The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c11.s3.11

v1.c11.s3.11

It is clearly erroneous to ascribe to primitive religion the conception of *mana* as something universal of which part is possessed by the objects of his worship. Rather matter is sentient and has mentality, the whole forming a unity, not a spirit abiding in something not spiritual, and each object has a specific power of its own. In this as in other cases progress must be from the concrete and individual to the formulation of the universal, from individual powers to the belief in one power, *mana*, *manitou*, *brahman*, or whatever other name it bears, through sharing in which the individual objects possess their force.¹