114 VJddnta-Sara, or Essence of (he Veddnta. [No. 158. 



Improper transferring is the placing of an unreal thing upon 

 Improper transferring, the real thing, as the placing of (the notion of) 



^STfTPCt'T' a snake upon a rope, which is not a snake. 



The real thing is the eternal, omniscient, blissful Bramha, without 

 Ileal and unreal thing, duality. The unreal thing is all, that is in- 



aVfT^TCff animate without consciousness.* The thing 



• without consciousness is according to some what 



-„. u , . cannot be explained by (the ideas of) exis- 



Thing without consci- ^ < * ,1 " v/, ' r J * i 



ousness. tence or non-existence, according to others, the 



something, composed of the three qualities,t which exists, and ob- 

 structs knowledge. 



I am ignorant, this and the like you perceive by reflection, and 

 „. ,. ., " you know the power of the soul, in which its 



Unity and multiplicity J r 



of the thing without wn qualities are inherent," says the Sruti. This 

 consciousness. . , , 



(something) without consciousness by the ideas 



of generality and speciality is perceived as one thing and many 



things. For as by the application of (the idea) of generality to trees the, 



word forest in the singular number is perceived, or by the same notion 



* Vide preface. 



*^n!TJ Commonly translated, quality, but more adequately degree of material 

 existence. Guna is likewise here in the text not a quality of the thing without 

 consciousness, but the three Gunas are its actual being. A Guna, as being the 

 source of all derived material existence, can consequently not be explained, but by 

 its effects. Lassen renders these three modes of existence by — essentia, impetus, 

 and caligo. Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. I. p. 249, says, with regard to 

 them : '* The Sankhya, as other Indian systems of philosophy, is much engaged 

 with the consideration of what is termed the three qualities, if indeed quality is 

 the proper import of the term ; for the Scholiast of Capila understands it as mean- 

 ing, not quality or accident, but substance, a modification, fettering the soul, 

 conformably with another acceptation of Guna, signifying a cord. The first and 

 highest is goodness, (sattwa.) It is alleviating, enlightening, attended with plea- 

 sure and happiness ; and virtue predominates in it. In fire it is prevalent, where- 

 fore flame ascends, and sparks fly upwards. In man, when it abounds, as it does in 

 beings of a superior order, it is the cause of virtue. The second and middlemost 

 is foulness or passion, (rajas ortejas.) It is active, urgent and variable, attended 

 with evil and misery. In air it predominates, wherefore wind moves transversely. 

 In living beings, it is the cause of vice. The third and lowest is darkness, (tamas). 

 It is heavy and obstructive, attended with sorrow, dullness and illusion. In earth 

 and water it predominates, wherefore they fall or tend downwards. In living beings 

 it is the cause of stolidity. These three qualities are not mere accidents of nature, 

 but are of its essence, and enter into its composition. We speak of the qualities 

 of nature, as we do of the trees of a forest," says the Sanchyas. 



