We turn to a further point. You maintain that consciousness which is in
reality devoid alike of objects and substrate presents itself, owing to
error, in the form of a knowing subject, just as mother o' pearl appears
as silver; (consciousness itself being viewed as a real substrate of an
erroneous imputation), because an erroneous imputation cannot take place
apart from a substrate. But this theory is indefensible. If things were
as you describe them, the conscious 'I' would be cognised as co-ordinate
with the state of consciousness 'I am consciousness,' just as the
shining thing presenting itself to our eyes is judged to be silver. But
the fact is that the state of consciousness presents itself as something
apart, constituting a distinguishing attribute of the I, just as the
stick is an attribute of Devadatta who carries it. The judgment 'I am
conscious' reveals an 'I' distinguished by consciousness; and to declare
that it refers only to a state of consciousness--which is a mere
attribute--is no better than to say that the judgment 'Devadatta carries
a stick' is about the stick only. Nor are you right in saying that the
idea of the Self being a knowing agent, presents itself to the mind of
him only who erroneously identifies the Self and the body, an error
expressing itself in judgments such as 'I am stout,' and is on that
account false; for from this it would follow that the consciousness
which is erroneously imagined as a Self is also false; for it presents
itself to the mind of the same person. You will perhaps rejoin that
consciousness is not false because it (alone) is not sublatcd by that
cognition which sublates everything else. Well, we reply, then the
knowership of the Self also is not false; for that also is not sublatcd.
You further maintain that the character of being a knower, i.e. the
agent in the action of knowing, does not become the non-changing Self;
that being a knower is something implying change, of a non-intelligent
kind (jada), and residing in the ahamkara which is the abode of change