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THE SIDDHANTA.
767
to be conceived as the substratum of matter and other substances which exist in nature. Hence, matter ought to be defined as that which has a certain number of general qualities in conimon with other substances, and also as that which is composed of an infinity of particles, each of which is pervaded by the general qualities, as mentioned above.
Further light is thrown on the nature of matter with reference to the quality of enjoyability, or utility. Jiva is the enjoyer, and matter, the object of enjoyment; hence the relation between them is that of subject and object.
The common element between the subject and the object of enjoyment consists of special qualities, as for instance, the common element between the eye, which is the enjoyer of form, and its object is colour. For the eye is adapted to respond to colour which is a property of matter. Now, since tbe sense-organs are only the exteriorized faculties or instruments of sensation of the jiva, the elements which render enjoyment of all objects possible inust exist in the constitution of the soul itself. But these can exist in the soul only as capacities for enjoyment, not as sensible qualities, as they do outside.
Here, also, it is apparent that the special qualities of matter, that is, sound, colour, taste, smell, and sparsha (tactile properties, i.e., heat, cold, and the like) correspond to the pleasure-extracting qualities of the jiva. Hence the disparity between the positive qualities of the soul and the negative elements outside in the world is not absolute ; in other words, the power to vibrate of the jiva stands in about the same relation to the vibrations of matter as does the subject of perception
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