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Chapter 2
mahAbhUtaviveka
The discriminative knowledge of the five elements
Chapter 1
brahman, the non-dual Reality, can be known by discriminating it from the five elements. To enable this, the five elements are first described.
The element ether has only one quality, sound. The element air has sound and touch as its qualities. The element fire has sound, touch and colour. The element water has sound, touch, colour and taste. The element earth has sound, touch, colour, taste and smell. These elements are perceived by the corresponding five organs of perception.
All actions of man can be classified into five groups. These are speech, grasping, movement, excretion and reproduction. These are performed through the corresponding five organs of action, namely, tongue, hands, feet, anus and genitals.
The subtle organs of perception and action are known as 'indriyas'. These form part of the subtle body. The corresponding organs in the physical or gross body are known as 'golaka'. The mind is the ruler of the ten organs of perception and action. It is situated within the heart-lotus. It is known as the inner organ (antaHkaraNa). It depends on the ten organs for its functions in relation to external objects. The mind is constituted of the three guNas, sattva, rajas and tamas. The mind undergoes changes which are caused by the guNas. sattva guNa produces non-attachment, forgiveness, generosity and similar virtues in the mind. rajas gives rise to emotions such as desire, anger, avarice and is the cause of the person undertaking various actions. tamas is responsible for lethargy, confusion, drowsiness, etc. When sattva is predominant in the mind, merit (puNya) is acquired; when rajas predominates, demerit (pApa) results. When tamas is predominant, life is merely wasted.
All the objects in the world, as well as the senses and the mind are made up of the five elements.
There are three kinds of differences. A tree has the trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. These are all different from one another. These are differences within one object, namely, the tree. Such a difference is known as 'svagatabheda' or internal difference. The difference of one tree from another is known as 'sajAtIyabheda' or difference within the same species. The difference of a tree from a stone (or from any object other than a tree) is called 'vijAtIyabheda' or difference between objects of different species. Since brahman is the only reality, and there is nothing else of the same species or of a different species, there can be no difference of the last two kinds in brahman. Since brahman is homogeneous and without parts, there can be no internal difference. brahman is therefore described as 'one only, without a second' (ekam eva advitIyam). The word 'one' negates 'sajAtIyabheda'; the word 'only' rejects 'svagatabheda'; and the words 'without a second' negate 'vijAtIyabheda'. brahman can be experienced when the mind becomes absolutely tranquil. brahman is self-revealing and is the witness of the cessation of all modifications of the mind. mAyA is the power of brahman and has no existence independent of brahman. mAyA cannot be known directly, but can only be inferred from its effect, the universe. Before the manifestation of the universe mAyA existed in brahman in a potential form. mAyA is neither existence nor non-existence. It is indefinable.
The shruti says that the created universe forms only a part of brahman. In the gItA shrI kRishNa says to Arjuna, 'The universe is sustained by a part of Me.' Though brahman is without parts, the shruti speaks of it as having parts, using the language familiar to us. With brahman as the substratum, mAyA modifies itself into all the objects in the world, just like various pictures drawn on a wall. The first modification of mAyA is space. Space derives its existence from brahman. That is to say, space appears to exist only because of its substratum, brahman, which is existence itself. Space has sound as its quality. It is brahman or Existence which appears as AkAsha (space), but ordinary people and the logicians consider existence as a property of AkAsha. This wrong notion is due to mAyA. Space has no existence apart from brahman. Similarly, the other elements, air, fire, water and earth too have no existence apart from brahman. They are not real in the absolute sense, but appear to be real because of the substratum, brahman. brahman is all-pervading, but the range of mAyA is limited, that of space is more limited and that of air yet more so.
Space has the property of (communicating) sound. Air has the property of perceptibility to the sense of touch. Colour is the specific property of fire, in addition to the properties of space and air. The specific property of water is taste. In addition it has the properties of its predecessors, space, air and fire. Earth has the specific property of smell, in addition to the properties of space, air, fire and water.
brahman alone is the absolute Reality. The universe has only empirical reality. When duality, which is not real, is negated, one becomes established in the non-dual brahman. Such a person is known as a jIvanmukta (liberated-in-life).
A jIvanmukta is not affected by delusion and it makes no difference whether he dies healthy or in illness, whether while in meditation or rolling on the ground, whether in a conscious state or in an unconscious state, since he has already given up identification with the body.
Thus the discrimination of the elements from the non-dual Reality leads to supreme bliss.
End of Chapter 2
Chapter 3
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