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A Concise History of Science in India c13.s3: Universal Conceptions

A Concise History of Science in India c13.s3

Language
English

Contents

Universal Conceptions

Cosmic Light, Ṛtam and Yajña

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To start with, it is rather necessary to make a brief reference to certain universal conceptions which are found in the Vedic literature. A striking feature of the *Ṛgveda* is its attempt to discover the essence or the power that is behind all manifestations.a In this respect the conception of cosmic energy or cosmic light as dealt with in the *Ṛgveda* deserves special mention. The unmanifested is cosmic energy, and the manifested is cosmic light. The latter is referred to as *Viśvajyoti*, which is a positive unitary principle, pure and sublime. In fact, the Vedic gods and their functional attributes are to be understood in terms of cosmic light. The *Ṛgveda* says that gods worship the cosmic light as the principle of life and longevity, and that the cosmic light is the 'soul of all gods' and the 'womb' of all created things.b *Aditi*, which means the boundless or the unbounded and which according to the *Ṛgveda* is the substratum (pure consciousness of infinite existence) of all that is here and beyond, is the Light-Infinite.c Gods who are born of *Aditi* are manifestations of the Infinite Light. Later in the *Upaniṣads*, Brahman is referred to as the Self-Luminous Light.d 'He is the light of lights and the whole world is illuminated with His light.' 'Thousands of Suns pale into nothingness before this Divine Light.'

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a Hiriyanna (1), p. 39.

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b *ṚV.*, I, 113.1.

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c Aurobindo, pp. 464 ff.

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d *Muṇḍ. Up.*, II, 20.10.

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In consonance with the conception of cosmic light is that of cosmic law, which is known as *ṛta*. The all-pervading light, *Āditya* or *Sūrya*, is extolled as the dweller in eternal (Law) and, eventually, the eternal law itself.a *Sūrya* sheds his light according to *ṛta* and he is the face of *ṛta*.b *Ṛta* means ‘the course of things’, order or law which is the primal principle, non-temporal and cohesive. It is a natural law which even the Vedic gods had to follow. Gods are often described in terms of ‘guardians of *ṛta*’ and ‘practisers of *ṛta*’.c Figuratively it is stated that ‘Gods chant the song of *ṛta*.d The natural phenomena, such as the flow of rivers, change of seasons, day and night, are stated to be in accordance with this natural law.e Symbolically *ṛta* was also conceived by the Ṛgvedic seers as *Varuṇa* who was supposed to have determined the laws of the physical universe. The *Ṛgveda* says that it is because of *ṛta*, Indra ‘lights up and energizes the whole world’, and that ‘the appearance of *ūṣas* and its illumination of the universe are in conformity with *ṛta*’.f In addition, all the phenomena which occur in cycles are stated to be controlled by *ṛta*. In short, *ṛta* is a unitary active principle present everywhere and in everything. As eternal order, it is transcendental signifying uniformity of nature or an ordered course in a cosmic sense. The Ṛgvedic seers were convinced that nature is not heterogeneous as it seems to us, and that all types of natural motions are traceable to *ṛta* which, according to them, is self-existent and ever extending.

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Whitehead rightly observes: ‘In the first place there can be no living science unless there is a widespread instinctive conviction in the existence of an order of things and in particular of an order of nature.’g The Vedic people had the instinctive conviction in the natural order. They thought of the external world as an ordered whole and that its dynamic or changing phenomena were regulated by *ṛta*. In the *Ṛgveda*, therefore, everything is extolled as beautiful and brilliant, for there is no place for chaos and ugliness in the orderly universe. Probably in no other contemporary literature of the Ṛgvedic time was there such a conception of natural law.

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Intimately connected with *ṛta* is another monistic principle of the *Ṛgveda*, viz. *yajña* or the act of sacrifice. *Yajña* is referred to as the navel of the universe (*viśvanābhi*) round which the latter turns, and as the unifying principle which expands and contracts in accordance with the happenings in the universe. For, the Ṛgvedic seers believed that *yajña* is the instrument for preserving the cycle of cosmic events in harmony. *Yajña* is praised as ‘*ṛtasya dhāma* and *ṛtasya sadana*’ (the abode of *ṛta*).h The act of *yajña* is for the protection of *ṛta*. *Yajña* has the connotation of dynamism, too, for it is ‘that which expands with the world, and dissolves with the world into the creator’. It is thus conceived as a connective dynamic principle in the manifested world, a nucleus (*nābhi*) of all evolution and thus the protector and nourisher of the universe.

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a *RV.*, IV, 40.5.

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b *RV.*, VI, 39.5; 51.1.

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c *RV.*, I, 23.5.

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d *RV.*, I, 147.1.

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e *RV.*, IV, 3.8–12; V, 80.1.

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f *RV.*, III, 61.7.

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g Whitehaed, p. 4.

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h *RV.*, I, 43.9.

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Perhaps the highest monistic level was reached by the Vedic thinkers when they thought of a unitary world-ground encompassing the being and the non-being, the living and the non-living. The famous hymn of creation, called the *Nāsadīya Sūkta* in the tenth *Maṇḍala* of the *Ṛgveda*,a speaks of *water* as the supra-sensible First Cause or the primeval world-ground; and water is the first ‘element’ to be conceived in this manner, without any mythological association. ‘Then there was neither Aught nor Nought, nor air nor sky beyond; what covered all? Where tested all? In watery gulf profound? ...The ONE breathed calmly, self-contained; nought else beyond it lay. Gloom hid in gloom existed first—One sea, eluding view.’

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The foregoing are among the important universal speculations concerning energy (*viśvajyoti*), motion (*ṛtam* and *yajña*) and the primordial stuff of the world (water), appearing in perhaps the most ancient literature of its type in the world. The fact of great significance is that these conceptions were the result of a desire to know the world as a whole—a desire so characteristic of the thinkers of the Vedic period as stated in the following Ṛgvedic *mantra*: ‘Give sight to our eyes, sight to our bodies so that they can see. May we see the world as a whole, may we see it in detail.’b

The Doctrine of Five Elements

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The universal conceptions, as mentioned above, laid the foundations for newer formulations, again wholistic in nature and structure. One such formulation was the doctrine of five elements to account for the apparently unordered, diverse world of matter and qualities. Known as *Pañcabhūtas* (*mahābhūtāni*), the five elements are: *pṛthvī*, *ap*, *tejas*, *vāyu* and *ākāśa*. These may, for purposes of understanding, be designated respectively as earth, water, fire, air and a non-material uniquitous substance. But it must be noted that the five elements have a wider connotation and significance than the familiar earth, water, fire or air. Moreover the corresponding words in English cannot be deemed as being the proper equivalents. It is, therefore, essential to bear in mind the Sanskrit terms wherever the seemingly corresponding words in English are used to denote them. Further, each element has to be understood in relation to the other four. In other words, the doctrine of five elements should be viewed in its totality.

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The fivefold character of the doctrine gradually assumed shape out of simpler conceptions. As stated before, primeval water is the first element in the Indian speculation. Later in the *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad*,c it is stated: ‘In the beginning this world was just water.’ The *Chāndogya*,d gives an account of the World-stuff as follows: ‘It is just water solidified, that is the earth,—the atmosphere,—the sky,—the gods—and men,—beasts and birds,—grass and trees,—animals together with worms,—flies and ants; all these are just water solidified.’ In *Kauṣītakī*,a it is explicitly stated that ‘the waters, verily indeed are my (Brahma’s) world’. A clear and evolutionary development of the three elements in this order: water, fire, and *ākāśa*, occurs again in the *Chāndogya Upaniṣad*, in a series of assertions relating to a progressive understanding of Brahman as the Universal Soul which is the main current of the Upaniṣadic thought. The *Chāndogya* also states that ‘Brahman, desiring to be many, created *tejas* (fire), *ap* (water) and *kṣiti* (earth), and entered into these three’.

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a *ṚV.*, X, 129.

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b *ṚV.*, X, 158.4.

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c *Bṛh. Up.*, V, 5.1.

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d *Chānd. Up.*, VII, 10.

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Besides, there are a number of passages in the Upaniṣadic literature dealing with the elements step by step towards a unitary conception. The *Taittirīya* states: ‘From this Soul (*ātman*), verily, (*ākāśa*) arose; from *ākāśa*, wind (*vāyu*); from wind, fire (*agni*); from fire, water (*ap*); from water, the earth; from the earth, herbs; from herbs, food; from food, semen; from semen, the person (*puruṣa*)’b while the *Aitareya* thinks of the five elements in relation to Brahman, the concept of five elements occurs in the *Taittirīya*, *Aitareya* and *Maitrī Upaniṣads*. In the *Maitrī* it is explicitly stated that ‘the three-quartered Brahman has its root above, its branches are *ākāśa*, *vāyu*, *tejas*, *ap* and *pṛthvī*’.c

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The Indian doctrine of five elements, it must be emphasized, is a part of the philosophical ideas. In other words, it does not have an independent standing apart from its being an integrated component of the leading systems of Indian thought. Among the six orthodox systems (so-called because of their acceptance of the Vedic texts) the *Sāṃkhya*, *Nyāya* and the *Vaiśeṣika* have laid special emphasis on the five elements. The Jaina, Bauddha and the Cārvāka schools recognize only the first four elements.

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b *Taitt. Up.*, II, 2.1.

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*Sāṃkhya*

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The classical *Sāṃkhya* has the following enumeration:

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a *Kauṣ. Up.*, I, 7.

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c *Mait. Up.*, III, 1–2; VI, 4.

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In this enumeration of totality the five *tanmātras* and the corresponding five elements are of special significance. The *tanmātra* is considered to be invisible and eternal while the corresponding elements, the produced ones, are not eternal. It is rather difficult to define exactly the *tanmātras*. Perhaps they share the characteristics of both mind and matter, and they seem to represent the very core of the element in the finest state, possibly with the inherent power of affecting the respective senses.

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The origin of the concept of *tanmātra* can be found in some of the later Upaniṣads. In the *Praśna Upaniṣad*,a the subtle states are called *pṛthvī-mātra*, *apo-mātra* and the like. The *Maitrī Upaniṣad* mentions the word *tanmātra* in the same context. It can be conjectured that these Upaniṣadic ideas might have influenced the later exponents of the *Sāṃkhya* school to explain the evolution of the gross matter from the primary *tanmātras*.

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The generation of the gross matter (in terms of the five elements) out of the *tanmātras* is as follows:b

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From *śabda* (sound) *tanmātras* emerges *ākāśa*
From *śabda* and *sparśa* (touch) ,, ,, *vāyu* (air)
From *śabda*, *sparśa* and *rūpa* (colour) ,, ,, *tejas* (light)
From *śabda*, *sparśa*, *rūpa* and *rasa* (taste) ,, ,, *ap* (water)
From *śabda*, *sparśa*, *rūpa*, *rasa* and *gandha* (odour) ,, ,, *pṛthvī* (earth)

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The elements have the following attributes: *ākāśa* (sound); *vāyu* (sound and touch); *tejas* (sound, touch and odour); *ap* (sound, touch, colour and taste); and *pṛthvī* (sound, touch, colour, taste and odour). There are two noteworthy aspects in this scheme: (i) the attributes are based upon the five senses; and (ii) the five elements are thought of in relation to these attributes. This integrated concept, therefore, includes the sensorial and the gross. The subtle are the *tanmātras* which have potential power of affecting the sense and the gross are the five elements corresponding to the five senses. The subtle ones, presumably, have been conceived as the ground for the five gross forms.

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According to the *Sāṃkhya*, all gross things are formed by the grouping and regrouping of the five elements. The noticeable differences among substances are due to the different types of collocations or groupings. It may be noted that the *Sāṃkhya* holds that there can be no production of a thing which is non-existent previously, in tune with its theory of causation known as the *satkāryavāda*. In this view, the production means a change in the arrangement and that which is potentially present or the unmanifest becomes manifest—a sort of a ‘continual transformation (*pariṇāma*)’. The five elements play their role in this transformation.

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a *Praś. Up.*, IV, 8.

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b *SK.*, 38.

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The *Sāṃkhya* doctrine of the five elements did influence a great deal in the development of certain concepts of the *Āyurveda*, the principal Indian medical system. For, the *Āyurveda* has adopted the principles of *Sāṃkhya* with certain modifications, bestowing special importance on the five elements and their role even in the physiological processes.a

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According to the *Āyurveda*, the world consisting of the inorganic as well as the organic is formed out of the five elements. Even the substances which are used as medicines are, as a rule, composed of five elements. The *indriya* or the sensory organ has in it the five elements; only the particular *indriya* will have one element in greater proportion and the other four in relatively smaller proportions. The human body is considered as a combination of the five elements and soul.

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In the *Suśruta Saṃhitā*b there is a clear exposition of the way in which the five elements constitute a human body from its very conception. The embryo which has in it the energetic principles is separated into form by *vāyu*. The *tejas* transforms the embryo. The *ap bhūta* maintains its moist structure, while the *pṛthvī* tries to give shape and size to it, and keep it intact by contributing hardness to it. *Ākāśa* offers expanse to the embryo and develops it. Thus comes into play the body or *śarīra* on account of the five elements.

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The *Āyurveda* recognizes five types of substances, viz. *ākāśiyadravya*, *vāyavīyadravya*, *taijasadravya*, *āpydravya* and *pārthivadravya*.c It should be emphasized that, according to the *Āyurvedic* concept, each of the five types of gross bodies contains the particular element in greater proportion while the other four are also present in it, of course, in minute but different proportions.

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The five elements are also associated with the formation of the six *rasas*, viz. *madhura* (*pṛthvī*+*ap*); *amla* (*tejas*+*pṛthvī*); *lavaṇa* (*ap*+*tejas*); *tikta* (*ākāśa*+*vāyu*); *kaṭu* (*tejas*+*vāyu*); and *kaṣāya* (*pṛthvī*+*vāyu*).d Yet it should not be understood that the corresponding two elements alone constitute a particular *rasa*; only these two are predominant in it while the other three would also enter into its composition. Thus is maintained the wholistic nature of the doctrine of five elements.

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The *Sāṃkhya* enumeration of the five elements should be viewed in the light of the *Sāṃkhya* thought-structure itself. For, according to the *Sāṃkhya*, the material universe emanates out of *prakṛti* which is conceived to be the ‘rootless root of the universe’. It is believed to be unmanifest and in a state of equilibrium with respect to the three *guṇas*, viz. *sattva*, *rajas* and *tamas*. Thus, *prakṛti*, though single, is complex. As a result of interaction of *puruṣa*, *prakṛti* is imagined to unfold or evolve itself. In this process, matter first in the subtile form and later in the gross form, owes its origin to the three *guṇas*. The *guṇas* are the constituent principles of the universe, and matter is an offshoot of the intermingling of these three *guṇas*. The five elements are even recognized in terms of the three *guṇas* in different combinations. The *guṇas*, however, are not the qualities of *prakṛti*, nor of the elements. They are abstractions bordering on the conception of substance. *Sattva* is that which is light and fine, *rajas* that which is active, and *tamas* that which is gross and heavy. These postulations obviously are intended to account for the whole variety of the universe as the substratum of change. In this process of change the *guṇas* persist, only their modes become potent. It would appear that the *Sāṁkhya* believes in the indestructibility of matter and in the continual operation of force in terms of the modes of the perpetually active *guṇas*.

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a *SS. Śā.*, **1**, 4–6.

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b *SS. Śā.*, **5**, 2.

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c *SS. Sū.*, **41**, 3–7.

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d *SS. Sū.*, **42**, 3.

Cites (10)