The Samkhya System: A History of the Samkhya Philosophy c11.39

c11.39

The gross elements, however, have a further characteristic. They consist of two further portions, those described as born of father and mother, which go to make the body of the psychic apparatus, growing out of the seed in the form of the subtle portions of the gross elements, and the Prabhūtas, which form the mass of inorganic nature. These two elements grow out from the subtle portions, and thus each individual spirit is provided with a complete world of its own arising from itself. At the same time, however, it is expressly indicated that these last two portions of the gross elements fall back at death into the body of nature, and it is clear that the conception of the souls as monads is not carried out to its full extent.* The reason for the breach in the unity of the idea is obvious: it is intended to meet the case of the difficulty which arises as to the existence in the empiric world of other souls in human and other bodies, and of inorganic nature. To consider all these as developed from the fine elements separately for each spirit would seem unnatural, and though, therefore, the gross elements are expressly derived from the fine elements, and though these are derived from the principle of individuation, which cannot be cosmic, none the less these two portions of the gross elements are treated as being the same for all, not merely similar and, therefore, as cosmic. This fact reveals a realistic basis at the bottom of the Sāṃkhya conception, and suggests that nature is to some degree at least directly responsible for inorganic things, and even for the corporeal parts of organic things. Of the latter fourteen classes are enumerated, eight divine, given variously, by Gauḍapāda as Brahman, Prajāpati, Soma, Indra, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Piśācas, and Rakṣases, five of beasts, given by the same scholiast as wild animals, domesticated animals, birds, reptiles, and plants, and one of men. In the worlds of the gods the constituent Sattva prevails, in that of men Rajas, in the rest Tamas. Of inorganic nature not a hint is given, a fact which suggests that the difficulties of its position were decidedly felt by the author.