Chapter 202

“Manu said, ‘From that eternal and undeteriorating One first sprangSpace; from space came Wind; from wind came Light; from light came Water;from water sprang the Universe; and from the universe, all things thatoccur in it. The bodies of all (earthly) things, (after dissolution),first enter into water, thence to light or heat, thence to the wind, andthence to space. They that seek Emancipation have not to return fromspace. On the other hand, they attain to Brahma. The refuge ofEmancipation, viz., Brahma, is neither hot, nor cold, neither mild norfierce, neither sour nor astringent, neither sweet nor bitter. He is notendued with sound, or scent, or form. He transcends all these andeverything, and is without dimensions.[664] The skin perceives touch; thetongue, taste; the nose, scent; the ears, sounds; and the eyes, forms.Men not conversant with Adhyatma succeed not in beholding what is abovethese. Having withdrawn the tongue from tastes, the nose from scents, theears from touch, and the eyes from forms, one succeeds in beholding one’sown self (as independent of the senses and the mind and, therefore, ofattributes).[665] It hath been said that that which is the Cause of theactor, the act, the material with which the act is done, the place andthe time of the act, and the inclinations and propensities in respect ofhappiness and misery, is called the Self (or Soul). That which pervadeseverything, which does everything (assuming the forms of livingcreatures), that which exists in the universe even as the mantrasdeclare,[666] that which is the cause of all, that which is the highestof the high, and that which is One without a second and does all things,is the Cause. Everything else is effect. It is seen that a person, inconsequence of the acts performed by him, obtains results both good andevil, which (though apparently incompatible with each other, still) dwelltogether in harmony. Indeed, as the good and evil fruits born of theirown acts dwell together in the bodies of creatures which are theirrefuge, even so Knowledge dwells in the body.[667] As a lighted lamp,while burning, discovers other objects before it, even so the five senseswhich are like lamps set on high trees, find out their respective objectswhen lighted by Knowledge.[668] As the various ministers of a king,uniting together, give him counsel, even so the five senses that are inthe body are all subservient to Knowledge. The latter is superior to allof them. As the flames of fire, the current of the wind, the rays of thesun, and the waters of rivers, go and come repeatedly, even so the bodiesof embodied creatures are going and coming repeatedly.[669] As a personby taking up an axe cannot, by cutting open a piece of wood, find eithersmoke or fire in it, even so one cannot, by cutting open the arms andfeet and stomach of a person, see the principle of knowledge, which, ofcourse, has nothing in common with the stomach, the arms and the feet. Asagain, one beholds both smoke and fire in wood by rubbing it againstanother piece, so a person of well-directed intelligence and wisdom, byuniting (by means of yoga) the senses and the soul, may view the SupremeSoul which, of course, exists in its own nature.[670] As in the midst ofa dream one beholds one’s own body lying on the ground as somethingdistinct from one’s own self, even so a person, endued with the fivesenses, the mind, and the understanding, beholds (after death) his ownbody and then goes from one into another form[671]. The Soul is notsubject to birth, growth, decay, and destruction. In consequence of theacts of life being endued with effects, the Soul, clothed in body, passesfrom this body (when deprived of animation) into another, unseen byothers.[672] No one can behold with the eye the form of the Soul. TheSoul cannot, again, form the subject of any one’s touch. With those(i.e., the senses), the Soul accomplishes no act. The senses do notapproach the Soul. The Soul, however, apprehends them all. As anything,placed in a blazing fire before a spectator, assumes a certain colour inconsequence of the light and heat that operates upon it, without takingany other hue or attribute, even so the Soul’s form is seen to take itscolour from the body. After the same manner, man, casting off one body,enters another, unseen by all. Indeed, casting off his body to the (five)great primal elements, he assumes a form that is similarly made of thesame (five) elements. The embodied creature (upon the destruction of hisbody) enters space, wind, fire, water, and earth in such a way that eachparticular element in his body mingles with the particular element (outof his body) with whose nature it is consonant. The senses also, whichare engaged in diverse occupations and dependent on the five elements(for the exercise of their functions), enter these five elements thatcall forth their functions. The ear derives its capacity from space; andthe sense of scent from the earth. Form, which is the property of theeye, is the consequence of light or fire. Fire or heat has been said tobe the dependent cause of water. The tongue which has for its propertytaste becomes merged into water. The skin which has touch for itsproperty becomes lost in the wind whose nature it partakes. The fivefoldattributes, (viz., sound, etc.) dwell in the (five) great creatures(viz., the five primal elements). Those fivefold objects of the senses(viz., space, etc.) dwell in the (five) senses. All these again (viz.,the fivefold attributes, the fivefold elements, and the five senses)follow the lead of the mind. The mind follows the lead of theUnderstanding, and the Understanding follows the lead of That whichexists in its true and undefiled nature (viz., the Supreme Soul).[673]The doer in his new body receives all the good and bad acts done by himas also all acts done by him in his past existence. All these acts donein this life and the next ones to come follow the mind even as aquaticanimals pass along a genial current. As a quickly-moving and restlessthing becomes an object of sight, as a minute object appears to bepossessed of large dimensions (when seen through spectacles), as a mirrorshows a person his own face (which cannot otherwise be seen), even so theSoul (though subtile and invisible) become an object of theUnderstanding’s apprehension.'”[674]