Śaṅkaraon Brahma Sūtra 2.3.21
Advaita Vedānta
Sūtra
नाणुरतच्छ्रुतेरिति चेन्नेतराधिकारात्
nāṇuratacchruteriti cennetarādhikārāt
Sūtra translation
If it be said that (the soul is) not atomic, on account of scriptural statements about what is not that (i.e. what is opposed to atomic size); we deny ^ Going is known to be an activity inherent in ihe agent, from his con- the lact of its producing effects inherent in him, such junction with— or disjunction from—other things. that, on account of the other one (the highest Self) being the subject-matter (of those passages).
Nevertheless, it may be objected, the soul cannot be of atomic size, because there are scriptural statements of what is not that, i.e. because there are scriptural statements of its size being the opposite of atomic size. So that by accepting the alternative of atomic size we should place ourselves in opposition to scriptural passages such as the following, ‘ He is that great unborn Self who consists of knowledge, is surrounded by the Pra/zas, the ether within the heart ’ (Bri\ Up. IV, 4, 22) ; ‘ Like the ether he is omni- present, * ‘ Truth, knowledge, infinite is lirahman ’ eternal ; ( II. i). This objection, the pCirvapakshin replies, is not valid ‘on account of the other one forming the subject of dis- cussion.’ For tho.se statements about a size different (from the atomic one) occur under the heading of the highest Self which on account of its pre-eminence constitutes the general object of knowledge in all Vedanta-texts ; and moreover the passage, ‘ It is spotless, beyond the ’ ether (Brf. Up. IV, 4, 20), specially proves that the highest Self constitutes the subject-matter (in the passage quoted above from the Br/. Up.). Thus with regard to the other passages also. — But from the expres.sions, ‘consisting of knowledge, surrounded by the pra;/as,’ it appears that — the embodied Self only (not the highest Self) is designated as connected with greatness. That designation, the purva- pakshin replies, is founded on an intuition, vouched for by scripture, as in the case of Vamadeva —As therefore the statemcnt.s of a different size refer to the highest Self (pra^wa), they do not militate against the view of the in- dividual soul being of atomic size.