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SANKHYA PSYCHOLOGY
to the Sāňkhya, coming to pass in the subtle body. Such a body is not to be identified, in any sense, with the life-monad. About the life-monad nothing can be said (beyond the statement that it is) except in negative terms: it is without attributes, without qualities, without parts, without motion-imperishable, inactive and impassive; it is unaffected by pains and by pleasures, devoid of feelings and emotions, completely indifferent to sensations. It abides outside the categories of the world. Puruşa is comparable to a seer when he is seeing nothing, or to a mirror in which nothing is reflected. Nothing comes to it in that sphere except itself-even though all things this side of it are illuminated, activated, and given consciousness by its pure, untroubled, undeluded radiance.
When perfect knowledge of the puruşa has been attained, one does not give up one's gross and subtle body immediately; life lingers on for a considerable time. Just as the potter's wheel continues to revolve after the completion of the pot, in consequence of the initial impulses, so the body of the kevalin goes on with all its subtle and gross natural processes, even though the Knower himself, aloof from them, is simply watching with sublime indifference; for the present life is a result of works. the fruit of seeds that were planted before the attainment of emancipation, and these must mature to the fullness of their days. On the other hand, the germinal force of all the seeds that have not yet sprouted is broken and consumed. The Knower knows that there can be no future life or lives for him, because he has withdrawn his impulses from the process. The process is running down. Henceforward, therefore, he simply endures the events of his existence without committing himself to anything new, until finally, when the forces of the works already bearing fruit are exhausted, death overtakes him and there can be no return. The gross body dissolves. The subtle body also dissolves. The inner organ, with its sarskāras, which
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |