Raja-Yoga

"
122 RAjA YOGA.
there cannot be any God of this universe, because if
there were He must be a Soul, and a Soul must be one
of two things, either bound or free. How can the soul
that is bound by nature, or controlled by nature,
create ? It is itself a slave. On the other hand, what
business has the soul that is free to create and manipu
late all these things
? It has no desires, so cannot
have any need to create. Secondly, it says the theory
of God is an unnecessary one; nature explains all.
What is the use of any God ? But Kapila teaches that
there are many souls, who, though nearly attaining
perfection, fall short because they cannot perfectly
renounce all powers. Their minds for a time merge
in nature, to re-emerge as its masters. Such gods
there are. We shall all become such gods, and, accord
ing to the Sdnkhyas, the God spoken of in the Vedas
really means one of these free souls. Beyond them
there is not an eternally free and blessed Creator of
the universe. Oti the other hand the Yogis say, Not
so, there is a God; there is one Soul separate from all
other souls, and He is the eternal Master of all crea
tion, the Ever Free, the Teacher of all teachers."
The Yogis admit that those the Sdnkhyas
call the
"merged in nature" also exist. They are Yogis who
have fallen short of perfection, and though, for a
time debarred from attaining the goal, remain as rulers
of parts of the universe.