Raja-Yoga

166 RAjA YOGA.
previous lectures, and here again I will remind you of
the cosmology of the Sdnkhya philosophy. According to
the Sdnkhyas, nature is both the material and the effi
cient cause of this universe. In this nature there are
three sorts of materials, the Sattva, the Rajas, and the
Tamas. The Tamas material is all that is dark, all
that is
ignorant and heavy; and the Rajas is activity.
The Sattva is
calmness, light. When nature is in the
state before creation, it is called by them Avyaktam,
undefined, or indiscrete; that is, in which there is no
distinction of form or name, a state in which these
three materials are held in perfect balance. Then the
balance is disturbed, these different materials begin to
mingle in various fashions, and the result is this uni
verse. In every man, also, these three materials exist.
When the Sattva material prevails knowledge comes.
When the Rajas material prevails activity comes, and
when the Tamas material prevails darkness comes,
and lassitude, idleness, ignorance. According to the
Sdnkhya theory, the highest
manifestation of this
nature, consisting of these three materials,
is what
they call Mahat, or intelligence, universal intelligence,
and each human mind is a part of that cosmic intelli
gence. Then out of Mahat comes the mind. In the
Sdnkhya Psychology there is a sharp distinction be
tween Manas, the mind function, and the function of
the Buddhi intellect. The mind function is
simply to
collect and carry impressions and present them to the
Buddhi, the individual Mahat, and the Buddhi deter
mines upon it. So, out of Mahat comes mind, and out