Chapter 286

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O grandsire, what is Adhyatma with respectto man and whence it arises.’

“Bhishma said, ‘Aided by the science of Adhyatma one may know everything.It is, again, superior to all things. I shall, with the help of myintelligence, explain to thee that Adhyatma about which thou askest me.Listen, O son, to my explanation. Earth, Wind, Space, Water, and Lightforming the fifth, are the great essences. These are (the causes of) theorigin and the destruction of all creatures. The bodies of livingcreatures (both subtile and gross), O bull of Bharata’s race, are theresult of the combination of the virtues of these five. Those virtues(whose combinations produce the bodies of creatures) repeatedly startinto existence and repeatedly merge into the original cause of allthings, viz., the Supreme Soul.[1442] From those five primal essences arecreated all creatures, and into those five great elements all creaturesresolve themselves, repeatedly, like the infinite waves of the Oceanrising from the Ocean and subsiding into that which causes them. As atortoise stretches forth its legs and withdraws them again into itself,even so the infinite number of creatures spring from (and enter) thesefive great fixed essences. Verily, sound springs from Space, and alldense matter is the attribute of earth. Life is from Wind. Taste is fromWater. Form is said to be the property of Light. The entire mobile andimmobile universe is thus these five great essences existing together invarious proportions. When Destruction comes, the infinite diversity ofcreatures resolve themselves into those five, and once more, whenCreation begins, they spring from the same five. The Creator places inall creatures the same five great essences in proportions that He thinksproper. Sound, the ears, and all cavities,–these three,–have Space fortheir producing cause. Taste, all watery or juicy substances, and thetongue, are said to be the properties of water. Form, the eye, and thedigestive fire in the stomach, are said to partake of the nature ofLight. Scent, the organ of smelling, and the body, are the properties ofearth. Life, touch, and action are said to be the properties of Wind. Ihave thus explained to thee, O king, all the properties of the fiveprimal essences. Having created these, the Supreme Deity, O Bharata,united with them Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, Time, Consciousness of functions,and Mind forming the sixth.[1443] That which is called the Understandingdwells in the interior of what thou seest above the soles of the feet andbelow the crown of the head. In man the senses (of knowledge) are five.The sixth (sense) is the Mind. The seventh is called the Understanding.The Kshetrajna or Soul is the eighth. The senses and that which is theActor should be ascertained by apprehension of their respectivefunctions. The conditions or states called Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas,depend upon the senses for their refuge or formation. The senses existfor simply seizing the impressions of their respective objects. The Mindhas doubt for its function. The Understanding is for ascertainment. TheKshetrajna is said to be only an inactive witness (of the functions ofthe others). Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, Time, and Acts, O Bharata, theseattributes direct the Understanding. The Understanding is the senses andthe five fore-mentioned attributes.[1444] When the Understanding iswanting, the senses with the mind, and the five other attributes (viz.,Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, Time, and Acts) cease to be. That by which theUnderstanding sees is called the eye. When the Understanding hears, it iscalled the ear. When she smells, she becomes the sense of scent; and whenshe tastes the various objects of taste, she comes to be called by thename of tongue. When again she feels the touch of the various objects oftouch, she becomes the sense of touch. It is the Understanding thatbecomes modified diversely and frequently. When the Understanding desiresanything, she becomes Mind. The five senses with the Mind, whichseparately constitute the foundations (of the Understanding), are thecreations of the Understanding. They are called Indriyas. When theybecome stained, the Understanding also becomes stained.[1445] TheUnderstanding, dwelling in Jiva, exists in three states. Sometimes sheobtains joy; sometimes she indulges in grief; and sometimes she exists ina state that is neither pleasure nor pain. Having for her essence theseconditions or states (viz., Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas), the Understandingresolves through these three states.[1446] As the lord of rivers, viz.,the surging Ocean, always keeps within his continents, even so theUnderstanding, which exists in connection with the (three) states, existsin the Mind (including the senses). When the state of Rajas is awakened,the Understanding becomes modified into Rajas. Transport of delight, joy,gladness, happiness, and contentedness of heart, these, when somehowexcited, are the properties of Sattwa. Heart-burning, grief, sorrow,discontentedness, and unforgivingness,[1447] arising from particularcauses, are the result of Rajas. Ignorance, attachment and error,heedlessness, stupefaction, and terror, meanness, cheerlessness, sleep,and procrastination,–these, when brought about by particular causes, arethe properties of Tamas. Whatever state of either body or mind, connectedwith joy or happiness, arises, should be regarded as due to the state ofSattwa. Whatever, again, is fraught with sorrow and is disagreeable tooneself should be regarded as arising from Rajas. Without commencing anysuch act, one should turn one’s attention to it (for avoiding it).Whatever is fraught with error or stupefaction in either body or mind,and is inconceivable and mysterious, should be known as connected withTamas. Thus, have I explained to thee that things in this world dwell inthe Understanding. By knowing this one becomes wise. What else can be theindication of wisdom? Know now the difference between these two subtilethings, viz., Understanding and Soul. One of these, viz., theUnderstanding, creates attributes. The other, viz., the Soul, does notcreate them. Although they are, by nature, distinct from each other, yetthey always exist in a state of union. A fish is different from the waterin which it dwells, but the fish and the water must exist together. Theattributes cannot know the Soul. The Soul, however, knows them. They thatare ignorant regard the Soul as existing in a state of union with theattributes like qualities existing with their possessors. This, however,is not the case, for the Soul is truly only an inactive Witness ofeverything. The Understanding has no refuge.[1448] That which is calledlife (involving the existence of the Understanding) arises from theeffects of the attributes coming together. Others (than these attributeswhich are created by the Understanding), acting as causes, create theUnderstanding that dwells in the body. No one can apprehend theattributes in their real nature or form of existence. The Understanding,as already said, creates the attributes. The Soul simply beholds them (asan inactive Witness). This union that exists between the Understandingand the Soul is eternal. The indwelling Understanding apprehends allthings through the Senses which are themselves inanimate andunapprehending. Really the senses are only like lamps (that throw theirlight for discovering objects to others without themselves being able tosee them). Even this is the nature (of the Senses, the Understanding, andthe Soul). Knowing this, one should live cheerfully, without yielding toeither grief or joy. Such a man is said to be beyond the influence ofpride. That the Understanding creates all these attributes is due to herown nature,–even as a spider weaves threads in consequence of her ownnature. These attributes should be known as the threads the spiderweaves. When destroyed, the attributes do not cease to exist; theirexistence ceases to be visible. When, however, a thing transcends the kenof the senses, its existence (or otherwise) is affirmed by inference.This is the opinion of one set of persons. Others affirm that withdestruction the attributes cease to be. Untying this knotty problemaddressed to the understanding and reflection, and dispelling all doubt,one should cast off sorrow and live in happiness.[1449] As menunacquainted with its bottom become distressed when they fall upon thisearth which is like a river filled with the waters of stupefaction, evenso is that man afflicted who falls away from that state in which there isa union with the Understanding.[1450] Men of knowledge, however,conversant with Adhyatma and armed with fortitude, are never afflicted,because they are capable of crossing to the other shore of those waters.Indeed, Knowledge is an efficient raft (in that river). Men of knowledgehave not to encounter those frightful terrors which alarm them that aredestitute of knowledge. As regards the righteous, none of them attains toan end that is superior to that of any other person amongst them. Indeed,the righteous show, in this respect, an equality. As regards the man ofKnowledge, whatever acts have been done by him in past times (while hewas steeped in Ignorance) and whatever acts fraught with great iniquityhe does (after attainment of Knowledge), he destroys both by Knowledge ashis sole means. Then again, upon the attainment of Knowledge he ceases toperpetrate these two evils, viz., censuring the wicked acts of others anddoing any wicked acts himself under the influence of attachment.'”[1451]