Sixth Adhyaya, Thirteenth Khanda (3 mantras)

Mantra 6.13.1.

1. Put this salt in water and then come to me in the morning. The son did so. The father said to him “Take out the salt which you put in the water last night.” The

Mantra 6.13.2.

2. The father said “Child, taste it from the surface. How does it taste?” The son replied “It is saltish.” Taste it from the middle, how is it?” The son replied “It is saltish.” “Taste it from the bottom, how is it?” The son replied “It is saltish.” The father said “Throw it away and then come to me.” The son did so. That salt exists for ever in the water. Then the father said to him “Here also, O child, you do not perceive the existing salt, though it is there certainly.”—460.

Mantra 6.13.3.

3. (That highest God is) the Essence and Ruler of all, the desired of all, and known through the subtlest intellect. All this universe is controlled by Him, He pervades it all and is the Good. This God is the destroyer of all and full of perfect qualities. Thou O Śvetaketu art not that God (why then this conceit).

“Please sir, instruct me still more” said the son. “Beit so, my child,” replied the father.—461.

Madhva’s commentary called the Bhāṣya:

According to Śaṅkara the question here asked is “if the ‘Sat’ is the root of all that exists, why is it not perceived.” But this cannot be the purport of the question. For according to Advaita theory, the Sat exists in everything, and so can never be said to be invisible: in fact it is everything. The things like pot, etc., in that theory are Brahman, and therefore, the question becomes meaningless, for the Sat becomes visible and perceptible in the existence of every object. It is existence of the Sat, that gives existence to every other object. If it be said, He is not visible because He is very subtle, then there is no difference between this and the last Khaṇḍa. The Commentator shows what is the real question put

If Hari cannot be perceived in the above manner as separate from the Jīva, then how is it that his power Sakti [Śakti?] is perceived in every thing? To this implied question of the son, Uddālaka replied again thus:—“As the salt dissolved in water is not visible, (in the form of a crystal) because it now pervades the whole water, and looks like water, but every drop of water manifests its existence when tasted, so the Lord Viṣṇu permeates the very essence of the Jīva, and though remaining separate from it, is yet not visible.

The force of the question is, if the Lord cannot be perceived, how is it that His powers are perceived. The general rule is, that a thing whose effects are perceived, is also capable of being perceived. The powers of the Lord are seen in nature; but how is it that He Himself remains unseen. To this question Uddālaka gives this illustration of the salt and water, implying that the Lord cannot be seen by ordinary senses, but is to be perceived through devotion and Bhakti.