in the world of the Relative, it follows that His knowledge though almost unlimited in
relation to the other Purusas in the Solar system must be considered to be limited in
relation to the Ultimate Reality of which He is a partial manifestation. We should not
forget that manifestation always implies limitation and even an Isvara is in the realm
of Maya however thin may be the veil of Illusion which separates His consciousness
from that of the Nirguna Brahman who alone can be considered unlimited in the real
sense of the term. So the Omniscience of an Isvara is a relative thing and has a limit
and it is this limit which is referred to in this Sutra.
Now all the Purusas in a particular Solar system or Brahmanda are undergoing
a process of evolution and the ‘seed’ of Omniscience in each Purusa is unfolding
gradually. This unfoldment takes place slowly in the course of ordinary evolution.
When Yoga is practised and consciousness begins to function on the subtler super-
physical planes the unfoldment is accelerated to a remarkable degree and the bounda-
ries of knowledge are suddenly enlarged at each successive stage in Samadhi. When
Kaivalya is attained after Dharma-Megha-Samadhi a tremendous expansion of con-
sciousness takes place as pointed out in IV-31. Even after the attainment of Kaivalya,
as has been pointed out already, the unfoldment of consciousness does not come to an
end and such unfoldment must be accompanied by a corresponding expansion of
knowledge. Is there any limit to this expansion of knowledge in the case of the Puru-
sas who are undergoing evolution in a Solar system and whose consciousness is a part
of the consciousness of the Isvara of the system? There must be and that limit will
naturally be the relative Omniscience of the Isvara, or the knowledge which is con-
tained in His consciousness. No Purusa can cross that limit as long as he is a part of
the Solar system and his consciousness is based, as it were, on the consciousness of the
Isvara. His knowledge may go on expanding and may appear infinite but it cannot ex-
pand beyond the infinite knowledge of the Isvara of the system just as a fountain can-
not rise higher than the reservoir which supplies water to it.
He of the Ancients; of those who came before or first eventeacher by time on account of not being limited or conditioned.