12.239
Shuka said.
O revered one, best among sages, please speak to me again here in detail about that which pertains to the self, and how this is so.
Vyāsa said.
O dear one, I shall now fully explain to you what is called adhyātma, that which exists here in a person; listen to this explanation.
Earth, water, fire, air, and space — these great elements of beings are like the waves of the ocean.
Just as a tortoise, after stretching out its limbs here, withdraws them again, so too do great beings transform themselves into their younger forms.
Thus, all this, both immobile and mobile, is indeed composed of that; in creation and in dissolution, therefore, it is indicated in this way.
O dear one, the creator of beings made the five great elements in all beings, in which he perceives whatever inequality.
Śuka said.
How can one perceive what was done in the bodies? How can one perceive some qualities of the senses?
Vyāsa said.
I will explain this vision to you here as it truly is. Listen attentively to the principle here, with a focused mind, in its true nature, just as it is.
Sound, the ear, and the three apertures arising from space; vital breath, movement, and touch—these are the three qualities of air.
Form, the eye, and its result are the threefold manifestations of light. Taste, the tongue, and unctuousness are the three qualities of water.
The object of smell, the nose, and the body are the three qualities of earth; thus, the group of senses composed of the five elements has been explained.
Touch is the quality of air; taste is from water; form is said to be of fire; sound originates from space; smell is remembered as the quality of earth.
Mind, intellect, and disposition—these three are said to be born from the self-origin. They do not transcend the qualities; among the qualities, they are regarded as supreme. (12-239-13)
In a person, there are five senses; the sixth is called the mind, the seventh is said to be the intellect, and the eighth is the knower of the field (the self or soul).
The eye is for seeing, the mind generates doubt, the intellect determines, and the witness is known as the knower of the field.
Passion (rajas), darkness (tamas), and purity (sattva)—these three qualities, originating from themselves, are present equally in all beings; one should recognize those qualities in all creatures.
Just as a tortoise here stretches out its limbs and then withdraws them, so too the intellect, having projected the group of senses, restrains them.
The highest intellect is present in the act of seeing both upwards from the soles of the feet and downwards from the head.
The intellect is directed towards qualities; it is the intellect alone that governs the senses, including the mind as the sixth. In the absence of intellect, how can there be any qualities?
In that context, whatever little joy is perceived within oneself, one should observe it. One should recognize that state of mind which is tranquil and thoroughly purified, as such.
But that which is associated with affliction, whether in the body or in the mind, is rajas, which always acts as a cause of disturbance for embodied beings.
But that which is associated with delusion, whose object is unmanifest, which cannot be reasoned or known, that is to be understood as darkness.
Great joy, affection, bliss, equanimity, and a tranquil state of mind—if these arise suddenly or for any reason, they are qualities of sattva (purity and harmony).
Pride, falsehood, greed, delusion, and impatience—these are the marks of rajas; they manifest both with and without apparent cause.
Thus, delusion, negligence, and sloth, which arise from sleep, are to be understood as qualities of tamas.
