Creation of the subtle elementstaitt.up.2.1.1.S.B.—tasmaad
etasmaad brahmaNaH aatma-svaruupaat----- From
that Brahman, which is identical with the indwelling self, aakaas’a,
space, was created. aakaas’a
means, that which is possessed of the attribute of sound and
provides space for all things that have form. From that aakaas’a
was born vaayu, air, which
has two attributes, namely, its own quality, touch, and sound, the
quality of its cause, aakaas’a.
From air was produced agniH, fire,
with three qualities, namely, its own quality, colour and the qualities
of air and space. From fire was born aapah,
water, with its own quality, taste, and the qualities of fire, air and
space. From water was produced the element, pr.thivii,
with its own quality, smell and the qualities of water, fire, air
and space. These are the five subtle elements.
In
Ch.up.6.2.3, the creation of only three elements is mentioned, namely
fire, water and earth. S’rii S’ankara
says here that
it is logical to assume that, after creating space and air, Brahman
created fire. The intended meaning is that all these have originated
from sat, Existence, or Brahman and are therefore sat alone. The statement that all these elements arose from Brahman
is clarified in Panchadas’i 1.18 by saying that these elements arose
at the command of iis’vara
from that aspect of prakr.ti in
which tamas predominates. Back to contents
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