पातञ्जल योगसूत्र (स्वामी विवेकानन्द भाष्य एवं सूत्र व्याख्या)

Patanjali Yoga Sutras

Tamas. The Tamas material is all that is dark, all that is ignorant and heavy; and the Rajas is activity. The Sattvas is calmness, light. When nature is in the state before creation, it is called by them Avyaktam, undefined, or indiscrete; that is, in which there is no distinction of form or name, a state in which these three materials are held in perfect balance. Then the balance is disturbed, these different materials begin to mingle in various fashions, and the result is this universe. In every man, also, these three materials exist. When the Sattva material prevails knowledge comes. When the Rajas material prevails activity comes, and when the Tamas material prevails darkness comes and lassitude, idleness, ignorance. According to the Sankhya theory, the highest manifestation of this nature, consisting of these three materials, is what they call Mahat, or intelligence, universal intelligence, and each human mind is a part of that cosmic intelligence. Then out of Mahat comes the mind. In the Sankhya Psychology there is a sharp distinction between Manas, the mind function, and the function of the Buddhi intellect. The mind function is simply to collect and carry impressions and present them to the Buddhi, the individual Mahat, and the Buddhi determined upon it. So, out of Mahat comes mind, and out of mind comes fine material, and this fine material combines and becomes the gross material outside—the external universe. The claim of the Sankhya philosophy is that beginning with the intellect, and coming down to a block of stone, all has come out of the same thing, only as finer or grosser states of existence. The Buddhi is the finest state of existence of the materials, and then comes Ahamkara, egoism, and next to the mind comes fine material, which they call Tanmatras, which cannot be seen, but which are inferred. These Tanmatras combine and 73