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The Third Lesson: The Sankhya System.1171
the mind, the air, the elements, and the forces of Nature into action. Satvas
Guna establishes harmony, wisdom, truth, right action, balanced thought,
and destroys inertia and ignorance, and in every respect is the very opposite
of Tamas Guna. Satvas Guna is predominant in the higher spiritual aspects
of mind; while Rajas Guna is predominant in the Desire Mind; and Tamas
Guna in the bodily mental processes. As the “Bhagavad Gita” says: “The fruit
of Satvas is called good; the fruit of Rajas is called pain and dissatisfaction,
and unrest; the fruit of Tamas is called Ignorance, and Stupidity, and inertia.
From Satvas is produced Wisdom; from Rajas, Unrest and Covetousness;
from Tamas, ignorance, Delusion, and Foolishness, together with Sloth. The
Sankhya teachings show that the Gunas are manifest on every plane, and in
every instance—not only in the material, but in the mental as well, having
their manifestations in every form of phenomena. The likes and dislikes of
the atoms—the pain and pleasure of matter—the bliss and misery of human
life—are all seen as manifestations of the Gunas.
The Sankhya teaches that there are Twenty-four Principles, or Tattvas,
proceeding from Prakriti under its energizing by the Purusha, and in
accordance with the operations of the Three Gunas, just described. These
Tattvas, or Principles, are as follows:
The Buddhitattva, or Principle of Determinative Consciousness, which
proceeds from the undifferentiated Prakriti; and from which Principle in
turn proceeds:
The Principle of Ahamkara, or Self-consciousness, which involves the
discrimination between “I” and “Not-I”; and from this Principle in turn
proceeds the following Three classes of Tattvas, viz.:
i. The Five Tanamatras, or Subtle Elements of Nature, namely: The
Aethereal; The Aerial; The Igneous; The Aqueous; The Terrene; and from
which subtle elements proceed the Five Gross Elements of Nature, namely:
Akasha, or the Ether; Air; Fire; Water; Earth.
ii. The psychic organism manifesting in the Five Senses, respectively: Seeing;
Hearing; Smelling; Tasting; Feeling. Also the psychic organs controlling the