A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1Dasgupta, Surendranath
Religion
A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1
Dasgupta, Surendranath
Hindu philosophy; India -- Religion
within it the minds (_buddhi_) of all puru@sas which were lost in the
prak@rti during the pralaya. The very first work of the evolution
of prak@rti to serve the puru@sas is thus manifested by the separating
out of the old buddhis or minds (of the puru@sas) which hold within
themselves the old specific ignorance (_avidyâ_) inherent in them
with reference to each puru@sa with which any particular buddhi
is associated from beginningless time before the pralaya. This
state of evolution consisting of all the collected minds (buddhi)
or all the puru@sas is therefore called _buddhitattva._ It is a state
which holds or comprehends within it the buddhis of all individuals.
The individual buddhis of individual puru@sas are on one
hand integrated with the buddhitattva and on the other associated
with their specific puru@sas. When some buddhis once begin to
be separated from the prak@rti, other buddhi evolutions take
place. In other words, we are to understand that once the transformation
of buddhis is effected for the service of the puru@sas,
all the other direct transformations that take place from the
prak@rti take the same line, i.e. a preponderance of sattva being
once created by the bringing out of some buddhis, other transformations
of prak@rti that follow them have also the sattva preponderance,
which thus have exactly the same composition as the
first buddhis. Thus the first transformation from prak@rti becomes
buddhi-transformation. This stage of buddhis may thus be regarded
as the most universal stage, which comprehends within it
all the buddhis of individuals and potentially all the matter of
which the gross world is formed. Looked at from this point of
view it has the widest and most universal existence comprising
all creation, and is thus called _mahat_ (the great one). It is called
_li@nga_ (sign), as the other later existences or evolutes give us the
ground of inferring its existence, and as such must be distinguished
from the prak@rti which is called _ali@nga,_ i.e. of which no
li@nga or characterise may be affirmed.
This mahat-tatva being once produced, further modifications
begin to take place in three lines by three different kinds of
undulations representing the sattva preponderance, rajas preponderance
and tama preponderance. This state when the mahat
is disturbed by the three parallel tendencies of a preponderance of
tamas, rajas and sattva's called _aha@mkâra,_ and the above three
tendencies are respectiviy called _tâmasika aha@mkâra_ or _bhûtâdi_,
_râjasika_ or _taijasa aha@mâra,_ and _vaikârika aha@mkâra._ The râjasika
aha@mkâra cannot make a new preponderance by itself; it only
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