THE LIGHT OF TRUTH - Chapter 9 - Knowledgeand Ignorance, Emancipation and Bondage

THE LIGHT OF TRUTH

by Swami Dayanand

Knowledge and Ignorance,
Emancipation and Bondage

Chapter – 9

1. Knowledge (Vidya) and Ignorance (Avidya)

"He who realizes the nature of Vidyaa -true knowledge - and of Avidyaa - good moral life and Divine contemplation - simultaneously conquers death by virtue of Avidyaa and obtains Immortality by virtue of Vidyaa." YAJUR VEDA. 40: 40.

Characteristics of Avidyaa:-

1. "The false notion that the transient world and worldly things (such as bodies) are eternal or in other words that the world of effects, that we see and feel, has always been existing and will continue to exist for ever, and that by virtue of the power of yoga, the physical bodies of godly men become imperishable, is the first kind of ignorance (Avidyaa).

2. To regard impure things, such as lustfulness and untruthfulness, as pure is the second kind of Ignorance (Avidyaa).

3. To believe that excessive sexual indulgence is a source of happiness, whilst it really causes pain and suffering, constitutes the third variety of ignorance (Avidyaa).

4. To consider dead material things as possessed of soul is the fourth kind of ignorance (Avidyaa)." YOGA SHAASTRA , Saadhanpada.

This fourfold incorrect knowledge is called Avidya or ignorance. The reverse of it , viz., to look upon what is temporal as temporal; what is eternal as eternal; what is pure as pure; what is impure as Impure, pain as pain, pleasure as pleasure, what is soul-less as soul-less, what is soul-possessing as soul-possessing, is called Vidyaa or knowledge.

That by which the true nature of things is known is not revealed and, instead, a false conception of things is formed, is called ignorance.

Virtuous life and contemplation of God are called Avidyaa (or not knowledge), because they are only bodily acts and mental processes. They are not knowledge. Therefore, it is said in the above mantra that without pure life and contemplation of God no one can ever conquer death. Virtuous acts, the worship of one true God and correct knowledge lead to Emancipation, whilst an immoral life, the worship of idols (or other things or persons in place of God), and false knowledge are the cause of the Bondage of the soul. No man can ever, for a single moment be, free from actions, thoughts and knowledge. Performance or righteous acts, as truthfulness in speech, and the renunciation of sinful acts, as untruthfulness, alone are the means of Salvation.

2. Who cannot obtain Emancipation?

A.~ One who is in Bondage.

Q. Who is in bondage?

A.~ One who is sunk in sin and ignorance.

3. Are Bondage and Emancipation natural to souls or acquired?

A.~ Acquired, because if they be natural they would be permanent.

Q. "The soul being Brahma (God) is really neither ever veiled by ignorance, nor born. It is neither in bondage nor need it devise any means for its emancipation, neither it desires to be emancipated nor is it ever emancipated. How can it be emancipated when it was never in bondage?" GAURPADIYA KARIKA, 2: 32. What is your answer to this?

A.~ This statement of the Neo-Vedaantists is not true, because the soul being finite by nature is veiled and takes on a body which is popularly called its birth. It is also in bondage, because it suffers from the consequences of its sins and thinks out means to escape from sin and suffering and consequent bondage, and desires to free itself from pain. Being emancipated it "sees" the All-blissful God and thereby attains final beatitude (i.e., obtains salvation).

4. The soul is pure and untainted.

These are all the properties of the body and mind - the internal organ of thought - not of the soul. The soul is free from sin and virtue. It is merely a witness of what the body and the mind do. Heat and cold are felt by the body.

A.~ The body and mind - the internal organ of thought - are material, hence dead and inert. They can never fell heat or cold, nor therefore the consequent pain or pleasure. It is conscious beings (who possess souls) such as men, who feel heat and cold when a hot or a cold substance comes in contact with their bodies. Even the praanas - the nervauric forces - are devoid of consciousness.

They can feel neither hunger nor thirst. It is the soul possess of nervauric forces that feels the sensations of hunger or thirst. Similarly, the manas - internal organ of thought - is also devoid of consciousness. It can feel neither sorrow nor joy, but it is through the manas that the soul feels pleasure or pain, and joy or sorrow.

Similarly, through the organs of sensations, such as the ears, the soul receives different sensations, such as of hearing, and consequently feels pleasure or pain, just according to the nature of those sensations. It is the soul that thinks, knows, remembers and feels its individuality through the organs of thought, discernment, memory and individuality. It is, therefore, the soul that enjoys or suffers. Just as it is the man that uses his sword to kill another who is punished and not the sword, similarly, it is the soul that, by the use of such instruments as the body, the bodily senses, the organs of thought, the nervauric forces, does acts - good or evil - and consequently it is the soul alone that reaps the fruits thereof - joy or sorrow.

The soul is not a witness of acts. It is the actual doer that reaps the fruits of deeds done. The One Incomparable Supreme Spirit alone is the Witness. It is the soul that does acts and is, therefore, naturally engrossed by them. The soul is not God and, consequently, it is not the witness of acts (but the actual doer).

5. The soul is the image of God..

..and just as when a mirror gets broken, the image (in it) ceases to exist but it does in no way affect the object (whose image it was), similarly, the soul as the image of God lasts only so long as the antahkaran (internal organ of thought - mind) - the reflecting medium - endures, once that disappears, the soul no longer in bondage is emancipated - Is it not so?

A.~ It is a childish idea, because before you can have an image, you must have two things that possess form and object and a reflecting medium - distinct from each other. Take an example. The face and mirror are both essential to the formation of the image of the face. Both have form and are visible. They are also separate form each other. Had they not been so, there would have been no image. God being All-pervading and Formless it is impossible for Him to have an image.

Q.But do you not see the all-pervading, formless ether reflected in clear deep water. Similarly, God can be reflected in a pure mind. Therefore, it is that the soul is called chidaabhaas - the image of God.

A.~ This is again childish babble; ether being invisible no one can ever see it. How can anyone see ether with his eyes when he cannot even see air which grosser than ether?

6. Is it not ether, then, that you see in the sky above, blue and dusty?

A.~ No.

Q. What is it then?

A.~ It is the fine particles of earth, water and Agni (in the atmosphere). The blue colour is mainly due to the particles of water in the atmosphere that come down as rain, while the dusty appearance is due to the particles of dust which is carried up from the earth and floats about the air. It is these things that are seen and reflected in water or in a mirror, and not ether.

Q. Just as we find such terms as Ghataakaasha - the ether enclosed by a pot - Mataakaaha - the ether enclosed by a house - Meghaakaasha - the ether enclosed by a cloud -, used to denote various parts of ether; and after the pot, etc., are broken, the particular parts of ether cease to exist, only the universal ether is left; in the same way Brahma (God in Passive state) is I'shwara (God in active state) or the soul according as He is spoken of in relation to universe or to the antahkaran - internal organ of thought.

A.~ This is also a foolish argument. The ether (of the pot or the house, etc.) never perishes, nor is it ever shatttered into pieces. It is the pot or the house that is broken or pulled down and comes into pieces. You never hear of a person saying to another "Bring me the ether of a pot." He always says, "Bring me a pot." Your argument, therefore, is not valid.

Q. As the fish and other marine creatures swim about in the sea or as the birds fly about in air, so do all antahkarnas move about in Brahma - truly conscious Being Who is All-pervading like ether. They are by themselves devoid of consciousness, but by virtue of Divine presence in them they become conscious, just as a piece of iron becomes hot by coming in contact with fire. The antahkarnas like the fish and birds move about, whilst Brahma is stationary like space. There can, therefore, be no harm in believing that the soul in fact is Brahma (God).

A.~ Even this illustration of yours is not right, because of the soul be the image or reflection of the All-pervading Brahma in the antahkaran, why does it not possess such attributes as omniscience? If you say that it is not omniscient because of he limitations imposed upon the soul by the limiting medium, is Brahma then subject to obstruction, limitation and division or is He Indivisible? If you say that He is Indivisible, no limiting medium or veil can stand in His way. Why should not the soul then be omniscient?

On the other hand, if you say that the soul - which is really no other than Brahma, - forgets its divine nature and seemingly but not really moves about with antahkaran, then part of Brahma which the antahkaran (organ of thought) - veiling medium - gets to, will become subject to doubt, and distrust, and destitute of true knowledge, whilst that part, which it leaves behind, will become omniscient, pure and blissfull. Thus this antahkaran will disturb the whole universal Brahma, and consequently bondage (ignorance) and emancipation (knowledge) would become of momentary duration. Besides, if your assertion be true, no one should be able to remember whatever one had seen or heard in the past, because that Brahma who had seen or heard it had ceased to exist (on account of the antahkaran being in a state of constant motion and thus shifting form place to place. It follows, therefore, that God (Brahma) can never become the soul, nor can the soul become God. They can never be one. They are always distinct from each other.

7. This is all adhayaropa..

..(attributing the properties of one thing to another), in other words, the substitution of on thing for another. The substitution of the world and worldly objects for Brahma, that is, to speak of them as if they were different from Brahma, is simply meant to help a seeker after truth to understand the subject with ease. In reality everything is Brahma.

A.~ Who is it that makes this substitution?

Q.The soul

A.~ What is the soul?

Q.The conscious entity limited by antahkaran.

A.~ Is it the same Brahma or something different?

Q. The same Brahma.

A.~ Was it Brahma Himself then Who formed an erroneous conception of the world (according to the Vedantis, there is really no world, it is only delusion)?

Q. Even if it be Brahma who did it, it can do Him no harm.

A.~ Why is not he who forms an erroneous conception of things wrong then?

Q. No, because whatsoever is conceived in mind or spoken with the tongue is all false.

A.~ Is not Brahma, then - author of false ideas and false speech - false and fallible?

Q. Never mind that, let him be so, Our object is simply to prove our position.

A.~ Oh, ye false Vedaantis ! You have made Brahma (God), whose all desires and conceptions are truth, the author of falsehood. Is it not the cause of your degradation? In which Upanishad, aphorism or Veda is it written that Brahma is untruthful in thought or speech? Your conduct is like that of a burglar in the proverb which says, "A thief sitting in judgement on the magistrate." It is right for the magistrate to punish a burglar but it is unnatural and wrong if a burglar tries to punish the magistrate. Similarly, you, who are untruthful both in mind and speech, try in vain to lay your faults on God. If a part of Brahma be untruthful in word, deed or thought, the whole Brahma would be the same, because He is uniform. His nature, knowledge and action are all true.

Untruthfulness in word, deed or thought is your failing but not of Brahma. What you call knowledge is really ignorance, and what you call your adhyaropa is also false, because you call yourselves Brahma, when you are not Brahma, and regard the soul as Brahma what is not Brahma. Now what are these if not false ideas? He who is Omnipresent, can never become subject to limitations, ignorance and bondage. It is the soul that is limited by time and space, finite in nature, knowledge and power, but not the Omniscient, Omnipresent Brahma.

BONDAGE AND EMANCIPATON

8. What is emancipation?

A.~ That condition in which the souls are freed.

Q. Freed from what?

A.~ What they desire to be freed from.

Q. What do they desire to be freed from?

A.~ From pain ( or misery)

Q. Being freed from pain what do they attain and where do they live?

A.~ They attain happiness and live in God.

Q. What re the causes of Bondage and Emancipation?

A.~ Obedience to the Will of God, dissociation from sin, ignorance, bad company, evil influences and bad habits, the practice of truthfulness in speech, the promotion of public good, even-handed justice, righteousness and the advancement of knowledge, worship of God - Glorification, Prayer and Communion -in other words, the practice of yoga, study and tuition or instruction of others, and advancement of knowledge by righteous efforts, the employment of best means towards the accomplishment of one's object, the regulation of one's conduct in strict accordance with the dictates of even-handed justice which is righteousness, and so on are the means of obtaining Emancipation, whilst the reverse of these, disobedience to the Divine Will and the like lead to Bondage.

9. Does the soul in the state of Emancipation keep its individuality or is it absorbed (into God)?

A.~ It lives and keeps its individuality.

Q.Where does it live?

A.~ In God.

Q. Where is God? And does an emancipated soul remain in some definite place or go about just as it desires?

A.~ It remains its innate power, activity and attributes but no physical body. It is said in the Shatapatha Braahmana:-

"An emancipate soul has no physical body or bodily organs but it retains its pure natural attributes and powers. By virtue of its innate powers, an emancipate soul has the principle of hearing when it wants to hear, the principle of touch when it wants to feel, the principle of sight when it wishes to see, the principle of taste when it desires to taste, the principle of smell when it wants to smell, the principle of thought for thinking, the principle of judgement for ascertaining truth, the principle of memory for remembering, the principle of individuality for feeling its individuality. It can possess this so-called - composed of the principles of sensation and thought, etc., at its will. Just as when the soul is embodied, it depends upon its physical body and bodily organs to carry out its will, so does it enjoy the bliss of Emancipation through the use of its innate power.

10. What is the nature of this power, and of how many kinds is it?

A.~ Really it is of one kind, but it may be said to consist of the following 24 varieties:-

1. Strength;

2. Energy;

3. Attraction;

4. Suggestion;

5. Motion;

6. Intimidation;

7. Analytic power;

8. Skill;

9. Courage;

10. Memory;

11. Discernment;

12. Desire;

13. Love;

14. Hatred;

15. Association;

16. Dissociation;

17. Dividing power;

18. Combining power;

19. Power of sight;

20. Hearing;

21. Touch;

22. Taste;

23. Smell;

24. Knowledge.

By the help of these very powers the soul attains and enjoys happiness even in Emancipation. If the soul, when emancipated, were to be absorbed into Brahma, who would then enjoy the bliss of emancipation. Those who regard the dissolution of soul as emancipation are no doubt immersed in ignorance, because the Emancipation of the soul consists in its exemption from all sin and suffering and in the enjoyment of perfect bliss in the All-pervading, All-blissful, Infinite, Omnipotent God. Mark! What the Vedaant Shaastra says on the subject:-

"According to Baadri the soul as well as the mind - the principle of thought - is present in Emancipation." VEDAANT SHAATRA 4: 4, 10. In other words, Baadri, otherwise known as Paraashar, the father of Vyaasa, does not believe in the absorption of the soul ( into God) nor in its dissolution, nor in that to the principle of thought in the state of Emancipation. Similarly, the great teacher Jaimini holds that "an emancipated soul possesses the principle of thought as well as well as the spiritual or subtle body - the principles of sensation, and the nervauric forces. The soul and the principle of thought, etc., are not absent during emancipation."VEDAANT SHAASTRA 4: 4, 11.

Again the sage Vyaasa believes "both in the presence and absence of these powers in the state of emancipation, in other words, he holds that the soul exists and retains all its powers that are pure, whilst unholiness, sinfulness, pain and ignorance and the like are absent." VEDAANT SHAASTRA 4: 4,12

"That condition of the soul in which it possesses a pure manas - principle of thought, the five principles of sensation, and in which the deliberations of the principle of discernment are true and constant, is called the supreme state or Emancipation." KATHOPANISHAD, 2: 6, 10.

"That Supreme Spirit, Who is free from sin, decay and death, pain and sorrow, hunger and thirst, Whose thoughts and desires are the very essence of truth, should be sought after. It is by contact with the Divine Spirit that an emancipated soul attains to all the conditions it wishes for, and realizes all its desires, and it is through the knowledge of the Supreme Soul that it learns the means of salvation and the ways of self-purificcation." CHHAANDOGYA UPANISHAD, 8:7, 1.

So this emancipated soul sees al through pure spiritual eyes, and a pure manas and thereby enjoys extreme bliss. The soul that rests in the All-Glorious, Supreme Being - Omnipresent, Omniscient Spirit, the Inward Controller of all - Whom all men of Learning, imbued with piety and desirous of obtaining salvation, worship and adore (by the practice of yoga), enjoys the beatitude of emancipation. Verily it obtains all its heart's desires and whatsoever worlds and states it wishes to attain to. The emancipated soul leaves off its mortal coil and roam about in space in the All-pervading God by the help of the Spiritual body.

As long as the soul is embodied, it can never be free from worldly pains and sorrows. Prajapati said to Indra, 'Listen, O thou who art wealthy and worthy of great respect! This physical body is mortal. It is in the jaws of death very much like a goat under the jaws of a lion (meaning that death can overtake this body at anytime). It is the dwelling place of the formless and immoral soul, which is, therefore, constantly afflicted with pain or engrossed in pleasure, because an embodied soul can never be free form worldly joys or sorrows. On the other hand, the un-embodied, emancipated soul, that lives in God, can neither be affected by joys nor by sorrows. It continually enjoys perfect bliss.

11. Does the soul, once being emancipated, ever become subject to birth and death again?

It is said in the Chhaandogya Upanishac:-

"The soul after being emancipated never comes back again into this world." CHHAANDOGYA 8:7, 1.

"Again it is written in the Vedaant Shaastras:

"The Veda declares there is no coming back, no coming back declares the Veda."VEDANT SHAASTRA 4: 4, 33.

The Gita also says:-

"That Supreme State from which it - the soul - never falls back (into this world) is mine."

It is clear from these quotations that that alone is called (the state of) Emancipation from which the soul never returns into this world. What is your view?

A.~ It is not true that the emancipated soul never returns to this world because the Veda contradicts this view.

"Whose name should we hold sacred; Who is that All-glorious, Resplendent Being Who is imperishable among all the perishable things; Who having made us enjoy the bliss of emancipation again invests us with bodies and thereby gives us the pleasure of seeing our parents? It is the All-glorious, Eternal, Immortal, All-pervading, Supreme Being Whose name we should hold sacred. He, it is, Who helps us to enjoy the bliss of Emancipation and then bring us back into this world, clothes us with bodies, and thereby gives us the pleasure of seeing our parents. The same Divine Spirit it is Who regulates the period of Emancipation and lords over all." RIG VEDA 1:24, 2.

Again says the Saankhya Shaastra,

"Souls live in Bondage and Emancipation as they are at the present time. There is no everlasting (Atyanta) Bondage or emancipation." SAANKYA 1:159.

Q. But the Niyaaya Shaastra says:-

"(Atyanta) Everlasting freedom from pain alone is called Emancipation, because it is only freedom form false ideas, ignorance, vices (such as covetousness) and from engrossment in sensual gratification and contraction of evil habits, and consequent immunity from birth and pain, that brings about Emancipation which is everlasting.*

A.~ The word Atyanta does not necessarily always mean everlasting, because we very often say that such a man is

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* Even the word Everlasting in English does not mean unending, it sometimes used to express the same idea as atyanta, i.e., extreme - Tr.

in atyanta pain or enjoys atyanta pleasure. Now here atyanta means extreme. What we, therefore, mean is that that man is in extreme pain or enjoys extreme pleasure. Similarly the word atyanta in the above quotations means extreme, not everlasting or etenal.

12. If the soul returns to this world form the state of emancipation, what is the duration of Emancipation then?

A.~ "The emancipated soul returns to this world from the state of emancipation in the Omnipresent God till after the end of the Grand-Dissolution (Mahaakalpa) and, thereafter, parts with that bliss and is again born into this world." MUNDAK UPANISHAD 3: 2, 6.

The period covered by Grand-Dissolution is calculated thus:-

Time is first divided into four yugas or cycles:-

Satyuga (Golden age)…………………………………..1,728,000 years.

Dvaaparyuga (Silver age)………………………………1,296,000 years

Tretaayuga (Bronze age)…………………………………864,000 years

Kaliyuga (Iron or dark age)………………………………432,000 years

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Total ………. 4,320,000 years

Thus 4,320,000 years make one Chaturyugi

2,000 Chaturyugi is 8,640, 000,000 years and is equal to an Ahoratra (Day and Night)

30 Ahoratras equal one Maasa (month)

12 Maasas equal one Prantakal (Grand-dissolution).

Thus, the duration of Emancipation = 100 x 12x 30 x 2000 x 4,320,000 = 311, 040,000,000,000 years.

Q. All others writers teach and all the world believes that the emancipation is that condition from which no souls returns to this world and becomes subject to births and deaths.

A.~ This view can never be true. Firstly, when the powers of the soul, its instruments (such as body and bodily organs), and its means are all finite, how could the reward extend over an infinite period? Secondly, the soul does not possess infinite capacity, infinite means and infinite activity to enjoy infinite bliss, how could it then enjoy Everlasting happiness? How could the end be eternal when the means to accomplish it are non-eternal? Thirdly, if no souls came back from the state of emancipation, the world should become bereft of them.

13. No, there can be no dearth of souls, because the emancipated souls are replaced by new ones that God creates.

A.~

Firstly, if that be the case the soul would become non-eternal (mortal), because a thing that is created must perish. Therefore, according to your own view the soul even on obtaining emancipation would perish, hence emancipation becomes non-eternal.

Secondly, in the place wherein emancipated souls live - otherwise called Heaven - there will be a great deal of hustling, crowding and jostling, as there will be no end of increase in the population for the simple reason that immigration will be so great, whilst emigration will be nil.

Thirdly, there can be no perception of pain. For example, you would not know sweet taste from bitter or bitter from sweet, if you would only taste one of them - sweet or bitter - all your life-time, because it is only by comparing the flavours of things possessing opposite tastes that we form an idea of both. If a man were always to eat and drink sweet things only, he would not enjoy them so much as one who tastes all kinds of food.

Fourthly, if God were to give the soul unlimited happiness as the fruit if its actions that are limited (finite), His justice would be destroyed. A wise man does not put on his man's shoulders a load heavier than he can carry. If a man can only carry a load of eighty pounds and his master puts a weight of eight hundred pounds on his head, he is certainly worthy of censure. Similarly, it would not be right for God to load the soul, possessed of finite power and finite knowledge, with everlasting happiness.

Fifthly, if you say that God creates new souls, the material out of which He creates them will eventually run short; because a bank, however wealthy it may be that has a constant drain on it, but has no income, is sure to become bankrupt sooner or later. It follows, therefore, that this arrangement alone - viz., Emancipation and then return from it - is the right one.

Sixthly, there is no man who would prefer life-imprisonment (or hanging) to imprisonment for a shorter term. There being no return from Emancipation, it differs from life-imprisonment only in this respect that one has not to work there.

With regard to Emancipation as absorption into God (which is the plea of salvation according to some people)it is like death by drowning one-self into the sea.

14. The soul can enjoy eternal bliss..
and be emancipated everlastingly just as God lives in enjoyment of Perfect and Everlasting Bliss and is Eternally free from worldly joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain.

A.~ God is infinite by nature, His essence, powers, attributes are all infinite. He can, therefore, never be subject to ignorance, pain and bondage, etc. The soul, even when emancipated, remains, finite in knowledge, though pure in nature. Its attributes, powers and activity all remain finite. It can, therefore, never be like God.

15. This being the case, Emancipation is no better than birth and death. It is useless, therefore, to endeavour to obtain it.

A.~ It is not like birth and death. The bliss of Emancipation extends over the period of Creations and Dissolutions for thirty-six thousand times. Is uninterrupted happiness with perfect absence of pain extending over such a long period trifling? You eat and drink to-day, though you know you will be hungry again before the day is out. Why do you try to appease your hunger and quench your thirst then? If it is considered necessary to endeavour to appease hunger and quench thirst, acquire worldly possessions, and temporal power and fame, have a wife and children and the like, why is it not the same for emancipation? Though death is certain, yet we work in order to live. In like manner, though the return from emancipation is certain, still it is extremely desirable that we should do our best to obtain it.

16. What are the means of obtaining Emancipation?

A.~ Some of them have already been mentioned but the special means are the following:-

(1)

Let him who desires emancipation be emancipated now in this life. In other words, let him renounce all those evil or sinful actions, such as untruthfulness in speech, that lead to misery and pain. Let him, instead, always live a virtuous life and do such good deeds (e.g., veracity in speech) as lead to happiness. Let him, who wants to escape from pain and enjoy happiness, abandon sin and practice righteousness; because sin is the cause of pain and suffering, whilst righteousness begets happiness.

Let him always associate with men of great learning and piety, and thereby studiously know truth from untruth, virtue from vice, and right from wrong.

Let him ascertain that the body comprises five systems (koshas - also translated into Sheaths by some writers):-

(i) The Physical system which comprises all the tissues and fluids of the body from bone to skin. It is the gross physical body or system.

(ii) The Vital system which comprises the five great vital or nervauric forces:-

[1] Praana or the Expiratory force which helps to draw the air out.

[2] Apaana or the Inspiratory force which helps to draw the air into the lungs.

[3] Samaana or the Solar-sympathetic force which is situated in the center of the abdomen, and serves to carry rasa, i.e., chyle -the essence of food - and blood to all parts of the body.

[4]Udaana or Glosso-pharyngeal force which helps to draw the food down the throat into the stomach, etc., and give rise to strength and energy.

[5] Vyaana or the Motor- muscular force which helps the soul to move or do anything - the cause of motion.

(iii) The Mento- motor system which comprises the principle of volition, the principle of individuality, and the five principles of action, viz., articulation, grasp, locomotion, reproduction and excretion.

(iv) The Mento-sensory system which comprises the principle of judgement, the principle of memory, and the five principles of sensation, viz., sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. It is through these that the soul carries on such processes, as thinking and the like.(v) The Spirituo-emotional system which comprises love, cheerfulness, happiness - great or little. The elementary matter called prakritiis the medium through which the soul entertains these feelings.

The above-mentioned five systems are the media through which the soul acquires all kinds of knowledge, carries on all the mental processes, and performs all its actions.

Let him realize that there are three states or phases of the soul:-

(1) Wakeful phase.

(2) Dreaming phase.

(3) Slumbering phase, sound sleep or sushupti in which there is no consciouness of the outside world, nor are there any dreams.

17. How many kinds of bodies are there?

Let him know that there are four kinds of bodies:-

[1] The gross physical body which is seen and felt.

[2] The subtle (spiritual or astral) body which comprises seventeen principles:- five nervauric or vital principles, five principles of sensation, and five physical principles such as Prithivi (solid), apaah (air), agni (heat/electricity), etc., in subtle form, and the principles of volition and discernment. It also accompanies the soul in all its births and deaths. It is of two kinds:-

a. Material which is derived from the fine particles of subtle matter.

b.Spiritual or natural which comprises the natural powers and attributes of the soul.

Both these remain with the soul in the state of Emancipation, and it is through them that the soul enjoys the bliss of emancipation.

[3] The casual body (kaarana shrira) which consists of the elementary matter - prakriti. It is all-pervading and therefore, common to all souls. It is through this that the soul enters into the state called sound dreamless sleep.

[4] The turya (superior) body is that through which the soul is absorbed in the contemplation of the All-blissful Supreme Spirit in the state of samaadhi (superior condition) developed by the practice of yoga and perfect concentration. The energy born of this pure body - the product of the pure influence of the superior condition - is of great service to the soul in Emancipation.

The soul itself is distinct from all the above-mentioned systems, states, and bodies. That the soul is distinct from states is evident from the fact that when a man dies, everyone says that the soul has passed out of the body. The soul alone is the prompter, the possessor, the seer, the doer, and the reaper of the fruits of its actions. Know him, who says that the soul is not the doer nor the reaper, to be ignorant and destitute of reason; because all these bodies, etc., are by themselves dead and inert.

They can never feel any pain nor pleasure, nor can they do anything - good or evil , though it is true that the soul in conjunction with them does sinful and virtuous deeds and reaps the fruits thereof - pain or pleasure.

When the senses come in contact with the external objects, and the manas - the principle of attention - acts on conjunction with the senses, and the soul with the manas, it incites the mervauric forces into action - good or evil, the soul is then said to be directed outwardly, and at that very moment feelings of happiness, cheerfulness and fearlessness spring up in the mind from within when the act is good, while those of fear, shame and distrust when it is evil.

It is the voice of the Omnisicient Divine spirit - the Inward Controller of all from within. Verily he alone who follows this voice and acts accordingly - enjoys the bliss of Emancipation. Whosoever goes against the dictates of this voice suffers from misery and pain - the result of bondage.

The above constitutes the first means of Salvation.

(2) Vairaagya is next. It consists in the practice of truth and renunciation of untruth after carefully discriminating right from wrong. In other words, it consists in acquiring the knowledge of the nature, properties, and characteristics of all things, from earth to Heaven ( literally God), in assiduously obeying God's commandments and worshipping Him, in never going against His Will and in making nature subservient to oneself.

(3)Shatak Sampatti - the performance of six kinds of acts:-

Sama consists in restraining one's soul and manas (mind) from sin and temptation, and in always practising righteousness.

Dama consists in keeping the body and the senses aloof from doing evil deeds, such as adultery, and in practising self-control and living a chaste life.

Uprati consists in never associating oneself with the wicked.

Titiksha consists in becoming deaf to all worldly applause or censure, and indifferent to profit or loss, joy or sorrow, and in throwing oneself heart and soul into the pursuit of the ways and means of Emancipation.

Samaadhaana is the concentration of mind.

(4) Mumukshatwa is perfect devotion to and unflinching love for nothing but emancipation and the means of obtaining it like a hungry or thirsty man who desires nothing else but food and drink. These are the four saadhanaas or means of attaining Emancipation. Next come what are called Anubandhaas (subsidiary means) so called because they come after the saadhanaas or means.

Anubandhaas (subsidiary means) are four in number:-

Adhikaari is the worthiness to become a recepticle unto the Divine spirit.

Sambandha is the thorough knowledge of the Veda and Shaastra and of (the means of emancipation) - another name for seeing God - explained therein, and the realization thereof.

Vishayee is making the realization of God - the subject matter of all Shaastraas - as the one object of one's life.

Prayojana is the exemption from all misery and pain, and he perfect enjoyment of the great bliss of Emancipation.

After anubandhaas (subsidiary means) comes Shravana Chatushthayaa. It is also four kinds:-

Shravana is to listen most attentively with calm mind to the discourse or speech of a learned man and more so if the subject be Divine science, because it is the most abstruse and the subtlest of all the sciences.

Manana is thinking over what one has heard in retirement, and in removing doubts if there be any by questioning the speaker. Questions may sometimes be asked even in the middle of a discourse if the speaker and the audience think proper.

Nidhidhyaasana. When all doubts are cleared after hearing a discourse and thinking over it, let the enquirer enter into the superior condition and see for himself by the help of yoga whether it is the same as he had heard and reasoned out or not. This is called Nidhidhyaasana.

Saakhshaata Karana is the resulting correct knowledge of the nature, properties and characteristics of the desired object.

Let him ( i.e., the seeker after Salvation) always renounce qualities and habits that are the result of the darkness of mind (Tamoguna), such as anger, uncleanliness - both physical and mental - indolence, and infatuation. Let him also hold himself aloof from Rajoguna, i.e., passions, such as jealousy, hatred, lust, conceit and restlessness of spirit, and instead, acquire Satoguna, i.e., good qualities, such as tranquility of mind, gently disposition, purity, knowledge and ideas.

Let him be friends with the happy, kind to those who are in pain and distress, love those who are good and virtuous, but neither love nor hate those who are wicked. Let the seeker after salvation always devote at least two hours daily to meditation of devotional exercises and mentally see all the subtle principles within the body, such as the principle of thought, etc.

We are conscious beings. Therefore, it is that we can acquire and possess knowledge, and see exactly whatever state the mind - the manas - is in, as for instance tranquil or restless, happy or sorrowful. Similarly, we are conscious of the doings of the senses, can remember what we have seen before, are cognizant of different ideas and objects at different times; attract and sustain others and yet we are distinct from all of them; otherwise the soul could never be a free-agent, nor the prompter and sustainer of the principle of thought, the senses, the body and the bodily organs.

In this world there are five kinds of Klesha (pain):-

Ignorance. It has already been described (in the beginning of this Chapter).

Asmitaa is to regard the principle of discernment and soul as one and the same thing.

Raaga is the love of pleasure.

Dvesha is aversion to pain.

Abhinivesha is the fear of death. All living beings have continually the desire to live for ever and do not wish to die

Let every man free himself from these five kinds of klesha ( pain) by means of the practice of yoga and the acquisition of spiritual knowledge, the realization of God, and enjoy the supreme bliss of Emancipation.

19. The kind of salvation you believe in is quite different from that of the rest of the world.

Now the Jainees hold that salvation consists is going to Shivapuri and sitting there quietly on a platform called Moksha Shilla (the stone of salvation); the salvation of the Christians consists in going to the fourth Heaven wherein they enjoy themselves by singing, playing and putting on fine dresses, and marrying and fighting; whilst the Mohamedans believe that salvation consists in going to the seventh Heaven, Vaama Maargis to Shripur, Shaivites to Kailaash, Vaishnavites to Baikunth, and Gosaaeens to Golaka and enjoying life by means of beautiful wives, pretty dresses and houses, nice foods and drinks. The Pouraaniks ( the followers of the Puraanaas0 believe in five kinds of salvation:-

Residence in the same world with God.

Living with God as His younger brother.

Becoming like God in nature.

Living near God as a servant lives near his master.

Intimate union with God.

Last of all, the Vedaantis hold that salvation consists in the absorption of the soul into God.

A.~ We shall discuss the different kinds of salvation which the Jainees, the Mohamedans, and the Christians believe in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, respectively, of this book. The salvation of the Vaama Maargis, which consists in nothing else but eating meat and drinking wine, hearing love songs and enjoying themselves with women, is no better than what you get in this world. They look upon all men as Mahaadeva or Vishnu, and all women as Paaravati or Lakshmi and enjoy themselves with each other.

Now this is no better than what the princes and other wealthy people do in this world except what they say that there will be no disease in heaven and that you will always remain young, which can never be true; because wherever there is enjoyment of sensual pleasures, there is disease, and wherever there is disease, there is old age. The puraaniks should be told that their five kinds of salvation are attainable even to animals, insects and worms without any effort on their part.

Take for example, the first kind of their salvation. All these worlds wherein all living beings exist are God's Who lives in all of them, hence they live in the same world with God. Salvation number (2) is also possessed by the soul without any effort on its part; because being smaller than God and both being conscious entities it is like a younger brother to God. (3) As regards the third kind of salvation, being a spirit and possessing, consciousness and being pure in nature the soul is like God, but it can never be like Him in infinite power, infinite activity and infinite attributes. As regards salvation number (4), God being Omnipresent all souls are near Him, hence all of them already possess this kind of salvation. The same may be said of salvation number (5). God being All-pervading, He also resides in the soul. Hence the latter is in intimate union with God.

The disintegration of the body and the soul into their component parts, which is called salvation (nirvaana) by some atheists (Buddhists), is attainable even to dogs and donkeys.

All these kinds of salvation are no salvation at all. They are really prisons, because all those people believe their respective Heavens, such as Shivpuri, the fourth Heaven, or the seventh Heaven, shripur, Kailash, Vaikunth and Golaka, to be definite worlds or places (of residence). Were their inmates to leave those places, they would lose their salvation. They are, therefore, rather like prisoners imprisoned in dark cells out of which they dare not go.

The true salvation or emancipation consists in this that the soul should go about wherever it likes without any let or hindrance, and should have no fears, doubts, or sorrows.

The union of the soul with body is called its birth, while the severance of this link is called death or dissolution.

The emancipated souls are born again in the due course of time.

20. Do you believe in the unity or the plurality of birth (of soul)?

A.~ In the plurality of births.

Why can the soul then remember what happened in its previous births and deaths?

A.~ The soul is finite in knowledge and powers. It is not the seer of the three periods of time - the past, the present and future - it cannot therefore recall its past. Besides, the manas - the principle of thought and attention - by means of which the soul knows cannot have tow ideas, i.e., of the past as well as the present - at one and the same time. Let alone things that happened in the previous life of the soul, can a man remember all that happens in this very life form the time of conception till, say, the age of five. We see and hear so many different things while we are awake, and dream of so many different things while in slumber, why can we not recall all those things when we are in deep sleep? You could never tell, if you were asked, for example, what you were doing on the ninth day of the fifth month of the thirteenth year of your life exactly at ten in the morning; which way you were looking; what the position of your head and hands was; whether your mouth was open or shut; and what you were then thinking of? When such is the case even in this life, how absurd then to question the validity of the previous existence of the soul simply because it cannot recall what happened in that life?

It is a good thing too that the soul cannot remember its past, otherwise there would have been no happiness for it. It would have died of sheer pain and mental anguish brought on by brooding over the terrible sufferings and sorrows of it past lives. No man can ever know that happened in his past lives even if he were to try to do so; because the soul's power and knowledge are limited.. God alone can know that.

21. How can the punishment, that God inflicts on the soul, reform it..

... when it cannot remember its past; because the punishment could prevent it from committing any further sins only if it were to know that such and such a punishment was meted out to it for such and such a sin.

A.~ How many kinds of knowledge do you believe in?

Q. Eight kinds, such as knowledge through direct cognition, through Inference, through analogy, etc.

A.~ Why can you not then infer the existence of the previous life of the soul form seeing different peple born and brought up under different conditions in this world such as affluence and poverty, happiness and misery, talent and idiocy, etc. Suppose a physician and a layman are taken ill. The physician at once finds out the cause that brought on the disease on him, while the layman cannot; because the former has studied Medical Science while the latter has not. But even the layman knows this much that he must have violated some law of nature - dietetic or sanitary, etc., - to bring on the disease, such as fever. Similarly, why can you not infer the pre-existence of the soul by observing people afflicted with pain and suffering, or endowed with pleasures or joys of this world in unequal proportions - results of their actions not in the present life? If you refuse to believe in the pre-existence of the soul, how do you think it to be consistent with the justice of God to bless some with riches, power, and talent, etc., while afflict others with poverty, suffering, idiocy and the like without their having done anything - good or evil - in their previous lives to deserve them? God can be just only when He gives the soul pleasure or pain according to its good or evil deeds done in its previous lives.

Q. The belief in the unity of birth is not inconsistent with the justice of God. He is like a Sovereign Ruler, whatsoever he does is just. He may also be likened to a gardener who implants trees big and small in his grove, some he trims, others he cuts down, others still he protects (from wind and cattle, etc.), improves and multiples. One can do whatever one likes with one/s own. In like manner, God can do whatever He likes (with His world). There is no one above Him who could punish Him or whom He should fear.

A.~ God always desires justice and acts justly, therefore, it is that he is Great and worthy of our homage and adoration. He would not be God if He acted unjustly. A gardener who plants trees aimlessly or promenades or other places, cuts down trees that do not require cutting, multiplies those that are fit to be multiplied, and does not multiply those that are suitable for multiplying, is worthy of blame.

In like manner would God be blameworthy were He to act without a reasonable cause. It is absolutely necessary for God to act justly, because He is pure and just by nature. Should He act like a madman? He would even be beneath a good judge of this world, and would no longer be honoured. Does not a judge, in this world, who punishes the innocent and awards honour t those who have done nothing to deserve it, merit blame and forfeit his honour? God never does anything that is unjust. He, therefore, fears none.

22. God has pre-ordained all. He gives one or acts by one whatsoever He had determined before-hand to give or do.

A.~ His determination is always in accordance with the actions of the soul. Should it be otherwise, He would be unjust and guilty.

23. All men have the same amount of misery and happiness. .

The great have great cares, whilst the small have small troubles and cares. A rich merchant, for instance, has a law suit, of say 100,000 rupees, in a Court of law. He leaves his house in a palanquin (borne on the shoulders of men) for the Court on a very hot day. The ignorant, when they see him thus passing through a street, cry out "Behold the might of virtue land vice. One is comfortably sitting in the palanquin, whilst the others are bearing him on their shoulders bare-footed with a burning ground underneath and a scorching sun over head." But the wise know that as the Court is drawing nigh, the anxiety of the merchant, his doubts and fears are increasing, while the palanquin bearers are getting easier at the prospect of being soon relieved from their burden.

When at last they get to the court, the merchant thinks of going hither and thither. He soliloquizes thus "Shall I go to see by counsel or shall I see the clerk of the Court first? Shall I win or lose to-day? Oh! I wish I knew what was going to happen" and so on. The palanquin bearers, on the other hand, chat together, smoke, feel happy, and enjoy their siesta. If the merchant wins, he feels a bit happy, if he loses, he sinks into the depths of misery, whilst the palanquin bearers are affected neither one way nor the other.

They remain just as they were before the case was decided. Similarly, when a king lays himself down on his beautiful and soft bed, he does not go to sleep quicker than a labourer who falls asleep as soon as he stretches himself on uneven earth covered with stones and pebbles. The same is true of all other conditions seemingly unequal.

A.~ Only the ignorant can believe that all are equally happy or miserable. If a rich merchant and apalanquin bearer were asked to change their places with one another, the merchant would never like to become a palanquin bearer, while the latter would simply jump at the offer. Had they been equally happy or miserable, the merchant would never have refused to change his place with the palanquiin bearer, nor, would the latter have liked to become a rich merchant.

Behold the difference between the happiness and misery of the different people! One soul comes into the womb of the queen of a great righteous and learned king, whilst another in that of the wife of a poor miserable grass-cutter. One is happy and well-cared for in every way since the day of its conception, whilst the other suffers in a hundred different ways. When one is born, he is bathed with pure fragrant water, and his cord is carefully cut. He is properly fed and cared for. When he is hungry, he is given milk mixed with sugar and other necessary ingredients in proper proportions. There are servants to wait upon him, toys for him to play with, conveyances to take him out to pretty and healthy places. He is well-loved, and is happy. The other is born in a jungle, where not even water is to be had to wash him. When he is hungry and wants milk, he slapped on the face instead, cries most pitifully, but no one attends to him and so on.

The infliction of suffering or the awarding of happiness to souls, without their having previously done acts - sinful or virtuous - to deserve it, would disgrace God. Besides, if we suffer or enjoy here in this world without having previously done anything - sinful or virtuous - our going to Hell or Heaven after d4ath ought not to be dependent on our deeds done in this life, because just as God has given us pleasure or pain her without our having previously done sinful or virtuous deeds, so would He send some of us to Hell, others to Heaven just according to His pleasure.

Why should men then practice virtue. (If this logic be accepted) all would become wicked and lead sinful lives; because it is doubtful if virtue will bear any fruit. It all rests with God. He would do just as it would please Him. No one will thus fear sin which will consequently multiply, whilst virtue will decay. It follows therefore that the present birth of the soul is in accordance with its deeds - sinful and virtuous - in the past, whilst the future will be determined by its present and past modes of life - righteous or unrighteous.

24. Are souls in the bodies of men and animals of the same nature or different?

A.~ They are all of the same nature, but are pure or impure according as they are virtuous or sinful.

Q. Do the souls of men go into bodies of animals and vice versa; and do souls of men go into souls of women and vice versa?

A.~ Yes, they do. When sin predominates over virtue in a man, his soul goes into the bodies of lower animals and the like when virtue predominates over sin in a soul, it is born as a good and learned person. When sin and virtue are equal, the soul is born as an ordinary man. Sin and virtue being of three different grades - superior, medium, and inferior - men can be divided into three classes according as they are possessed of superior, medium and inferior kind of material (bodies, bodily powers, mental capacities and talents, etc.). When sin preponderates over virtue, the soul suffers the consequences of its sin in the bodies of lower animals and the like, till its sins and virtues are equalized when it is invested with a human body. Similarly, when it has enjoyed the excess of virtue over sin, it is born as an ordinary man.

The separation of the soul from the body is called death, whist its union with the body is called birth. When the soul leaves the body, it lives in the atmosphere (yama), because it is said in the Veda, "Yama,is another name for air." Thereafter the Great Judge - God - embodies that soul according to the nature of its deeds done in the previous life. Guided by God it enters the body of some living creature with air, water, food, drink or through any one of the openings of the body.

Having entered it, it gradually reaches the reproductive element, the thereby establishes itself in the womb, and is thus invested with a body and eventually born. It is clothed with a male or a female body, just as it merits a male or a female one; whilst a hermaphrodite is formed by the union of the male and the female reproductive elements in equal proportions at the same time of conception.

The soul is continually chained down to this wheel of births and deaths till by the practice of the highest virtue and complete absorption into Divine contemplation and the acquisition of the highest knowledge it obtains Emancipation. By the practice of deeds of the highest virtue, etc., it is born as a good and great personage among men; and being freed from births and deaths and the consequent pain and suffering, it enjoys perfect bliss in Emancipation till the end of the Grand-Dissolution.

25. Can Emancipation be obtained in one life or in more than one?

A.~ In more than one; because it is said in the Upanishad:-

"Verily it is only when all the knots of its heart - darkness, and ignorance - are severed, all its doubts dispelled, and when it sins no longer that the soul finds rest in that Supreme Spirit Who pervades it both within and withou." MUNDAK 2: 8.

26. Is the soul in Emancipation absorbed into God or does it retain its individuality?

A.~ It retains its separate individuality, for should it get absorbed into the Divine Spirit, who would then enjoy the bliss of Emancipation. Besides, all the hardships borne, all the efforts made and all the means employed to obtain Emancipation would become useless. Absorption of the soul into the Divine Spirit is not Emancipation but its death or annihilation. It is only the soul that obeys the will of God, follows the highest virtue, associates with the good and the great practices yoga and employs all the aforesaid means, that obtains emancipation. Says the Upanishad:-

"The soul that knows the Supreme Spirit Who is All-truth, All-knowledge and All-Bliss and resides in the very interior of the soul and the principle of discernment, finds rest in the Omnipresent Great God and thereby, being in harmony with the Indefinite Omniscient Supreme Being all its (righteous) desires are gratified. In other words, whatever happiness it wishes for it obtains." TAITREYA ANANDVALLI 1.

27. When the soul cannot enjoy worldly happiness without a body, how could it then enjoy the bliss of Emancipation without a physical body?

A.~ We have answered this objection before, but will add that the soul enjoys the bliss of emancipation through God in the same way as it enjoys the worldly pleasures through the body. The emancipated soul roams about in the Infinite all-pervading God as it desires, sees all nature through puree knowledge, meets other emancipated souls, sees all the laws, of nature in operation, goes about in all the worlds visible and invisible, sees all objects that it comes across, the more its knowledge increases the happier it feels.

Being altogether pure, the soul acquires perfect knowledge of all hidden things in the state of Emancipation. This extreme bliss alone is called Heaven (swarga), while pursuit of worldly Desires and consequent pain and suffering are called Hell (naraka). Swarga literally means happiness. The ordinary happiness id called worldly happiness. Whilst the extreme happiness born of the realization of God is called Extraordinary happiness or Heaven (Swarga).

All men naturally desire to obtain happiness and escape form pain and misery. But as long they do not practice righteousness and renounce sin, so long they cannot obtain happiness and be freed from pain and suffering; because the effect cannot perish as long as the cause exists. It is said "All pain and suffering cease as soon as sin is destroyed just as a tree perishes when its root is cut away.

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19a. Sattvic, Rajasik & Tamasic - three-fold nature of the mind.

Mark, how Manu 12: 8, 9, 25, 33, 35-38. describes the manifold course of sin and virtue:-

"Let a man thus know this three-fold nature (of mind) - the highest, the mean, and the lowest degree - cultivate the disposition of the highest kind and reject the other two. Let him also bear in mind that the soul has a reward - happiness - or a punishment - pain and suffering - for his acts - mental through mind, verbal through its organs of speech, and corporeal through its physical body."

"For the corporeal sinful acts (such as theft, adultery and killing or injuring the good) a man shall assume a vegetable form; for verbal sinful acts, the form of a bird or an animal; and for sinful acts mostly mental, the lowest of human conditions."

"The quality that predominates in physical body renders the embodied soul eminently distinguished for that quality."

"The possession of true ideas by the soul is declared to be an indication of Sattva (Superior). Ignorance betokens Tamas (lowest). Passion of love and hatred signify Rajas (medium). These three attributes, i.e., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas of the Prakriti are to be found in all things."

"When a man feels that there is tranquility, peacefulness, and contentment in his mind and also his soul is pure as the purest light, let him know then that the Sattva predominates; whilst the Rajas and Tamas occupy a subordinate position."

"When the soul is unhappy, has no peace of mind, is restlessly engaged in the pursuit of sensual objects, let him then know that it is the Rajas that predominates, whilst the Sattva and Tamas are suppressed."

"When the soul and the manas - the principle of thought - are engaged in the headlong pursuit of worldly things, lose all sense of right and wrong, are thoroughly infatuated with sensual gratification and absolutely incapable of discussion a subject, and are extremely dull of understanding, let him understand that it is the Tamas that predominates in him."

"Now we shall describe at large, the various results in the highest, mean and lowest degrees that proceed from those three qualities."

"Study of the Veda - source of all true knowledge -, strict devotion to duty, the advancement of knowledge, the desire for purity - corporeal and spiritual, self-control, the practice of righteousness and Divine contemplation verily betoken Sattva."

"Spasmodic zeal, impatience, practice of unrighteous act, and habitual indulgence in sensual gratification are the signs of the preponderance of Rajas and the comparative suppression of the Tamasand Sattva."

"Extreme covetousness - the root of all evils - extreme indolence, stupidity and sleepiness, discontents, cruelty, atheism, i.e., want of faith in God and the Veda, distraction of mind, want of mental concentration, and contraction of evil habits should be looked upon by a wise man as indications of Tamas. It is the Tamas, then, that predominates whilst the Rajas and Sattva are not markedly manifest."

"Besides, whenever a man's soul feels shame, doubt and fear in having done, in doing or in going to do an act, let him know that the Tamas greatly preponderates in him."

"When a man seeks great fame in this world, and does not cease giving money to flatters, flunkeys, and parasites: poor though he be, let him understand that the Rajas preponderates in him."

"When a man's soul thirsts after knowledge, not matter where it comes from, cultivates good qualities, feels no shame in doing good actions at which it greatly rejoices, in other words is always desirous of practicing righteousness, let him know then that the Sattva predominates."

"The craving for sensual gratification is an index of Tamas, the desire for the acquisition of worldly possession, or Rajas and the practice of righteousness, of < b>. The last mentioned is superior to Rajas, and that in its turn is superior to Tamas. Now we shall describe the conditions that each of these qualities -Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - leads to:-

"Those endowed with Sattava attain to the state of the learned, godly men. Those, who are possessed of Rajas, become men, while those immersed in Tamas fall into the condition of lower orders."

"Vegetables (as trees), worms and insects, fish, snakes, tortoise, cattle, and deer, and like, are the forms which the lowest degree of Tamas leads to."

"Elephants, horses, extremely stupid and dull persons, men of dirty habits and uncouth speech and manners, ferocious animals, such as lions, wolves and boars, re the forms that proceed from the mean degree of Tamas."

"Flatterers,* beautiful birds, braggarts, cruel blood-thirsty men, and those who drink wine and other intoxicants habitually and are dirty in their habits, are the conditions which proceed from the highest degree of Tamas."

"Fencers (cudgel players, etc.), gardeners, sailors, acrobats, armed servants and those who are addicted to drinking and gambling result from the Rajas of the lowest degree."

"Rulers, men of the governing class (statesmen, soldiers, etc.), king's chaplains, controversialists, ambassadors, lawyers, judges,

_

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*Those who make poetical compositions, etc., in praise of other in order to flatter them.

heads of the army and the like are occasioned by the Rajas of the medium degree."

"Singers, musicians, men of great wealth and resource, companions or associates of the great and good men of vast learning or those who wait upon them, and women of great beauty and physical charms are caused by the Rajas of the highest quality."

"Those who are strictly devoted to their duties, truth and righteousness, masters of their passions, altruistic teachers of humanity - Sanyaasis, teachers of the Veda, aeronauts, astronomers, physicians or hygienist, i.e., those who devote themselves to the science and art of the perfect development of the human body, proceed from the Sattva of the lowest degree."

"Philanthropists, seers of the Veda, godly learned men, great scholars of the Veda, professors of the science, of electricity, astronomy, geology, etc. (literally, the science of time), those who possess true knowledge and power which they use for the good of others, and great Teachers result from the Sattva of the medium degree.

"Masters of all four Vedas, masters of all the sciences and arts, who invent (or construct) air ships and such machines, those who are embodiments of righteousness and wisdom, those who acquire control over the elementary* result from the Sattva of the highest degree."

"The ignorant, the basest among men who indulge in their sensual appetites, renounce the practice of righteousness and the performance of their duties and lead sinful lives assume the basest forms and thereby suffer various afflictions."

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*Literally atoms and first stage after their combination. -Tr.

Thus whatsoever act a man sows by virtue of the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the same shall he reap. Those who are emancipated are beyond the pale of these three qualities. Let every man, therefore, endeavor to become great yogi (altruistic teacher) by the practice of yoga, and employ himself in the pursuit of those means that lead to Emanicapation.

"Let a man restrain his mind from the doing of acts that proceed from Rajas and Tamas and thereafter even from those that result from Sattva, and become imbued with purity and such other good qualities."

" Let him then withdraw his mind from the senses, aim it at righteousness, and make it concentrate on God. This withdrawal of the mind from all things, and concentrating it on one point is called yoga."

"After the mind is withdrawn and concentrated, the soul is centered in God - the Seer of all - and finds rest in Him." YOGA I: 2, 3.

Let a man practice all the above described means of Emancipation and understand that
"Exemption from pain which is of three kinds - that from physical disorders, hunger and thirst, etc., that from other living beings and that from natural causes such as excessive heat or cold, or excessive or deficient rain, or from the restlessness of mind and the senses - and the consequent attainment of Emancipation is the highest work." SAANKHYA SHASTRA, 1:1