English
These are all, however, ideal creations, and as such have no reality apart from their being as mere appearance. Since their nature is purely conceptual (vikalpa), they cannot be real at any time. All that appears as existent does so only as a result of the conceptual activity of thought. Through its desire, “‘I shall see,” there comes the appearance of the two hollows of the eye, and similarly in the case of touch, smell, hearing and taste. There is no single soul, far less an infinite number of them. It is by the all-powerful conceptual activity of Brahman that there arises the appearance of so many centres of subjective thought, as the souls (sivas). In reality, however, the jivas have no other existence than the con- ceptualizing activity which produces their appearance. There is no materiality or form: these are nothing but the self-flashings of thought (citta-camatkara). Manas, according to this theory, is nothing but that function of pure consciousness through which it posits out of itself an object of itself. Here the pure conscious part may be called the spiritual De Tas XII] Karma, Manas and the Categories 237 part and its objectivity aspect the material part!. In its objectivity also the cit perceives nothing but itself, though it appears to per- ceive something other than itself (svam evanyataya drstva), and this objectivity takes its first start with the rise of egohood (ahamta). But to the most important question, namely, how the original equilibrium is disturbed and how the present development of the conceptual creation has come about, the answer given in the Yoga-vasistha is that it is by pure accident (kakataliya-yogena) that such a course of events took place. It is indeed disappointing that such a wonderful creation of world-appearance should have ultimately to depend on accident for its origin?. It is considered irrelevant to enquire into the possibility of some other cause of the ultimate cause, the Brahman®. Karma, Manas and the Categories. Karma in this view is nothing but the activity of the manas. The active states of manas are again determined by their preceding moments and may in their turn be considered as determining the succeeding moments. When any particular state determines any succeeding state, it may be considered as an agent, or karta; but, as this state is determined by the activity of the previous state, otherwise called the karma, it may be said that the karma generates the karta, the karta by its activity again produces karma, so that karma and kartaé are mutually determinative. As in the case of the seed coming from the tree and the tree coming from the seed, the cycle proceeds on from karta to karma and from karma to karta, and no ultimate priority can be affirmed of any one of them‘. But, if this is so, then the responsibility of karma ceases; the root desire (vasana) through which a man is born also makes him suffer or enjoy in accordance with it; but, if karta@ and karma spring forth together, then a particular birth ought not to be de- termined by the karma of previous birth, and this would mean ms cito yac cetya-kalanam tan-manastvam udahrtam cid-bhago ’trajado bhago jadyam atra hi cetyatd. 111. 91. 37. 2 TIT.) O00 £5) 1V 545071: = Brahmanah karanam kim syad iti vaktum na yujyate svabhdvo nirvisesatvat paro vaktum na yiyate. IV 1Ou22. - yatha karma ca kartd ca paryayeneha samgatau karmana kriyate karta kartra karma praniyate byankuradivan-nyayo loka-vedokta eva sah. I1I. 95. 19, 20. 238 The Philosophy of the Yoga-vdasistha [cH. that. man’s enjoyment and sorrow did not depend on his karma. In answer to such a question, raised by Ramacandra, Vasistha says that karma is due not to a@tman, but to manas. It is the mental movement which constitutes karma. When first the category of manas rises into being from Brahman, karma also begins from that moment, and, as a result thereof, the soul and the body associated with it are supposed to be manifested. Karma and manas are in one sense the same. In this world the movement generated by action (kriya-spanda) is called karma, and, as it is by the movement of manas that all effects take place, and the bodies with all their associated sufferings or enjoyments are produced, so even the body, which is associated with physical, external karma, is in reality nothing but the manas and its activity. Manas is essentially of the nature of karma, or activity, and the cessation of activity means the destruction of manas (karma-nase mano-nasah)!. As heat cannot be separated from fire or blackness from collyrium, so movement and activity cannot be separated from manas. If one ceases, the other also necessarily ceases. Manas means that activity which subsists between being and non-being and induces being through non-being: it is essentially dynamic in its nature and passes by the name of manas. It is by the activity of manas that the subject-objectless pure consciousness assumes the form of a self-conscious ego. Manas thus consists of this constantly positing activity (ekanta-kalanah). The seed of karma is to be sought in the activity of manas (karma-bijam manah-spanda), and the actions (kriya) which follow are indeed very diverse. It is the synthetic function (tad-anusandhatte) of manas that is called the functioning of the conative senses, by which all actions are performed, and it is for this reason that karma is nothing but manas. Manas, buddhi, ahamkara, citta, karma, kalpana, samsrti, vasana, vidya, prayatna, smrti, indriya, prakrti, maya and kriya are different only in name, and they create confusion by these varied names; in reality, however, they signify the same conc:pt, namely, the active functioning of manas or citta. These different names are current only because they lay stress on the different aspects of the same active functioning. They do not mean different entities, but only different moments, stages or aspects. Thus the first moment of self-conscious activity leading in different directions is called manas. When, after such oscillating movement, there is Sy DRC x1] Karma, Manas and the Categories 239 the position of either of the alternatives, as ‘‘the thus,” it is called buddhi. When by the false notions of associations of body and soul there is the feeling of a concrete individual as ‘‘I,”’ it is called ahamkara. When there is reflective thought associated with the memory of the past and the anticipations of the future, it is called citta. When the activity is taken in its actual form as motion or action towards any point, it is called karma. When, leaving its self-contained state, it desires anything, we have kalpana. When the citta turns itself to anything previously seen or unseen, as being previously experienced, we have what is called memory (smrti). When certain impressions are produced in a very subtle, subdued form, dominating all other inclinations, as if certain attractions or repulsions to certain things were really experienced, we have the root inclinations (vasana). In the realization that there is such a thing as self-knowledge, and that there is also such a thing as the false and illusory world-appearance, we have what is called right knowledge (vidya). When the true knowledge is forgotten and the impressions of the false world-appearance gain ground, we have what are called the impure states (mala). The functions of the five kinds of cognition please us and are called the senses (indriya). As all world-appearance has its origin and ground in the highest self, it is called the origin (prakrti). As the true state can neither be called existent nor non-existent, and as it gives rise to all kinds of appearance, it is called illusion (ma@ya)1. Thus it is the same ap- pearance which goes by the various names of jiva, manas, citta and buddhi*. One of the peculiarities of this work is that it is not a philo- sophical treatise of the ordinary type, but its main purpose lies in the attempt to create a firm conviction on the part of its readers, by repeating the same idea in various ways by means of stories and elaborate descriptions often abounding in the richest poetical imagery of undeniably high aesthetic value, hardly inferior to that of the greatest Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa. 1 111. 96. 17-31. 2 Siva ity ucyate loke mana ity api kathyate cittam ity ucyate saiva buddhir ity ucyate tathd. Ill. 96. 34. 240 The Philosophy of the Yoga-vdsistha [cH. The World-Appearance. The Yoga-vasistha is never tired of repeating that this world is like a hare’s horn, a forest in the sky, or a lotus in the sky. The state of Brahman is higher than the state of manas. It is by becoming manas that Brahman transforms itself into thought-activity and thus produces the seeming changeful appearances. But Brahman in itself cannot have anything else (brahma-tattve ’nyata ndastz). But, though there is this change into manas, and through it the production of the world-appearance, yet such a change is not real, but illusory ; for during all the time when this change makes its appearance and seems to stay, Brahman remains shut up within itself, change- less and unchangeable. All objective appearance is thus nothing but identically the same as the Brahman, and all that appears has simply no existence. The seer never transforms himself into objectivity, but remains simply identical with himself in all ap- pearances of objectivity. But the question arises, how, if the world- appearance is nothing but the illusory creative conception of manas, can the order of the world-appearance be explained? The natural answer to such a question in this system is that the seeming correspondence and agreement depend upon the similarity of the imaginary products in certain spheres, and also upon accident.