e end of
these citations one hears only of nature and spirit, the two that have
no beginning, but here one finds the Supreme Spirit, which is as
distinct from the indestructible one as from the destructible.
Moreover, 'nature' is in one place represented as from the beginning
distinct from spirit and entirely apart from it, and in another it is
only a transient phase. The delusion (illusion) which in one passage
is all that exists apart from the Supreme Spirit is itself given up in
favor of the S[=a]nkhya Prakriti, with which one must imagine it to be
identified, although from the text itself it cannot be identical. In a
word, exactly as in Manu, there are different philosophical
conceptions, united without any logical basis for their union. The
'system' is in general that of the S[=a]nkhya-Yogas, but there is much
which is purely Ved[=a]nta. The S[=a]nkhya system is taught elsewhere
as a means of salvation, perhaps always as the deistic Yoga (i. 75. 7:
"He taught them the Sankhya-knowledge as salvation"). It is further
noticeable that although Krishna (Vishnu) is the ostensible speaker,
there is scarcely anything to indicate that the poem was originally
composed even for Vishnu. The Divine Song was probably, as we have
said, a late Upanishad, which afterwards was expanded and put into
Vishnu's mouth. The S[=a]nkhya portions have been redressed as far as
possible and to the illusion doctrine is given the chief place. But
the Song remains, like the Upanishads themselves, and like Manu, an
ill-assorted cabinet of primitive philosophical opinions. On the
religious side it is a matter of comparative indifference whether that
which is not the spirit is a delusive output of the spirit or
indestructible matter. In either case the Spirit is the goal of the
spirit. In this personal pantheism absorption is taught but not death.
Immortality is still the reward that is offered to the believer that
is wise, to the wise that believes. Knowledge and faith are the means
of obtaining this immortality; but, whereas in the older Upanishads
only wisdom is necessary (wisdom that implies morality), here as much
stress, if not more, is laid upon faith, the natural mark of all
sectarian pantheism.

Despite its occasional power and mystic exaltation, the Divine Song in
its present state as a poetical production is unsatisfactory. The same
thing is said over and over again, and the contradictions in
phraseology and in meaning are as numerous as