small lotus of the heart, and the small ether within the heart, what
is there within it that deserves to be sought for or that is to be
understood?') declares, when replying to that objection, that heaven,
earth, and so on, are contained within it (the ether), a declaration to
which the comparison with the ether forms a mere introduction.--Your
reasoning, we reply, is faulty. If it were admitted, it would follow
that heaven, earth, &c., which are contained within the small ether,
constitute the objects of search and enquiry. But in that case the
complementary passage would be out of place. For the text carrying on,
as the subject of discussion, the ether that is the abode of heaven,
earth, &c.--by means of the clauses, 'In it all desires are contained,'
'It is the Self free from sin,' &c., and the passage, 'But those who
depart from hence having discovered the Self, and the true desires' (in
which passage the conjunction 'and' has the purpose of joining the
desires to the Self)--declares that the Self as well, which is the abode
of the desires, as the desires which abide in the Self, are the objects
of knowledge. From this we conclude that in the beginning of the passage
also, the small ether abiding within the lotus of the heart, together
with whatever is contained within it as earth, true desires, and so on,
is represented as the object of knowledge. And, for the reasons
explained, that ether is the highest Lord.

15. (The small ether is Brahman) on account of the action of going (into
Brahman) and of the word (brahmaloka); for thus it is seen (i.e. that
the individual souls go into Brahman is seen elsewhere in Scripture);
and (this going of the souls into Brahman constitutes) an inferential
sign (by means of which we may properly interpret the word
'brahmaloka').

It has been declared (in the preceding Sutra) that the small (ether) is
the highest Lord, on account of the reasons contained in the subsequent
passages. These subsequent reasons are now set forth.--For this reason
also the small (ether) can be the highest Lord only, because the passage
complementary to the passage concerning the small (ether) contains a
mention of going and a word, both of which intimate the highest Lord. In
the first place, we read (Ch. Up. VIII, 3, 2), 'All these creatures, day
after day going into that Brahma-world, do not discover it.' This
passage which refers back, by means of the word 'Brahma-world,' to the
small ether which forms