explain later on.—(162-163)