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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
which places the soul in a series of successive koshas one after another on scientific or logical grounds. Nor is a conception of emancipation which leaves the soul devoid of knowledge and bliss both likely to appeal to a mind whose natural vigour has not been vitiated by overdoses of mystery and mystifying thought.
The misconception about the sheaths has probably arisen from the fact that the fusion of spirit and matter is not uniform throughout in the constitution of the soul, certain parts, e.g., the seats of the different senses and mind, being more sensitive than the rest. Even among the senses themselves the defilement of matter is not quite uniform, inasmuch as some of them respond to finer vibrations or stimuli than others, as, for instance, is the case with the olfactory nerve which takes cognizance of the presence of particles of matter that are invisible to the eye. If we may employ a metaphor, we may say that the soul is like a luminous substance covered all over with a thick pall which is aitenuated in certain parts or centres in varying degree of tenuity. There are five such centres in all, one being the seat of the dravya mana and the remaining four, of the four senses other than touch, which is diffused' all over, and not confined to any particular locality. These centres, however, do not resemble sheaths and are not sheaths in the sense in which the word is used by the mystics.
We have commented upon the insufficiency of the methods suggested by mysticism for the obtainment of freedom from the bondage of samsara, but we may add, while we are still on the subject, that no amount of
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