History of Indian Philosophy

SR No.: 007593
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Surendranath Dasgupta
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Year: 1922
Total Pages: 2517
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 125 MB

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The Nyāya-Vaiseșika Philosophy
[CH.
ment, downward movement, contraction, expansion and horizontal movement. The three common qualities of dravya,guna and karma are that they are existent, non-eternal, substantive, effect, cause, and possess generality and particularity. Dravya produces other dravyas and the gunas other gunas. But karma is not necessarily produced by karma. Dravya does not destroy either its cause or its effect, but the guņas are destroyed both by the cause and by the effect. Karma is destroyed by karma. Dravya possesses karma and guņa and is regarded as the material (samavāyi) cause. Gunas inhere in dravya, cannot possess further guņas, and are not by themselves the cause of contact or disjoining. Karma is devoid of guna, cannot remain at one time in more than one object, inheres in dravya alone, and is an independent cause of contact or disjoining. Dravya is the material cause (samavāyi) of (derivative) dravyas, guna, and karma; guna is also the nonmaterial cause (asamāvāyi) of dravya, guna and karma. Karma is the general cause of contact, disjoining, and inertia in motion (vega). Karma is not the cause of dravya. For dravya may be produced even without karma! Dravya is the general effect of dravya. Karma is dissimilar to guna in this that it does not produce karma. The numbers two, three, etc., separateness, contact and disjoining are effected by more than one dravya. Each karma not being connected with more than one thing is not produced by more than one thing? A dravya is the result of many contacts (of the atoms). One colour may be the result of many colours. Upward movement is the result of heaviness, effort and contact. Contact and disjoining are also the result of karma. In denying the causality of karma it is meant that karma is not the cause of dravya and karma”.
In the second chapter of the first book Kaņāda first says that if there is no cause, there is no effect, but there may be the cause even though there may not be the effect. He next says that genus (sāmānya) and species (višeșa) are relative to the under
pendiums. It must be noted that "guņa" in Vaiseșika means qualities and not subtle reals or substances as in Samkhya-Yoga. Guna in Vaiseșika would be akin to what Yoga would call dharma.
1 It is only when the kārya ceases that dravya is produced. See Upaskära 1. i. 22.
2 If karma is related to more than one thing, then with the movement of one we should have felt that two or more things were moving.
3 It must be noted that "karmia" in this sense is quite different from the more extensive use of karma as meritorious or vicious action which is the cause of rebirth.