"He is omniscient from his being the maker of all things: for it is an established principle

"That he only can make a thing who knows it with its means, parts, and end."

"Well," our opponents may say, "we concede that G.o.d is an independent maker, but then he has no body.[120] Now experience shows that all effects, as jars, &c., are produced by beings possessed of bodies, as potters, &c.; but if G.o.d were possessed of a body, then he would be like us subject to trouble, and no longer be omniscient or omnipotent." We, however, deny this, for we see that the incorporeal soul does still produce motion, &c., in its a.s.sociated body; moreover, even though we conceded that G.o.d _did_ possess a body, we should still maintain that the alleged defects would not necessarily ensue. The Supreme Being, as he has no possible connection with the fetters of matter, such as _mala_,[121] action, &c., cannot have a material body, but only a body of pure energy (Sakta),[122] since we know that his body is composed of the five hymns which are forms of Sakti, according to the well-known text: "The Supreme has the _Isana_ as his head, the _Tatpurusha_ as his mouth, the _Aghora_ as his heart, the _Vamedeva_ as his secret parts, and the _Sadyojata_ as his feet."[123] And this body, created according to his own will, is not like our bodies, but is the cause of the five operations of the Supreme, which are respectively grace, obscuration, destruction, preservation, and production.[124] This has been said in the Srimat M?igendra--

"From the impossibility of its possessing _mala_, &c., the body of the Supreme is of pure energy, and not like ours."

And it has also been said elsewhere--

"His body is composed of the five mantras which are subservient to the five operations,

"And his head, &c., are formed out of the isa, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vama, and other hymns."

If you object to this view that "such pa.s.sages in the agamas as 'He is five-faced and fifteen-eyed,' a.s.sert prominently the fact that the Supreme Being is endowed with a body, organs, &c.," we concede what you say, but we maintain that there is no contradiction in his a.s.suming such forms to show his mercy to his devoted servants, since meditation, worship, &c., are impossible towards a Being entirely dest.i.tute of form. This has been said in the Paushkara--

"This form of his is mentioned for the preservation of the devotee."

And similarly elsewhere--

"Thou art to be worshipped according to rule as possessed of form;

"For the understanding cannot reach to a formless object."

Bhojaraja[125] has thus detailed the five operations--

"Fivefold are his operations, creation, preservation, destruction, and obscuration,

"And to these must be added the active grace of him who is eternally exalted."

Now these five operations, in the view of the pure Path, are held to be performed directly by Siva, but in that of the toilsome Path they are ascribed to Ananta,[126] as is declared in the Srimat Kara?a[127]--

"In the Pure Path Siva is declared to be the only agent, but Ananta in that which is opposed to the One Supreme."

It must here be understood that the word Siva includes in its proper meaning "the Lord," all those who have attained to the state of Siva, as the Lords of the Mantras, Maheswara, the emanc.i.p.ated souls who have become Sivas, and the inspired teachers (_vachakas_), together with all the various means, as initiation, &c., for obtaining the state of Siva. Thus has been explained the first category, the Lord (_pati_).

We now proceed to explain the second category, the soul (_pasu_). The individual soul which is also known by such synonyms as the non-atomic,[128] the _Kshetrajna_, or knower of the body,[129] &c., is the _Pasu_. For we must not say with the Charvakas that it is the same as the body, since on this view we could not account for memory, as there is a proverb that one man cannot remember what another has seen.

Nor may we say with the Naiyayikas that it is cognisable by perception,[130] as this would involve an _ad infinitum_ regressus. As has been said--

"If the soul were cognisable, there would need to be again a second knower;[131]

"And this would require another still, if the second were itself to be known."

Nor must we hold it non-pervading with the Jainas, nor momentary with the Bauddhas, since it is not limited by s.p.a.ce or time. As has been said--

"That object which is unlimited in its nature by s.p.a.ce or time,

"They hold to be eternal and pervading,--hence the soul's all-pervadingness and eternity."

Nor may we say with the Vedantin that it is only one, since the apportionment of different fruits proves that there are many individual souls; nor with the Sankhyas that it is devoid of action, since, when all the various "fetters" are removed, Sruti informs us of a state of ident.i.ty with Siva, which consists in intelligence in the form of an eternal and infinite vision and action.[132] This has been declared in the Srimat M?igendra--

"It is revealed that ident.i.ty with Siva results when all fetters are removed."

And again--

"Intelligence consists in vision and action, and since in his soul

"This exists always and on every side, therefore, after liberation, Sruti calls it that which faces every way."

It is also said in the Tattva-prakasa--

"The liberated souls are themselves Sivas, but these are liberated by his favour;

"He is to be known as the one eternally liberated, whose body is the five Mantras."

Now the souls are threefold, as denominated _vijnanakala?_, _pralayakala?_, and _sakala?_.[133] (_a._) The first are those who are under the influence of _mala_ only, since their actions are cancelled by receiving their proper fruits, or by abstraction, contemplation, and knowledge, and since they have no "fetters" in the form of enjoyments, such as _kala_, &c. (which fetters would, however, be the cause of cancelling actions by bringing about their proper fruit). (_b._) The second are those who are under the influence of _mala_ and _karman_, since in their case _kala_, &c., are destroyed by mundane destructions, hence their name _pralayakala_. (_c._) The third are those who are bound in the three fetters of _mala_, _maya_, and _karman_, hence their name _sakala_.

The first cla.s.s are again subdivided into _samapta-kalusha?_ and _asamapta-kalusha?_, according as their inherent corruption is perfectly exhausted or not. The former,--having received the mature penalties of their corruptions,--are now, as foremost of men and worthy of the privilege, raised by Siva's favour to the rank of the Lords of Knowledge (the Vidyesvaras), Ananta, and the rest. This ogdoad of the Lords of Knowledge is described in the Bahudaivatya--

"Ananta, and Sukshma, and Sivottama,

"Ekanetra, and again Ekarudra and Trimurttika,

"Srika??ha and Sikha??in,--these are declared to be the Vidyesvaras."

The latter Siva, in his mercy, raises to the rank of the seventy million Mantras.[134] All this is explained in the Tattva-prakasa.[135] Similarly Soma-Sambhu has said--

"One cla.s.s is named _vijnanakala_, the second _pralayakala_,

"The third _sakala_,--these are the three whom the Sastra regards as objects of mercy.

"The first is united to _mala_ alone, the second to _mala_ and _karma_,

"The third are united to all the tattvas beginning with _kala_ and ending with 'earth.'"[136]

The _Pralayakala?_ are also twofold, as being _pakvapasadvaya_ or not, _i.e._, those in whom the two remaining fetters are matured, and those in whom they are not. The former attain liberation, but the latter, by the power of _karman_, are endowed with the _puryash?aka_[137] body, and pa.s.s through various births. As has been said in the Tattva-prakasa--

"Those among the Pralayakalas whose _karman_ and _mala_ are immature,

"Go, united with the _puryash?aka_ body, into many births by the power of _karman_."

The _puryash?aka_ is also thus described in the same work--

"The _puryash?aka_ is composed of the internal organ, thought (_dhi_), _karman_, and the instruments."

This is thus explained by Aghora Siva acharya, "the _puryash?aka_ is a subtile body apportioned to each individual soul, which continues from the creation until the close of the kalpa, or until liberation: it is composed of the thirty[138] tattvas beginning with 'earth' and ending with _kala_." As has been said in the Tattva-sangraha--

"This set of tattvas, commencing with 'earth' and ending with _kala_, is a.s.signed to each soul,

"And wanders by the law of _karman_ through all the bodies produced by the world."