106 H. Mitra —Psychological Tenets of the Vaishnavas. [N^o. 1, 
wliicli do not at all bear upon tbe final “ Isolation.”* The final stage in 
either case is a society of immortal beings, each physically, morally, and 
intellectnally 23 erfect, and from this perfection ex concesso identical. 
Some Indian writers do not, however, look upon this theory of nnicity as 
satisfactory, and reckon the doctrine as a form of duality or Tvaitavdda. 
What they mean is that it is a system not of one, but of more than one, 
soul. This is true enough, and logically following it out, the term for it 
should imply plurality, and not duality, particularly in the Sanskrit 
language, where the dual does not mean plural. In the case of the San- 
khyas, it has further to be noted that they do not absolutely deny a 
supreme soul, but hold that there is no proof of the existence of such a 
being. In other words they are agnostics in this respect. 
The Absolutely Monistic theory disca-rds the idea of a separate indi¬ 
vidual soul for each being, as illogical and unphilosophical. Following 
the principle that two causes should not be assumed where one is suf¬ 
ficient, it repudiates the assumption of an uncountable number of soul 
monads, each uncreate and eternal, and holds a single soul, the Supreme 
Soul, as amply sufficient for all purposes. It is more consonant with 
reason, and at the same time it removes the stain of atheism which the 
preceding theory necessarily involves. 
The idea of a spirit distinct from the body is of remote antiquity. 
In the earliest stage of human society every unintelligible phenomenon 
was accounted for by the assumption of a supernatural power or spirit, and 
the disposition of that spirit, as malevolent or beneficent, regulated the 
character of the phenomenon. This idea, once formed, multiplied rapidly, 
and every mountain and every plain, every wood and every tree, every 
pool and every river, was soon peopled by its appropriate spirit. These 
spirits could not, however, be accepted to be equally powerful, and in 
course of time and advancing reason, it was felt that the more powerful 
of these must be the rulers or governors of the less powerful, and the 
ultimate logical resultant was the assumption of one supreme God. God, 
thus evolved, did not negative the existence of the spirits and the soul 
of man, but took His place at the head of them all, and mankind at large 
was perfectly satisfied with this evolution. The theory did not, and could 
not, jar against their preconceived notions and universally spread beliefs, 
it bore no taint of atheism, and reason was in its favour. Philosophers, 
however, did not continue to rest satisfied. The process of thinking 
which brought them to one God pushed them still onward, and they at 
last abandoned the theory of separate souls for separate beings, whether 
* The Hindu idea of isolation will bo found fully described in my translation of 
the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali. 
