of everything, is superimposed on the internal organ, the senses, and so
on. In this way there goes on this natural beginning--and endless
superimposition, which appears in the form of wrong conception, is the
cause of individual souls appearing as agents and enjoyers (of the
results of their actions), and is observed by every one.

With a view to freeing one's self from that wrong notion which is the
cause of all evil and attaining thereby the knowledge of the absolute
unity of the Self the study of the Vedânta-texts is begun. That all the
Vedânta-texts have the mentioned purport we shall show in this so-called
/S/âriraka-mîmâ/m/sâ.[50]

Of this Vedânta-mîmâ/m/sâ about to be explained by us the first Sûtra is
as follows.

1. Then therefore the enquiry into Brahman.

The word 'then' is here to be taken as denoting immediate consecution;
not as indicating the introduction of a new subject to be entered upon;
for the enquiry into Brahman (more literally, the desire of knowing
Brahman) is not of that nature[51]. Nor has the word 'then' the sense of
auspiciousness (or blessing); for a word of that meaning could not be
properly construed as a part of the sentence. The word 'then' rather
acts as an auspicious term by being pronounced and heard merely, while
it denotes at the same time something else, viz. immediate consecution
as said above. That the latter is its meaning follows moreover from the
circumstance that the relation in which the result stands to the
previous topic (viewed as the cause of the result) is non-separate from
the relation of immediate consecution.[52]