76. SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 83

SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 83

mind or the Absolute, the Absolute, therefore, is Self-shining and Self-conscious. aib

Admission of Vimarsa or self-consciousness in the Abso. lute by the Saiva, is the point of distinction between the Saiva and the Vedantic conception of the Ultimate Reality. The latter holds that the Brahman is Santa i. e. without any activity. It is static and not dynamic. It is self-shin- ing but not self-conscious. For, all consciousness is activity and, therefore, self-consciousness also is an activity and as such would disturb the peace, (Santi) perfect restfulness, the inactivity. The Brahman is indeterminate (Nirvikalpa) And, therefore, thinking that admission of self-consciousness, would mean admission of determinacy, the Vedantin holds the Brahman to be self-shining only (Suddha Cinmatra).

The Saiva maintains that the Absolute is not only self- shining but also self-conscious and at the same time mainta- ins it to be indeterminate (Nirvikalpa). He explains his posi- tion as follows -

Determinacy (Vikalpa) consists (i) in unifying a multiplicity into unity, as when a person combines a number of simple percepts into a complex whole (ii) in contradistingui- shing the object of cognition "this" from "not this" (iii) in interpreting a stimulus in a variety of ways and accepting one interpretation to be correct1 and rejecting others as incorrect. Thus determinacy in all cases is dependent on the consciousness of multiplicity either for unification or for consciousness of distinction. Therefore, in the case of absence of consciousness of multiplicity determinacy is not possible. Since in the case of transcendental self-consci- ousness there is nothing to be contfadistinguished from Self,

1. B. V. Mss: 477. (1,6, 1.)