The descent of Spirit into Matter is indicated by the overshadowing
Tamas creation, The individuals reach the spiritual plane at the time of
Pralaya and lose all sense of I-ness. Their memory becomes perfectly
dead to all previous connections and experiences and even as to self as
a distinct unit. The child starts with a body of his own, and faculties
limited to that body. The Jiva children that came into existence at the
beginning of the Universe had however nothing peculiar to themselves,
and they had even to acquire the sense of I-ness.
First, the Jiva identifies himself with his body and mind, his own
phenomenal basis. For, if he identifies himself with the universal
spirit, there is no action for him, no working out of his own Karma.
Though from the standpoint of the highest wisdom individuality is a
delusion, for the one unchangeable ever-lasting element in Jiva is Atma,
and at the final stage of development man has to separate himself from
his phenomenal basis and to identify himself with Atma, which is the
real self, still the sense of separateness is necessary for the process
of creation and for the gaining of experiences. This sense is
two-fold,--
1) The non-perception of Atma as Self, called Avidya by Patanjali and
Tamas in the Puranas, and
2) The perception of the _upadhi_ as self, called Asmita by Patanjali
and Moha in the Puranas.
Attachment and aversion, likes and dislikes, are equally necessary for
continued individual action. The Jiva eats what he likes and does not
eat what he dislikes. He associates himself with certain objects, ideas
and thoughts and shuns others. His likes and dislikes form the guiding
principle of his actions. These affinities are called Raga and Dvesha by
Patanjali and Maha Moha and Tamisra in the Puranas.
The tenacious desire to live in the present body is called Abhinivesha
by Patanjali. This desire becomes an instinct in the Jiva, so necessary
is it for his preservation. The Puranas call it Andha-Tamisra. Sridhara
explains it as the shock we receive from a separation from all our
present enjoyments. For, according to him, the idea of death is nothing
but a sense of separation from our present enjoyments.
These forms of Avidya were called into being that the forms of the
previous Kalpa might be brought into existence, or that the work of
creation might be undertaken. These faculties are the very essence of
life manifestation. But the process has now been reversed. The work of
creation is over. We have acquired the experiences of earth-life, and we
are now destined to take a journey back to our home, the bosom of
Ishvara, from which we all came. We have now to undo our sense of
separateness. The five forms of Avidya are therefore called miseries
(klesha) by Patanjali and he lays down rules for getting rid of them.
After invoking Avidya, Brahma created the Kumaras, who were the most
spiritual of the beings to be created. They were so spiritual, that they
could not take any part in the work of creation. They had to bide their
time, till there was spiritual ascent in the Universe.
The Rudras, called the Blue-Red Kumaras, come next. Though highly
spiritual themselves they did not object to take part in the work of
creation. But as real factors in the work of dissolution, they were
entirely out of place in the work of creation. We owe our idea of
separateness or individuality to the Rudras. In the scale of universal
life the agencies of dissolution carve out individual lives and their
mission ends there.
The ten Rishis form the next Creation. Further descent of life in the
Universe brought forth ten distinct types of Intelligence. We shall
consider these types later on. Then comes the story of Brahma's incest.
Brahma could not directly take part in the Creation. His task was simply
to bring back the former state of things through a graduated series of
intermediaries. First appeared those that had to hold cosmic positions
of responsibility, some throughout the Kalpa and others throughout the
Manvantara. With the powers invoked, the temptation to evolve an
independent Creation with the help of Vach, the potency of Mantras had
to be got over. This done, Brahma thought of the Monads of the previous
Kalpa, and the first Manu appeared with his wife Sata-rupa or
Hundred-formed. All forms of Creation existed in Idea before further
manifestation, and Sata-rupa was the collective aspect of all such
Ideas.