a new impression with old impressions--recognizing a new impression.
What is meant by recognition? Finding its association with the
similar impressions that we already have. Nothing further is meant by
knowledge. If that be the case, it must be that we have to see the
whole series of similars. Is it not? Suppose you take a pebble; to find
the association, you have to see the whole series of pebbles similar to
it. But with the universe we cannot do that, because in our reasoning
we can only go after one perception of our universe, and neither see on
this side nor on that side, and we cannot refer it to its association.
Therefore the universe seems unintelligible, because knowledge and
reason are always finding associations. This bit of the universe cut
off by our consciousness is a startling new thing, and we have not been
able to find its associations. Therefore we are struggling with it, and
thinking it is so horrible, so wicked, and bad;--sometimes we think it
is good, but generally we think it is imperfect. The universe will be
known only when we find the associations. We shall recognize them when
we go beyond the universe and consciousness, and then the universe will
stand explained. Until we do that all our fruitless striving will never
explain the universe, because knowledge is the finding of similars,
and this conscious plane gives us only a partial view. So with our
idea of the universal _Mahat_, or what in our ordinary everyday
language we call God. All that we have of God is only one perception,
just as of the universe we see only one portion, and all the rest is
cut off and covered by our human limitation. “I, the Universal, so
great am I that even this universe is a part of me.” That is why we
see God as imperfect, and we can never understand Him, because it is
impossible. The only way to understand is to go beyond reason, beyond
consciousness. “When thou goest beyond the heard and hearing, the
thought and thinking, then alone wilt thou come to truth.” (Bhagavad
Gita II. 52.) “Go thou beyond the Scriptures, because they teach only
up to Nature, up to the three qualities.” (Gita II. 45.) When we go
beyond them we find the harmony, not before.
So far it is clear that this macrocosm and microcosm are built on
exactly the same plan, and in this microcosm we know only one very
small part. We know neither the sub-conscious, nor the super-conscious.
We know only the conscious. If a man says “I am a sinner,” he is
foolish, because he does not know himself. He is the most ignorant
of men about himself; one part only he knows, because the fact of
knowledge covers only one part of the “mind-ground” he is in. So with
this universe; it is possible to know only one part through reasoning,
but Nature comprises the whole of it, the sub-conscious, the conscious
and the super-conscious, the individual _mahat_ and the universal
_Mahat_ with all their subsequent modifications, and these lie beyond
reason.
What makes nature change? We see that Up to this point everything,
all _Prakriti_, is _jadâ_ (insentient). It is working under law; it
is all compound and insentient. Mind, intelligence, and will, all are
insentient. But they are all reflecting the sentiency, the _Chit_
(Intelligence) of some Being who is beyond all this, and whom the
Sânkhya philosophers call _Purusha_. This _Purusha_ is the unwitting
cause of all these changes in Nature--in the universe. That is to
say, this _Purusha_, taking Him in the universal sense, is the God
of the universe. It is claimed that the will of the Lord created the
universe. This is very good as a common daily expression, but that is
all. How could it be will? Will is the third or fourth manifestation
in Nature. Many things exist before it, and what created _them_? Will
is a compound, and everything that is a compound is a production out
of Nature. Will itself cannot create Nature. It is not a simple. So
to say that the will of the Lord created the universe is illogical.
Our will only covers a little portion of self-consciousness, and moves
our brain, they say. If it did you could stop the action of the brain,
but you cannot. It is not the will. Who moves the heart? It is not
the will, because if it were you could stop it or not at your will.
It is neither will that is working your body, nor that is working
the universe. But it is something of which will itself is one of the
manifestations. This body is being moved by the power of which will is
only a manifestation in one part. So in the universe there is will,
but that is only one part of the universe. The whole of the universe
is not guided by will, that is why we do not find the explanation in
will. Suppose I take it for granted that the will is moving the body,
and then I begin to fret and fume. It is my fault, because I had no
right to take it for granted that it was will. In the same way, if I
take the universe and think it is will that moves it and then find
things that do not coincide, it is my fault. This _Purusha_ is not
will, neither can it be intelligence, because intelligence itself is a
compound. There cannot be any intelligence without some sort of matter.
In man, this matter takes the form which we call brain. Wherever there
is intelligence there must be matter in some form or other. But that
intelligence itself is a compound. What then is this _Purusha_? It
is neither intelligence nor _buddhi_ (will), but yet it is the cause
of both these; it is His presence that sets them all vibrating and
combining. _Purusha_ may be likened to some of these substances which
by their mere presence promote chemical reaction, as in the case of
cyanide of potassium which is added when gold is being smelted. The
cyanide of potassium remains separate and unaffected, but its presence
is absolutely necessary to the success of the process. So with the
_Purusha_. It does not mix with Nature: it is not Intelligence, or
_Mahat_, or any one of these, but the Self, the Pure, the Perfect. “I
am the Witness, and through My witnessing, Nature is producing all
that is sentient and all that is insentient.” (Gita IX. 10.)
What is this sentiency in Nature? The basis of sentiency is in the
_Purusha_, is the nature of the _Purusha_. It is that which cannot be
spoken, but which is the material of all that we call knowledge. This
_Purusha_ is not consciousness, because consciousness is a compound,
but whatever is light and goodness in this consciousness belongs to It.
Sentiency is in the _Purusha_, but the _Purusha_ is not intelligent,
not knowing, it is knowledge itself. The _Chit_ in the _Purusha_, plus
_Prakriti_, is what is known to us as intelligence and consciousness.
Whatever is pleasure and happiness and light in the universe belongs
to the _Purusha_, but it is a compound because it is that _Purusha_
plus Nature. “Wherever there is any happiness, wherever there is any
bliss, there is one spark of that immortality, which is _Purusha_.”
This _Purusha_ is the great attraction of the universe, untouched by,
and unconnected with the universe, yet it attracts the whole universe.
You see a man going after gold, because therein is a spark of the
_Purusha_, even though he knows it not. When a man desires children,
or a woman a husband, what is the attracting power? That spark of
_Purusha_ behind the child or wife, behind everything. It is there,
only overlaid with matter. Nothing else can attract. “In this world of
insentiency that _Purusha_ alone is sentient.” This is the _Purusha_
of the _Sânkhyas_. As such it necessarily follows that this _Purusha_
must be omnipresent. That which is not omnipresent must be limited.
All limitations are caused; that which is caused must have beginning
and end. If the _Purusha_ is limited it will die, will not be final,
will not be free, but will have been caused. Therefore if not limited,
it is omnipresent. According to Kapila there are many _Purushas_, not
one. An infinite number of them, you are one, I am one, each is one;
an infinite number of circles, each one infinite, running through this
universe. The _Purusha_ is neither born nor dies. It is neither mind
nor matter, and the reflex from it is all that we know. We are sure if
it be omnipresent it knows neither death nor birth. Nature is casting
her shadow upon it, the shadow of birth and death, but it is by its own
nature eternal. So far we have found the theory of Kapila wonderful.
Next we will have to take up the proofs against it. So far the
analysis is perfect, the psychology cannot be controverted. There is
no objection to it. We will ask of Kapila the question: Who created
Nature? and his answer will be that Nature (_Prakriti_) is uncreate.
He also says that the _Purusha_ is omnipresent and that of these
_Purushas_ there is an infinite number. We shall have to controvert
this last proposition, and find a better solution, and by so doing we
shall come to the ground taken by Vedânta. Our first doubt will be how
there can be these two infinites. Then our argument will be that it is
not a perfect generalization, and that therefore we have not found a
perfect solution. And then we shall see how the Vedantists find their
way out of all these difficulties and reach a perfect solution. Yet all
the glory really belongs to Kapila. It is very easy to give a finish to
a building that is nearly complete.
III
SÂNKHYA AND ADVAITA
I will give you first a _resumé_ of the _Sânkhya_ philosophy, through
which we have been going, because in this lecture we want to find where
its defects are, and where Vedânta comes in as supplementary to these
defects. You must remember that according to the _Sânkhya_ philosophy,
Nature is causing all these manifestations which we call thought and
intellect, reason, love, hatred, touch, taste; that everything is
from Nature. This Nature consists of three sorts of elements, one
called _Sattva_, another _Rajas_, and the third _Tamas_. These are not
qualities, but the materials out of which the whole universe is being
evolved, and at the beginning of a cycle they remain in equilibrium.
When creation comes this equilibrium is disturbed and these elements
begin to combine and recombine, and manifest as the universe. The
first manifestation of this is what the _Sânkhya_ calls the _Mahat_
(universal Intelligence), and out of that comes consciousness. And
out of consciousness is evolved _Manas_ (universal Mind). Out of this
consciousness are also evolved the organs of the senses, and the
_tanmâtras_,--sound particles, touch particles, taste particles, and
so forth. All fine particles are evolved from this consciousness, and
out of these fine particles come the gross particles which we call
matter. After the _tanmâtras_ (those particles which cannot be seen,
or measured) come the gross particles which we can feel and sense.
The _chitta_ (“mind-stuff”) in its three-fold functions of intellect,
consciousness and mind, is working and manufacturing the forces
called _prânas_. These _prânas_ have nothing to do with breath, you
must at once get rid of that idea. Breath is one effect of the Prâna
(universal Energy). By these _prânas_ are meant the nervous forces
that are governing and moving the whole body, which are manifesting
themselves as thought, and as the various functions of the body. The
foremost and the most obvious manifestation of these _prânas_ is the
breathing motion. If it were caused by air, a dead man would breathe.
The _prâna_ acts upon the air, and not air upon it. These _prânas_ are
the vital forces which manipulate the whole body, and they in turn are
manipulated by the mind and the _indriyas_ (the two kinds of organs).
So far so good. The psychology is very clear and most precise, and
just think of the age of it, the oldest rational thought in the world!
Wherever there is any philosophy or rational thought, it owes something
to Kapila. Wherever there is any attempt at psychology, or philosophy,
there is some indebtedness to the great father of this thought, to this
man Kapila.
So far we see that this psychology is wonderful, but we shall have to
differ with it on some points, as we go on. We find that the principal
idea on which Kapila works is evolution. He makes one thing evolve out
of another, because his very definition of causation is “the effect is
the cause reproduced in another form,” and because the whole universe,
so far as we see it, is progressive and evolving. This whole universe
must have evolved out of some material, out of _Prakriti_ or Nature.
Therefore this Nature cannot be essentially different from its cause,
only when it takes form it becomes limited. The material itself is
without form. But according to Kapila, from undifferentiated nature
down to the last stage of differentiation, none of these is the same as
_Purusha_, the “Enjoyer,” or “Enlightener.” Just as a lump of clay, so
is a mass of mind, or the whole universe. By itself it has no light,
but we find reason and intelligence in it, therefore there must be
some Existence behind it, behind the whole of Nature, whose light is
percolating through it and appearing as _Mahat_ and consciousness and
all these various things, and this Existence is what Kapila calls the
_Purusha_, the _Âtman_ or Self of the Vedantist. According to Kapila,
the _Purusha_ is a _simple_ factor, not a compound. It is immaterial,
the only one that is immaterial, whereas all the various manifestations
are material. The _Purusha_ alone knows. Suppose I see a blackboard,
first the external instruments will bring that sensation to the organ
(to the _indriya_ according to Kapila), from the organ it will go
to the mind and make an impression; the mind will cover it up with
another factor,--consciousness, and will present it to the _buddhi_
(intelligence), but _buddhi_ cannot act; it is the _Purusha_ behind
that acts. These are all its servants, bringing the sensation to It,
and It gives the orders, and the _buddhi_ reacts. The _Purusha_ is the
Enjoyer, the Perceiver, the real One, the King on his throne, the Self
of man, and It is immaterial. Because It is immaterial, it necessarily
follows that It must be infinite, It cannot have any limitation
whatever. So each one of these _purushas_ is omnipresent, each is
all-pervading, but can act only through fine and gross manifestations
of matter. The mind, the self-consciousness, the organs and the vital
forces compose what is called the fine body, or what in Christian
philosophy is called the “spiritual body” of man. It is this body that
comes to reward or punishment, that goes to the different heavens; that
incarnates and reincarnates; because we see from the very beginning
that the going and coming of the soul (_Purusha_) is impossible.
Motion means going and coming, and that which goes from one place to
another cannot be omnipresent. It is this _linga-sarira_ (subtle body)
which comes and goes. Thus far we see from Kapila’s psychology that
the soul is infinite, and that the soul is the only principle that
is not an evolution of Nature. It is the only one that is outside
of Nature, but It has apparently got bound by Nature. This Nature is
around the _Purusha_ and It has identified Itself with Nature. It
thinks “I am the _linga-sarira_,” It thinks “I am the gross matter,
the gross body,” and as such is enjoying pleasure and pain; but these
do not really belong to the soul, they belong to this _linga-sarira_,
and to the gross body. When certain nerves are hurt we feel pain. We
recognize that immediately. If the nerves in our fingers were dead we
could cut the fingers and not feel it. So pleasure and pain belong to
the nerve-centres. Suppose my organ of sight is destroyed, I do not
feel pleasure or pain from color, although my eyes are there. So it is
obvious that pleasure and pain do not belong to the soul. They belong
to the mind and the body.
The soul has neither pleasure nor pain; it is the Witness of
everything, the eternal Witness of things that are going on, but it
takes no fruits from any work. “As the sun is the cause of sight in
every eye, yet is not itself affected by the defects in any eye; as a
piece of crystal appears red when red flowers are placed before it,
so this _Purusha_ appears to be affected by pleasure or pain from the
reflection cast upon It by Nature, but it remains ever unchanged.”
The nearest way to describe Its state is that it is meditation.
This meditative state is that in which you approach nearest to the
_Purusha_. Thus we see why the meditative state is always called the
highest state by the _Yogi_, neither a passive nor an active state, but
the meditative state. This is the _Sânkhya_ philosophy.
Next, the _Sânkhyas_ say that this manifestation of Nature is for the
soul, all the combinations are for something outside of Nature. So
these combinations which we call Nature, these constant changes are
going on for the enjoyment of the soul, for its liberation, that it
may gain all this experience from the lowest to the highest, and when
it has gained it, the soul finds that it never was in Nature. It was
entirely separate, and it finds that it is indestructible, that it
neither goes nor comes, that going to heaven and being born again were
in Nature and not in the soul. So the soul becomes free. All of Nature
is working for the enjoyment and experience of the soul. It is getting
this experience in order to reach the goal, and that goal is freedom.
These souls are many, according to the _Sânkhya_ philosophy. There is
an infinite number of souls. And the other conclusion is that there is
no God, as the Creator of the universe. Nature herself is sufficient to
produce all these forms. God is not necessary, say the _Sânkhyas_.
Now we shall have to contest these three positions of the _Sânkhyas_.
First that intelligence or anything of that sort does not belong to the
soul, but that it belongs entirely to Nature; the soul being simply
qualitiless, colorless. The second point is that there is no God, but
Vedânta will show that without a God there cannot be any explanation
whatever. Thirdly, we shall have to contend that there cannot be many
souls, that there cannot be an infinite number, that there is only One
Soul in the universe, and that One is appearing as many.
We will take the first proposition, that intelligence and reason belong
entirely to Nature, and not to the soul. The Vedânta says that the
soul is in its essence Existence-Knowledge-Bliss; but we agree with
the _Sânkhyas_ that all that they call intelligence is a compound. For
instance, let us look at our perceptions. We remember that the _chitta_
(or the “mind-stuff”) is what is combining all these things, and upon
which all these impressions are made, and from which reactions come.
Suppose there is something outside. I see the blackboard. How does the
knowledge come? The blackboard itself is unknown, I can never know it.
It is what the German philosophers call the “thing in itself.” That
blackboard, that “X,” is acting on my mind, and the _chitta_ reacts.
The _chitta_ is like a lake; throw a stone upon it, and as soon as the
stone strikes it a reactionary wave comes towards the stone. This wave
is what you really know. And this wave is not like the stone at all, it
is a wave. So that blackboard, “X,” is the stone which strikes the mind
and the mind throws up a wave towards that object which strikes it, and
this wave which is thrown towards it is what we call the blackboard.
I see you. You as reality are unknown and unknowable. You are “X” and
you act upon my mind, and the mind throws a wave towards the point
from which the action came, and that wave is what I call Mr. or Mrs.
So-and-So.
There are two elements in this, one from inside and the other from
outside, and the combination of these two, “X” plus mind, is our
external universe. All knowledge is by reaction. In the case of a
whale it has been determined by calculation how long after its tail
is struck, its mind reacts upon the tail and the tail feels the pain.
Take the case of the pearl oyster, in which the pearl is formed by the
oyster throwing its own juice around the grain of sand that enters the
shell and irritates him. There are two things which cause the pearl.
First the oyster’s own juice, and second the blow from outside. So this
table is “X” plus my mind. The very attempt to know it will be made by
the mind; therefore the mind will give some of its own substance to
enable it to understand, and when we understand it, it has become a
compound thing,--“X” plus the mind. Similarly in internal perception;
when we want to know ourselves. The real Self, which is within us, is
also unknown and unknowable. Let us call it “Y.” When I want to know
myself as Mr. So-and-So it is “Y” plus the mind. That “Y” strikes a
blow on the mind, and when I want to know myself I must throw a blow
upon the mind also. So our whole world is “X” plus mind (the external
world), and “Y” plus mind (the internal world). We shall see later how
this Advaitist idea can be demonstrated mathematically.
“X” and “Y” are simply the algebraic unknown quantities. We have seen
that all knowledge is a combination, and this world, the universe, is
a combination, and intelligence is similarly a combination. If it is
internal intelligence it is “Y” plus the mind, if an external object,
it is “X” plus the mind. Knowledge is a combination of “Y” plus the
mind and matter is a combination of “X” plus the mind. We first take
the internal group. Intelligence which we see in Nature cannot be
wholly in Nature, because intelligence itself is a compound of “Y”
plus the mind. “Y” comes from the Self. So the intelligence that we
know is a compound of the power of the light of the soul plus nature.
Similarly, the existence which we know must be a compound of “X” plus
the mind. We find therefore that in these three factors, I exist, I
know and I am blessed, the idea that I have no want, which comes from
time to time, is the central idea, the grand basic idea of our life,
and when it becomes limited, and becomes a compound, we think it
happiness and misery. These factors manifest as existence phenomenal,
knowledge phenomenal, and love phenomenal. Every man exists, and every
man must know, and every man is made for bliss. He cannot help it.
So through all existence; animals and plants, from the lowest to the
highest existence, all must love. You may not call it love; but they
must all exist, must all know and must all love. So this existence
which we know is a compound of “X” and the mind, and knowledge also
is a compound of that “Y” inside plus mind, and that love also is a
compound of that “Y” and mind. Therefore these three factors which come
from inside and are combining themselves with the external things to
manufacture phenomenal existence, knowledge and love, are called by
the Vedantists “Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute.”
That Absolute Existence which is limitless, which is unmixed,
uncombined, which knows no change, is the free soul, and that Real
Existence, when it gets mixed up, muddled up, as it were, with the
elements of Nature is what we call human existence. It is limited and
manifests as plant life, animal life, human life, just as infinite
space is apparently limited by the walls of this room, or by any other
enclosure. That Knowledge Absolute means not the knowledge we know, not
intelligence, not reason, not instinct, but that which when it becomes
manifested we call by these names. When that Knowledge Absolute becomes
limited we call it intuition, and when it becomes still more limited we
call it reason, instinct, etc. That Knowledge Absolute is _Vijnâna_.
The nearest translation of it is “all-knowingness.” There is no
combination in it. It is the nature of the soul. That Bliss Absolute
when it becomes limited we call love, attraction for the gross body, or
the fine bodies, or for ideas. These are but distorted manifestations
of this blessedness which is not a quality of the soul, but the
essence, the inherent nature of the soul. Absolute Existence, Absolute
Knowledge, and Absolute Blessedness are not qualities of the soul, but
its essence; there is no difference between them and the soul. And the
three are one; we see the one thing in three different lights. They
are beyond all knowledge and by their reflection Nature appears to be
intelligent.