Book Title: Essays Lectures on Religion of Hindu Vol 01
Author(s): H H Wilson
Publisher: Trubner and Company London

Previous | Next

Page 322
________________ 306 RELIGIOUS SECTS living and sentient principle; and Inertia or Ajiva, the various modifications of inanimate matter. Both these are uncreated and imperishable. Their forms and conditions may change, but they are never destroyed; and with the exception of the unusual cases in which a peculiar living principle ceases to be subject to bodily acts, both life and matter proceed in a certain course, and at stated periods the same forms, the same characters, and the same events are repeated. To proceed, however; according to the original authorities, all objects, sensible or abstract, are arranged under nine categories, termed Tattwas, truths or existences, which we shall proceed to notice in some detail*. I. Jiva, Life, or the living and sentient principle, as existing in various forms, but especially reducible to two classes, those with, and those without mobility. The first comprises animals, men, demons, and godsthe second, all combinations of the four elements, earth, water', fire, air, as minerals, vapours, meteor's, and tempests — and all the products of the vegetable kingdom. They are again arranged in five classes according to their possession of as many Indriyas, or sensible properties. The wholly unconscious bodies to ordinary apprehension, but which have a subtle vitality perceptible to şaintly and super-human beings, have the property of form: such are minerals, and the like. Snails, worms, and insects, in general, have * [Sarvadarśana Sangraha, p. 35 fl. Stevenson, the Kalpa Sútra, p. 116 ff. Colebrooke, Essays, p. 245 ff. 296.]

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480