A History of Indian Philosophy v2.c19.s5.8

v2.c19.s5.8

Though the ultimate state is the indescribable Brahman or *cit*, yet it is from *manas* that all creation and destruction from cycle to cycle take their start. At the beginning of each so-called creation the creative movement of *manas* energy is roused. At the very first the outflow of this *manas* energy in the direction of a conceptual creation means an accumulation of energy in *manas*, called *ghana*, which is a sort of statical aspect of the dynamical energy (*spanda*). At the next stage there is a combination of this statical state of energy with the next outflow of energy, and the result is the stabilized accretion of energy of the second order; this is again followed by another outflow of energy, and that leads to the formation of the stabilized energy of the third order, and so on. The course of thought-creation is thus through the interaction of the actualized energy of thought with the active forms of the energy of thought, which join together, at each successive outflow from the supreme fund of potential energy. Thus it is said that the first creative movement of *manas* manifests itself as the *ākāśa* creation, and that, as a result of this creative outflow of energy, there is an accretion of energy in *manas*; at this moment there is another outflow (*spanda*) or movement on the part of *manas*, as modified by the accretion of energy of the previous state, and this outflow of *manas* thus modified is the creation of air. The outflow of this second order, again, modifies *manas* by its accretion, and there is a third outflow of energy of the *manas* as modified by the previous accretion, and so on. This process of the modification of energy by the outflow of the *manas* modified at each stage by the accretion of the outflow of energy at each of the preceding states is called *ghana-spanda-krama*¹. The creation of all the so-called *tan-mātras* (subtle states) of *ākāśa*, *vāyu*, *tejas*, *ap* and *kṣiti* takes place in this order, and afterwards that of the *ahaṃkāra* and *buddhi*, and thus of the subtle body (*pury-aṣṭaka*); thereafter the cosmic body of Brahman is formed and developed in accordance with the root desire (*vāsanā*) inherent in *manas*. Thus here we have first the *ākāśa tan-mātra*, then the *vāyu tan-mātra* from the *ākāśa tan-mātra* plus the outflow of energy, then, from the *ākāśa tan-mātra* plus the *vāyu tan-mātra* plus the outflow of energy of the third order, *tejas tan-mātra*, and so on. Then, after the *tan-mātra*, the *ahaṃkāra* and the *buddhi*, we have the subtle body of eight constituents (five *tan-mātras*, *ahaṃkāra*, *buddhi* and the root *manas*), called the *pury-aṣṭaka* of Brahmā. From this develops the body of Brahmā, and from the creative imagination of Brahmā we have the grosser materials and all the rest of the world-appearance. But all this is pure mental creation, and hence unreal, and so also are all the scriptures, gods and goddesses and all else that passes as real.