"Markandeya continued, 'O Bharata, the Brahmana, thus interrogated by
the virtuous fowler, resumed again this discourse so pleasing to the
mind. The Brahmana said, "O best of the cherishers of religion, it is
said that there are five great elements; do thou describe to me in full
the properties of any one of the five." The fowler replied, "The earth,
water, fire, air and sky all have properties interlapping each other. I
shall describe them to thee. The earth, O Brahmana, has five qualities,
water four, fire three and the air and sky together three also. Sound,
touch, form, odour and taste--these five qualities belong to earth, and
sound, touch, form and taste, O austere Brahmana, have been described to
thee as the properties of water, and sound, touch and form are the three
properties of fire and air has two properties sound and touch, and sound
is the property of sky. And, O Brahmana, these fifteen properties
inherent in five elements, exist in all substances of which this
universe is composed. And they are not opposed to one another; they
exist, O Brahmana, in proper combination. When this whole universe is
thrown into a state of confusion, then every corporeal being in the
fulness of time, assumes another _corpus_. It arises and perishes in due
order. And there are present the five elementary substances of which all
the mobile and immobile world is composed. Whatever is perceptible by
the senses, is called _vyakta_ (knowable or comprehensible) and whatever
is beyond the reach of the senses and can only be perceived by guesses,
is known to be _avyakta_ (not _vyakta_). When a person engages in the
discipline of self-examination, after having subdued the senses which
have of their own proper objective play in the external conditions of
sound, form, &c, then he beholds his own spirit pervading the universe,
and the universe reflected in itself. He who is wedded to his previous
_karma_, although skilled in the highest spiritual wisdom, is cognisant
only of his soul's objective existence, but the person whose soul is
never affected by the objective conditions around, is never subject to
ills, owing to its absorption in the elementary spirit of Brahma. When a
person has overcome the domination of illusion, his manly virtues
consisting of the essence of spiritual wisdom, turn to the spiritual
enlightenment which illumines the intelligence of sentient beings. Such
a person is styled by the omnipotent, intelligent Spirit as one who is
without beginning and without end, self-existent, immutable, incorporeal
and incomparable. This, O Brahmana, that thou hast enquired of me is
only the result of self discipline. And this self-discipline can only be
acquired by subduing the senses. It cannot be otherwise, heaven and hell
are both dependent on our senses. When subdued, they lead to heaven;
when indulged in, they lead to perdition. This subjugation of the senses
is the highest means of attaining spiritual light. Our senses are at the
(cause) root of our spiritual advancement as also at the root of our
spiritual degradation. By indulging in them, a person undoubtedly
contracts vices, and by subduing these, he attains salvation. The
self-restrained person who acquires mastery over the six senses inherent
in our nature, is never tainted with sin, and consequently evil has no
power over him. Man's corporeal self has been compared to a chariot, his
soul to a charioteer and his senses to horses. A dexterous man drives
about without confusion, like a quiet charioteer with well-broken
horses. That man is an excellent driver who knows how to patiently wield
the reins of those wild horses,--the six senses inherent in our nature.
When our senses become ungovernable like horses on the high road, we
must patiently rein them in; for with patience, we are sure to get the
better of them. When a man's mind is overpowered by any one of these
senses running wild, he loses his reason, and becomes like a ship tossed
by storms upon the high ocean. Men are deceived by illusion in hoping to
reap the fruits of those six things, whose effects are studied by
persons of spiritual insight, who thereby reap the fruits of their clear
perception."'"