Chapter 203

“Manu said, ‘The mind united with the senses, recollects after a longtime the impressions of the objects received in the past. When the sensesare all suspended (in respect of their functions),[675] the Supreme (theSoul), in the form of the Understanding, exists in its own true nature.When the Soul (at such a time) does not in the least regard all thoseobjects of the senses in respect of their simultaneity or the reverse inpoint of time but mustering them from all directions holds them before ittogether, it necessarily happens that he wanders among all things thatare incongruous. He is, therefore, the (silent) Witness. Hence the Soulencased in body is something having a distinct and independentexistence.[676] There is Rajas, there is Tamas, and there is Sattwa, thethird. There are again three states of the understanding, viz., waking,dreaming, and sound sleep. The Soul has knowledge of the pleasures andpains, which are all contradictory, of those states, and which partake ofthe nature of the threefold attributes first mentioned.[677] The Soulenters the senses like the wind entering the fire in a piece ofwood.[678] One cannot behold the form of the Soul by one’s eye, nor canthe sense of touch, amongst the senses, apprehend it. The Soul is not,again, an object of apprehension by the ear. It may, however, be seen bythe aid of the Srutis and the instructions of the wise. As regards thesenses, that particular sense which apprehends it loses upon suchapprehension its existence as a sense.[679] The senses cannot themselvesapprehend their respective forms by themselves. The Soul is omniscient(inasmuch as it apprehends both the knower and the known). It beholds allthings. Being omniscient, it is the Soul that beholds the senses(without, as already said, the senses being able to apprehend it). Nobodyhas seen the other side of the Himavat mountains, nor the reverse of themoon’s disc. Yet it cannot be said that these do not exist. Similarly,though never apprehended by the senses, yet nobody can say that the Soul,which dwells in all creatures, which is subtile, and which has knowledgefor its essence, does not exist. People see the world reflected on themoon’s disc in the form of spots. Though seeing, they do not know that itis the world that is so reflected there. Even such is the knowledge ofthe Soul. That knowledge must come of itself. The Soul depends upon theSoul itself. Men of wisdom, reflecting on the formlessness of visibleobjects before birth and after destruction, behold by the aid ofintelligence, the formlessness of objects that have apparent forms, Soalso although the Sun’s motion cannot be seen, yet persons, by watchingits rising and setting, conclude that the sun has motion.[680] Similarly,those who are endued with wisdom and learning behold the Soul by the aidof the lamp of intelligence, though it is at a great distance from them,and seek to merge the fivefold elements, which are near, intoBrahma.[681] Verily, an object cannot be accomplished without theapplication of means. Fishermen catch fish by means of nets made ofstrings. Animals are captured by employing animals as are the means.Birds are caught by employing birds as the means. Elephants are taken byemploying elephants. In this way, the Soul may be apprehended by theprinciple of knowledge. We have heard that only a snake can see a snake’slegs. After the same manner one beholds, through Knowledge, the Soulencased in subtile form and dwelling within the gross body. Peoplecannot, through their senses, know the senses. Similarly, mereIntelligence at its highest cannot behold the Soul which is supreme. Themoon, on the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight, cannot be seen inconsequence of its form being hid. It cannot be said, however, thatdestruction overtakes it, Even such is the case with the Soul dwelling inthe body. On the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight, the gross body ofthe moon becomes invisible. After the same manner, the Soul, whenliberated from the body, cannot be apprehended. As the moon, gaininganother point in the firmament begins to shine once more, similarly, theSoul obtaining a new body, begins to manifest itself once more. Thebirth, growth and disappearance of the moon can all be directlyapprehended by the eye. These phenomena, however, appertain to the grossform of that luminary. The like are not the attributes of the Soul. Themoon, when it shows itself after its disappearance on the fifteenth dayof the dark fortnight, is regarded as the same luminary that had becomeinvisible. After the same manner, notwithstanding the changes representedby birth, growth and age, a person is regarded as the same individualwithout any doubt of his identity. It cannot be distinctly seen how Rahuapproaches and leaves the moon. After the same manner, the Soul cannot beseen how it leaves one body and enters another.[682] Rahu becomes visibleonly when it exists with the sun or the moon. Similarly, the Soul becomesan object of apprehension only when it exists with the body. Whenliberated from the sun or the moon, Rahu can no longer be seen.Similarly, the Soul, liberated from the body, can no longer be seen. Thenagain, as the moon, even when it disappears on the fifteenth day of thedark fortnight, is not deserted by the constellations and the stars, theSoul also, even though separated from the body, is not deserted by thefruits of the acts it has achieved in that body.'”